Total Eclipse ... of the Heart
Eclipse 2017

August 20, 2017

Mark and Heather were in town and we took an exciting adventure to see the total eclipse. Provo would have been in the 90% totality zone but that just wasn't good enough for us! So Heather rented a suburban and we headed up to Wyoming to be in the 100% totality zone. 

First Day of School 2014 - 2015

Ethan is in 3rd grade - Mrs. Eldredge and Marley is in 5th grade - Mrs. Drumm.

gratitude day #3

Today I was reminded about t how much influence the hand of the savior was involved in choosing this house for us. Because of this house we had instant best friends and great neighbors who became best friends. They are the kind of person who lifts you up higher than when you were when you saw them first. Despite challenges and troubles, there have been women especially in my area that I have grown so much by watching them and how they interact with others and with their families. I love that I can take a trouble to a friend, know it will stay between us, and leave her side with a positive answer to my need. We are all close to our Savior and I feel that in this group of women He holds a seat. I am grateful for good friends.

Gratitude Day #2

Tonight I am pondering what I am grateful for and there is so much! But tonight I am especially grateful that I as blessed with true and faithful parents who instilled in me a testimony of the God. Through that knowledge I am blessed with their amazing examples of righteousness. My father is a hard working, obedient, stalwart man with an unshakable faith in God. My mother, beautiful mommy, is an example of faith through great adversity, extreme selflessness, generosity and pure love. Through her I learned my roles as a mother. The most important one that I learned, to me at this moment, is her ability to love. When she loves someone she serves them. I have been especially thankful for her selfless service over the last few weeks as she has dropped everything in her life and come to my aid. It takes an amazing person to leave everything - her comfortable bed, her friends and other daughters, everything - to wait on me and my family. How can she know how very grateful I am to her? What words will possibly convey the depth of gratitude I feel for her. My mommy.

Utah Lake

Another fun summer day. Having a good mom moment and did what the kids asked to do - go play down at the lake. It's pretty awesome that it's only a mile away. Marley swam and swam, pretending to be a mermaid. Ethan had a blast digging and make moats and canals. Goldie loved scavenging for dead fish bones and gobbling them up. Ethan, "Ew, there's fish in this lake?"

Gratitude Day #1

Today I am grateful for the atoning sacrifice of my Savior Jesus Christ. I am blessed to know that I can be forgiven and receive His grace.

His grace - admonishes me to be humble and submissive in order to align my wants and desires with the things He knows I truly need. It is sufficient.

Hip Surgery

I found out a couple of months ago that I have a hip impingement. It just might be the answer to a lot of my chronic pain. Dr. Jackson took a quick x-ray and there it was! Off to another surgery. I was going to try to wait till after the kids got back to school to have my surgery but after much misery I changed my mind. 

Luckily, my mother and Callie, who are obviously made of much more generous stuff than even I can imagine, came to my rescue and offered to be my post-op nurses. 

We had to get in one last summer adventure so the kids and I went to pick them up from the airport on the Frontrunner train.

So they went in arthoscopically and shaved off some of my bone to make the ball and socket joint smoother. The really cool part is that several weeks ago they did an MRI and also found a tear in my labrum, which is like a cartilage type part of the joint. They were going to have to stitch that up too. That meant a much longer time spent on crutches, recovery time, etc. Well, when the doctor got into surgery, there was no tear! He said that I only need to spend ONE WEEK on crutches instead. I know that miracles really do happen. My husband gave me a beautiful priesthood blessing before my surgery and I know that Heavenly Father heard my prayers. I also know, and have learned, that even if I hadn't been healed in the exact way that I wanted, that I still would trust my Father in Heaven to hear my prayers and by His grace I would come to know what He wants me to learn in this life. The priesthood is power. 

Goldie was worried about me. She knew something wasn't right from the moment I got home. She has hardly left my side. The very second that she saw that we were finally alone, she seized the moment and hopped up on the bed next to me. They gave me an ice machine that runs cold water continually through the tube up to the hip. It's a medical wonder and I've been grateful for it but it has made me feel restricted and a bit claustrophobic. Like a torture and restraining device in one. 

I have a lot of hope that the surgery went well. I know that Heavenly Father heard my prayers and has blessed me with the grace of my Savior.