Monday, December 29, 2014

The End of November in Pictures

I am so behind in writing Family Letters, I figured I would just present our past 6 weeks in pictures--they're worth a thousand words, right? And the camera captures moments better than my tired brain, I'm afraid. So here's the end of November...
James built a bird house in Cub Scouts. He brought it home to paint,
and we will find a post for it come springtime.
One of November's MAJOR events was Adeline's 13th birthday! We officially have a TEENAGER in our home and so far it's pretty awesome. To celebrate, Dad made a special breakfast and we gave her some gifts, then in the evening we had the Petrys and the Joneses over for dinner and the girls watched their fangirl shows while the parents hung out upstairs. It was a pretty fun day and we are so grateful this girl came to our family.
Tardis Magnet! I told her to put it on her locker,
but she wants to put it on my van.

Sibling loves on birthday morning

Birthday Dinner 11.21:
Ava P, Heidi, Eden and Jeanette J, Addie, and Isabel P.

Eden and Izzi look on as Addie cuts her cake

Beautiful Maxfield Parrish skies over our valley on 11.22--
the photos really don't do it justice. It was breathtaking, and not in the Seinfeld way.

Livingston Peak on 11.22
 
James and his cub scout pack had archery lessons on Saturday 11.22.
James loved it!
Curtis, James, Zane, and William- Cub Scouts having yogurt after archery
We planned to go to Utah for Thanksgiving Dinner with my family and a weekend with Bucherts for Ma & Pa Buchert's 50th Anniversary celebration. We had planned to leave on Wednesday afternoon, but a blizzard was blowing in, so we hurried up and packed and left early on Tuesday to miss the storm. We went all the way over to Butte to stay on the interstates and arrived in Pocatello at just the right time to have dinner at Café Rio and visit with Papa Jim.
We introduced Ammon to his grandpa for the first time on
Tuesday 11.25 at Café Rio.

We arrived safely at Nana's house in Herriman late Tuesday.
We woke up and started TG preparations and my brother Michael and his
family came over to play. We met our niece Autumn for the first time
(she was born 18 days before Ammon). This is Autumn, Jamie, and Heidi

Emmalyn, Autumn, Ammon, and Niles at Nana's

James at Nana's

Niles at Nana's

Ammon at Nana's

Aunt Abby with Emmalyn, Autumn, and Niles

Ammon and Autumn, Niles and Emmalyn

Daddy took Niles and James to the dinosaur museum
while Mommy and Nana were cooking.

James playing at the water table

Raawwwr!

Niles at the water table

James and dino

Niles, Daddy, and dino

Niles at the Dino Dig at the museum
On Thursday, 11.27, we had Thanksgiving Dinner at Nana's Clubhouse with my brother Will's family, my brother Sam's family, my sister Jill's family, and my brother Mike's family.
My gorgeous and ageless SIL, Kristen and nephew Owen (Sam's)


My mom and baby sister, Abby
--the family Spoons (as Papa Bill would say)--
Nana did an amazing job planning, preparing, and hosting
a nice holiday this year!

Belle, Addie, and Ally with Rich & Ammon during TG

Owen and James are best cousin buds

James and Owen with Jack and Spencer
(Jamie's son, Sam's son, Jill's son, and Will's son)

My cute brothers, Sam and Willy. Willy is holding Mike's baby Autumn.

Daddy and Ammon
After dinner and some chill family time, Kristen organized a stealth shopping brigade to score some major Black Friday deals. This sounds to me like a panic attack waiting to happen, so Sam and I stayed home with our kids and our anxiety and our spouses successfully raided Walmart. They took Addie and Abby along as their shopping minions.
Addie waiting dutifully by her post.

Kristen waiting to score some 80% discounted legos.
When Rich posted this on facebook his captions said, "Kristen explaining to the other
ladies how she will cut them if they take her legos." This is hilarious if you know
Kristen--she's so polite, she wouldn't hurt a fly. I have no idea how she survived Black Friday.

While Kristen and Rich were shopping, my cousin Joe stopped by
 to introduce us to his fiancée, Annalisa. They are in school together in Ephraim (Snow College)
and she is delightful.

Ammon fell asleep on Uncle Sammy

Ammon loved playing with Niles and Gavin
(Niles is 15 days younger than Gavin)

The feeling was mutual. The big funny joke between Niles and Gavin was saying,
"Hi, Santa Lyn!" to Ammon or to each other. They would laugh and laugh for ages.
 It was hilarious to watch them.
The perfect ending to any Thanksgiving:
watching CHRISTMAS VACATION

Addie with her "Kid Aunt" Abby
On Friday I took my mom to IKEA, I took Addie to In-N-Out Burger, then in the afternoon we headed to Provo to hang out with all the Buchert kids and get ready for the parents' anniversary party. It was fun to see Heidi again so soon and spend time with all 5 of her kids visiting from New York. Anna was home from Hawaii with her new little Tenzin, and I finally met Rob and Georgia's little Moxie (they adopted her in September; they were there for her birth!). I caught up with Martin and his growing-up kids, and Jeanne and Chris, too. I met Johanna's sweet little Elliot for the first time, too. It was a wonderful reunion!
Addie, Me, Heidi, Johanna, and my silly Heidi at the Anniversary Party.

Two Heidis

Niles with Buchert/Egans in the background

Then SATURDAY 11.29...
Nana made yummy food for Ammon

And he had a chocolate cookie for dessert (11.29)

My 3 big kids stayed the night with their cousins at Uncle Drew's on Friday night after the Buchert Party. When we picked them up, the girls had made this cake for their cousin party Saturday night...so CUTE!

Heidi, Niles, and Jack in Petersen's backyard.

 
Niles with Cousin Ben's football gear

Saturday morning we went back to Provo for Ruthie Egan's baptism
(Ruthie is Heidi's youngest).
This is me and Lily, Heidi's 2nd (of 4) daughter. She is 14 and lovely.

Me, Lily, Jeanne, and Anna's baby Tenzin after Ruthie's baptism

The baptism was kind of a reunion of college friends, too...
Rich and me (from Montana), Tracy and Burton Holmes (From Tucson AZ),
Todd and Heidi Egan (from Seneca Falls NY), and Becca and Martin Buchert (from SLC)
Tracy, Heidi, and I were all roommates after my mission--but before Erin--
 and Martin came home from his mission and met Becca
 around that same time. It was so nice to be together again!
(and 4 of us have turned into 24 of us! I love that!)

We picked up the kids from Petersens and there was a leaf fight happening.

Later on Saturday, Rich took the kids and their cousins to Cabela's in Lehi

Heidi had been sick since our drive down to Utah--she had no symptoms but a high fever and it ended up stretching out for 10 days before the docs finally figured out she had a kidney infection. Anyway, she missed TG dinner and most of the fun, but for about 20 miraculous hours, Tylenol allowed her to enjoy some cousin time, Friday night to Saturday afternoon.
Here she is with the fish at Cabela's. She sure loves her cousin Jack!

Saturday night, Ally and Addie had a combined birthday party at Nana's Saturday night.
(it was one week after Addie's birthday and one week before Ally's)
Addie made ceasar salad and bowtie pasta alfredo and they ate the Tardis cake.

Even Owen and James joined in the fun.

Niles, James, Maeby, and Ben having cake

Gavin and Niles playing with Nana's cars.

Melanie, Addie, Ally, and Liam

Addie and Ally with their birthday cake

Me with my awesome nephew Owen
(Uncle Willy is next to us)

Seriously love this guy!

...see?

Things got a little crazy when I wanted a picture with my brothers...

Spencer (willy's), Me, Owen (Sam's), Maeby (Willy's), Willy, Niles (mine), Sam,
James behind Sam (he's mine, too), and Gavin (Sam's).
So three siblings with six of our eleven kids.

Spencer and me

Niles crashed HARD!

COUSIN LOVES!
Ally hugging Spencer goodbye.

Two Cousins--Liam and Addie-- and their crazy Aunt Abby
The Post and Layton cousins went home form the cousin party, but Ally and Isabelle stayed to sleepover with Abby, Addie, and Heidi. Sunday morning Drew picked them up and we headed home around 9am. It was a nice trip and a beautiful drive, though we got some snow on the way.
The Wasatch Mountains near Brigham City on our drive home 11.30.

Wednesday, December 03, 2014

Prove Me Now Herewith

As the ward historian, I have challenged my ward to write 100 records of God's Hand in their lives by New Year's Eve. This is the first of three experiences I plan to record. I also plan to interview and record my children's experiences. If you're in the Livingston Ward, write stuff down and email it to me! It will be a great exercise, I promise!
 
It was late on cold night in early December 2012 and Richard and I drifted off to sleep after a couple of hours snuggling in bed, looking at the iPad. We had been looking at Real Estate and house plans, trying to figure out what we were going to do next, since our house had sold the week before.  I didn’t want to have to build a house, but I had gotten a little excited when I saw what we could get in our budget if we built it ourselves. We’d gotten a little carried away looking at all kinds of crazy plans over the internet and stealing design ideas from houzz dot com.

When I finally fell asleep, I dreamed we built one of the big houses in the plans. In my dream, it was summer and we had friends and family over for a party-- we were so relieved to be done with the project. During the party I went to the restroom and I was feeling so exhausted.  I saw an old pregnancy test under the sink and thought, maybe I should take that. So I did, and it was glaringly positive. I was completely shocked. I started to cry and prayed aloud, “Heavenly Father, are you KIDDING me? I can’t do this! I am going to DIE! I am so old! I’m a sucky mom!  I’m so tired! I can’t do it!”  I sat on my shiny new potty, sobbing and angry.

[Aside:  I know it seems super weird that this all took place in the bathroom; it seemed so to me, too. But when I thought about it later, truth be told, the bathroom is a bit of a sanctuary for me since I became a mom. Granted, I still rarely get to be alone in there, but if I ever am alone, it’s in the bathroom. I also regularly receive inspiration while reading in the tub. It’s my Holy Place these days, I guess]

Suddenly I was conversing with Heavenly Father, sitting there on my throne holding the stick in my hand. He answered me by saying, “Excuse me? This is a blessing…and I don’t give people big houses for no reason.”

“Hmmm. Good point,” I conceded. “But I’m old and sick. This will kill me. Then who will raise these kids?”

“Did I not make you better last time?” Heavenly Father countered.  “I can make you even better this time.  Don’t you trust me?”

“I do. I say I do. I don’t want to. I’m too tired…” My argument was running out of steam. I realized He was right, and that if we did build a big new house, the Lord might expect us to fill it with another child.

When I woke up, I figured I would solve the problem by choosing a medium sized house that fit six people nicely. Then I wouldn’t even have to face the question. And I told Rich that once we did move into the new house, he wasn’t coming anywhere near me.

So we sold the old house and lived in a tiny rental for 8 months while we built a comfortable (but not BIG) new house.  I continued to dream that we had a fifth child occasionally. Sometimes it was a Chinese baby, sometimes it was a girl named Josie, but I kept all of this to myself.

Then one night in July 2013 we were on a “date” to dinner and Home Depot to get finish supplies for our house.  I’d dreamt of the baby again, so I timidly brought it up to Rich. “Honey, I keep dreaming about another baby, “ I said, flinching.

“Me, too!” He said with a chuckle.

“Are you kidding me?” I asked.

“No, I’m serious.” He said. We rode down the highway in stunned silence. “I guess that’s a message, huh? I’m in if you’re in.”

“I guess I’m in,” I replied. “I’ll probably die, but I’m in.”

So we got to Bozeman and stopped at Costco before dinner. As we walked in, our favorite Labor and Delivery nurse was walking out. She hugged us and said she missed us. We said we missed her, too. She said, “I guess you just need to have another baby so we can get together,” and we all laughed, but Rich and I glanced at each other wide-eyed. I thought to myself, Hmmm, We were just talking about that…

We had a nice little visit and said goodbye to her, then we just cracked up. It was hilarious! Like a little inside joke nudge from Heavenly Father to tell us we were on the right track.

I still felt reluctant, but I told Rich I was willing to give God ONE CHANCE. We decided that we’d “Try” as soon as we settled in the house.

So we did. Like, the weekend we moved in. I knew I was pregnant about 10 days later because I was too tired to unpack and ravenously hungry. But at the same time I knew it was a ridiculous miracle to expect that a dream plus willingness could make a chronically ill, 42-year-old woman with no thyroid and a post-vasectomy man conceive a child. So I waited two more weeks. It was my 42nd birthday and my mother, aunt, grandmother, and sister were all in town. I took 4 tests over 2 days because I couldn’t believe my eyes. I announced my pregnancy and due date at the birthday party and made my mom cry.

Heavenly Father has kept his promise to me. I was still sick during the pregnancy, but not to the point of exhaustion or dehydration. I was hospitalized the last week of my pregnancy because my blood pressure spiked, but in retrospect I could see the blessing of forced bed rest. Try as I might at home, I just couldn’t rest up for delivery. I wanted to be strong and well-rested so I could labor and deliver without medication. So God provided a way for me to be ready to make my birth plan come true—four days in the hospital with doses of Benadryl to help me sleep. Healthy meals delivered to my bed. Blood sugars and blood pressures that came into the normal range as I rested. All of these things made it possible for me to be fully conscious and in control of my delivery on May 10, 2014,  and it was awesome. Ammon truly is a dream baby in every sense of the word. When I stop to think about the Wonder of Him, I want to burst with hallelujahs.

I think back to three specific scriptures when I ponder this miracle in my life and the testimony it has left me with. First is Malachi 3:10, where God is challenging Israel to recommit to their covenants. “Prove me now herewith saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” If we can’t obey out of humility and love, we can obey out of a desire to test God and know if He is real and if His promises are sure (spoiler alert: He ALWAYS passes the test). This principle is also expounded upon in my second scripture, Doctrine and Covenants 82:10, when God says, “I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.” He is literally bound to bless us when we obey. Every action comes with a consequence. Hopefully the consequence is a blessing!

 After we experience this pattern of obedience and blessings long enough, our hope and belief become faith. We recognize the pattern and understand that our faith and obedience have the power to create consequences, and those consequences add up to a life, an environment—of our own creation.  In the Book of Mormon Jacob 4:6 (third) we find it explained like this: “Wherefore we search the prophets, and have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; and having all these witnesses obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.”

 WE TRULY CAN. That is the lesson of these miracles to me, and I bear witness that it is true. We are sons and daughters of a Divine Creator. We have inherited gifts and powers from Him. We have the power to create the world we want to live in. When we align our will with His, the wishes of our hearts become commands. By our faith, obedience, and desire, we slowly but surely create an environment where God’s work can be done, where it truly is “on earth as it is in heaven.”

FAMILY LETTER 07.28.19

Dear Loved Ones,                                                                                                        We have just ...