A barn raising

 

John and Elise purchased this half-finished building with plans to finish it into a pickleball/sports court and an apartment.  It's a big job, and they are so ready to get it going.  With all the prep, they planned a big workday and invited family to come and help.  Milt was there with Isaac, Simeon, Peter, John and his boys, and Elise.  He called to say I should come over because they were having a good time, and I might like to see.  The fun part about it all was seeing my family work together.  They were up in the rafters, placing and securing for hours. They worked until dark and got so much done. There was a great feeling of accomplishment. I dare say, there was also a great feeling of love, support, belonging, and satisfaction in being needed, adding value, and recognizing the joy of family.

I got there with homemade buns. Elise had prepared a great lunch with bbq chicken for sandwiches, grapes, chips, and her girls had made chocolate chip cookies.  Kianna and her boys, Eddie and Ollie, came to enjoy lunch with us. Henry and Que were there with Peter, too.  It was a beautiful day to be working, and there was such a spirit of goodness.

I am so very grateful for the heritage of hard work we have been able to pass down through our family. To see a big project made easy with lots of real help was so satisfying. My boys have a fear of heights but that does not keep them from doing what needs to be done, and doing it well.  A sense of refuge and safety from an ever-changing world is what I feel when I am surrounded by my family.  I love seeing them choose each other and generously give their time and skills to help one another.

Nebo Loop

 Milt got a mustang convertible, fixed it up and is having so much fun.  We enjoyed a beautiful drive along the Nebo Loop on our way to Murray.  The skies were overcast which made July 30 not so hot. Flowers were blooming. The rain seemed to always have just missed us and we got to enjoy the views from the tops of these mountains.

I loved being with Milt, seeing him enjoy his car and the drive, and being amazed at the view.  When he saw may pictures he was disappointed there weren't some good pictures of the car.  That will need to be a new goal for me.

Once we got to Murray he stayed busy offering rides to nieces and nephews.  Again, Milt loved sharing his new car.

any value in staying home?

I made applesauce today.  You make it out of apples, cut up, blend, cook in bottles that seal and then you have applesauce ready when you want it.  It’s not even hard but does take a little time.

Why would you care about applesauce? Because for me it is a symbol of a stay at home wife and mother. A symbol that says I take care of my own by giving of myself, my love, and my knowledge to add value to my family and our experience together.  I don’t even like applesauce. But I love my family. They like applesauce. I make applesauce and I get to see them smile.It’s worth it.

I am currently enrolled in BYUI Pathways Worldwide.  I am in my second semester, fourth week. I am taking The Eternal Family for my institute class and Professional Skills.  I am having a hard time understanding how they go together.  We are learning about the doctrine of the family and studying The Family, A Proclamation to the World where we read about marriage, gender, divine roles and responsibilities. These are things I have believed wholeheartedly and have given my life to living and teaching these simple principles. I have experienced the joy of sacrificing for my family and I have been greatly blessed when I prioritize my role as wife and mother. I have felt the support of my husband as he sacrifices by providing for our family and supporting the efforts we both make to create opportunities and experiences to help our children, as well as each other, to grow and develop. We have acted in faith that as we each fulfill our individual roles to our best ability, things will work out.  And they always do.

Now I am taking a class on Professional skills where I feel like my time and sacrifice for my family have been a waste of time. Thirty five years of being a homemaker and raising up a righteous family do not count.

We had a sister speak at stake conference who had just finished the Pathways program. She loved it, learned so much, could help her son do his math.  She talked about how it saved her because after all those years of raising children, her brain had gone to mush. Now she was learning and doing things.  It turned me off right from the start.  I joined Pathways despite the feelings I had after hearing her, not because of them.  I felt inspired to trust this program and continue to learn.  The difference being that I never felt like I had stopped learning.  This was to be another path to more knowledge and understanding.  

I appreciate the experience. I am learning new things and things I knew before. My frustration comes in the little pricks that tell me I am not enough. I don’t have experience. I don’t have marketable skills, I don’t have things to put on a resume.  When I plug in the numbers for their charts to see the benefits of getting a degree, I get a negative answer because I have not worked, do not earn money and want to retire in 5 years when my youngest graduates from high school. And for me retiring means I just won’t have children at home.  I might be free to go on missions with my husband but I imagine there is still much to do running a household and family.  

I am tired of so much of the focus being on improving income. Yes we need to provide for our families but getting an education is so much more than just that to me.  It is a sense of wonder, accomplishment, understanding, discovering connections and conclusions.  It is a depth of meaning to this great world and the people in it.  It is how to improve communication, relationships, add value to the world and improve my life experiences and hopefully those around me too.

I don’t believe that in our modern world we do not need women in the home.  Being at home is not a forever vacation.  I take it very seriously.  I get up and dress for the day. I have regular responsibilities and projects. I create an atmosphere of love order, routine, fun, belonging, and safety where all are welcome and we all progress together. I volunteer with my church, community, at the temple, as a ministering sister, as a mother, grandmother.  I feed my family real food made with real ingredients that nourishes and strengthens not only the body but also the mind and the soul. We live on a budget. We learn to have fun at home. We don’t require expensive vacations.We learn to work for the things we want and for each other. I am an example of active living, hard working, nature appreciating, continual learning and discovery. We need women who know how to be a homemaker, to love being a homemaker and to continue to appreciate the amazing things that can happen when women give their best to this sacred and divine calling of wife and mother.

If the goal in earning a degree is so that we can get a job, who is going to do the full time job I have been doing for 35 years? Who is going to take care of my family? My home? Who will have time to help the neighbor? Greet the grandkids after school? Work in the temple? Take a meal to the mom who just experienced a miscarriage and the dear friend who just lost her mother? Who is going to be the virtuous woman? A degree can help us do those things better but not if its purpose is to take us away from home.

I am concerned about the example we are setting for these next generations.  So many feel the need to have two incomes.  They feel the need to limit the size of their family so they can get on to more important things that “make a difference in the world” (career).  I wish we had more women who love being feminine, claiming the power that comes from our strengths, our life view, our ability to love and serve.  I wish we had more men and women who honor and cherish the roles of men and women as complementary and good. In fact, God given. 

Let’s remember who and whose we are. Let’s remember why we are here and what is really important in the eternal plan of our loving Heavenly Father.  Let’s take the time to ask him what is needful, what he would have us do.

Who is going to raise the children in a family? Do we want or need the government or large companies to take over feeding our children, providing daycare, after school programs? Who will have time to coach the soccer teams? Who will be available to supervise when the neighborhood kids want to get together or even help them learn to make friends and play fair. Who can young moms, moms of teenagers, moms planning and preparing for sending missionaries or planning weddings, or dealing with disappointments turn to to discuss, feel heard and maybe get insights about life’s challenges?

I wish there were some way to calculate the value of a woman at home.  Child care, meal prep, laundry, housekeeping, decoration, nursing, tutoring, repairs, health instruction, sex education, financial planning, work ethiic, gospel education, taxiing, interest surveys and talent support, sports and physical fitness, healthy homemade meals without preservatives and other unknowns.  What is the cost to the children when there is no mom in the home.  Even my adult children continue to receive strength, comfort and help because I am at home and available.  They are also respectful of my interests and schedule but I have the freedom to be flexible because I am a woman in the home.

I am supported by a husband that values all that I do for our home and family. He sees the fruit of investing in home and family, sacrificing the accolades of the world to bring goodness to our home, family and community.  Investing in education that betters who I am without counting the monetary increase that might be realized. I am grateful for our ‘old-fashion’ values that are actually timeless truths that bless family living. After all, educating a woman educates the whole family IF the woman is there to be with the family and it is never a waste of education to devote your best to your family.

Wood Badge

I enjoyed my last Wood Badge as an assistant scribe. I worried. I dreaded. I made fun of the opportunity. I ended up having to miss the first 2 days to get my son to the MTC and then I went. I decided to be present, look for opportunities to be helpful and to connect and wear a full scout uniform.

I got there feeling a little like an outsider and my emotions were tender having just said good bye to Isaac for 2 years.  I finally got a cabin and loved having it all to myself.  I quickly learned that I was surrounded by great people and had an opportunity to have a great review on amazing leadership principles and practices.  I had a front row seat to people creating teams, cheering each other on, having honest conversations and thinking shifts, as well as some really good clean fun, crazy scout songs and budding friendships.

 And it was so beautiful.  I love the setting that we got to enjoy.  We had rain and sun and warm and cold. Mountain smells and wildlife.  I don't believe that I was really needed or did much but I tried to bring value to the experience.

The view from our dining porch

 I am guessing that it was for me to face my fears, do something on my own, make new friends, stretch a little and trust that saying yes and giving is the right thing to do.

I am grateful for the many boys and men that have been influenced for good because of the BSA.  It has a rich heritage. I am grateful for the leadership principles that stand in all situations that were being taught through this venue.  Those who attended are better for the experience and now have a whole toolbox of tools and information that they can use in many situations - family, work, church...  I am grateful for all that I received by attending and making an effort to be present and engaged in the process.  I hope I can always seize the moment and make the most of it. I know we are blessed as we seek for knowledge by study and by faith.

Knoxville and meeting Terry

At just a month old, grandpa and Granny got to go all the way to Tennessee to meet this adorable new grandson...and I caught his smile in a picture :)

 It almost turned to a laugh.  Dane and Erica have created a beautiful home in there new city.  He is providing for his sweet little family with a new job in data analysis and enjoying the company and the things he is learning.  She is a stay at home mom that finds joy in each little beauty of life and loves her sweet husband and son.  They have created a little heaven on earth.

 We enjoyed a beautiful nature walk near their home. I love the beauty of east Tennesee.

 We found our old home there on Pittman road. We drove up the drive. The current owners came out and the ended up inviting us in and giving us a tour.  It was surreal to be there and have memories flooding back but also to see that it was different, changed, improved and somebody else's home.  The have done some great improvements and love the home too.

Out for dinner at a restaurant on the river for catfish and pulled pork.  Delicious

We did the Cade's Cove loop and even found a bear up the tree.  Hard to see in this picture but not too far from us picture takers/

Yummy burgers at this joint where the owner is greeting and so friendly and they celebrate family and Christian values.

 And the extra special opportunity to have grandpa help in Dane giving his first son a name and blessing.  We met the good people of their ward and also visited one of our old wards from 20 years ago where we still found a few familiar faces.

Another beautiful hike

 Visiting Dane at his work place.  He is doing so great.They are doing so great with their sweet family.

Let's get down to business

I have been thinking about my role as a woman.  I am grateful to be a woman in this time.  I love being a girl.  I am a daughter of God with a divine heritage.  The more I learn about women and our divine role, the more I feel grateful and empowered.  We have a very special opportunity as nurturers, as mother, wife, daughter.

I love stories of women. I love to hear their experiences and especially the ways they have learned to make the most our of any situation. I believe that we are each given a certain time and place and are asked to be certain women who make the difference in the lives we touch and we become more because of the experiences we participate in.

I think of Esther and the line when she is asked to consider that she is here for such a time as this.  The queen before her had stood valiantly when asked to compromise and had given her life.  Others were there having their own experiences and assisting one another. I, too, recognize that I am here now for such a time as this.  I have value. I don't have to prove anything to be of worth.  Each of us is doing the best we know how and we are getting better every day that we make any effort.

So I was in the temple this last week.  I was there with some great women and we got to discuss life, gospel and goodness. Often as I finish at the temple I have a song come to mind.   Often times it is "I Feel My Savior's Love" or something similar,  This time is was the line "Let's get down to business, to defeat the Huns" from Disney's Mulan

I have come home wanting to understand the song and the movie.  I have had some fun listening and watching.

I'll Make a Man Out of You

Donny Osmond

Let's get down to business, to defeat the Huns
Did they send me daughters, when I asked for sons? actually yes! They are my secret weapon saved for this time.  
You're the saddest bunch I ever met
But you can bet before we're through It does to work and effort and desire to prepare for our purpose.
Mister, I'll make a man out of you

Tranquil as a forest but on fire within We each need to find our center, who we are inside and then fuel that fire that was lit by the light of Christ.  We can do anything with him.
Once you find your center, you are sure to win
You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot
And you haven't got a clue
Somehow I'll make a man out of you

Be a man

We must be swift as the coursing river
Be a man
With all the force of a great typhoon
Be a man
With all the strength of a raging fire
Mysterious as the dark side of the moon

Time is racing toward us till the Huns arrive
Heed my every order and you might survive
You're unsuited for the rage of war
So pack up, go home, you're through
How could I make a man out of you?

Be a man
We must be swift as the coursing river
Be a man
With all the force of a great typhoon
Be a man
With all the strength of a raging fire
Mysterious as the dark side of the moon

Now is the time for men to be good, strong, courageous men.  And it is time for us, as women, to take a more visible place at their side (and leading out). Being men and women in our day has become confusing but God's plan is not confusing.  It is inside us, ready to teach and guide u, to be all that he would have us be, to be all in.

I rented the movie and loved it.  I even took notes :).  There comes a time when we need to step out of our comfort zone. We need to look a little deeper inside and learn to shine.  We each have our own gifts and together we win - against the Huns or whoever else is attacking our homes and family.  Men and women working together, recognizing their own gifts and each others, learning to complement and become one in a more perfect way. A few of my notes:

A single grain of rice can tip the scale. One man may be the difference between victory and defeat.

When will my reflection show who I am inside?

 This represents discipline, and this represents strength. You need both to reach the arrow.

 No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it.

 The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.

This quote site had even more to share.  I learned that we each have strengths and abilities, often beyond what we imagine, that when its right I need to keep on trying through any obstacles and heartache.  That each person needs to be honored and respected and that begins with me. I need to honor and respect who I am and who God sees in me and then see the divine in others too.

It seems that women in general are being attacked and turned against one another.  We compare, judge, look down or up to some.  We are distracted and disenchanted from those relationship building roles that have the greatest potential for joy and contentment in an effort to discredit and cause doubt.  I am reminded that  we are told not to doubt or to fear.  We can be fearless as we remember who we are, learn why we are here, and trust our Creator.

My desire is to be open to the next step in my life.  I will seek to know God's will and I pray for courage to act.  I love my life, my family, days.  They are all growing up and yet my life is full and happy as we adjust to change.  I am wondering if there is something more that I am being called to do.  I may need to get down to business. I will continue to prepare, to strength my foundation so that I may build and become the woman He would make out of me.

And I believe I have angels and ancestors cheering me on.  ;)

I have enjoyed this Father's Day.  It has been like many others but my mind has been thinking a lot about the amazing role of father.  Actually men in general are really great.

The father's in my life are kind and good.

My daughter spoke in church about fathers.  She said so many nice things about her dad and her husband.  My husband has been a joy to raise a family with. It is a definite pay day when an adult child praises her father and the many things she learned from him.  It sure makes me grateful to share parenthood with a great man.

He is a really great person.  He is hard working.  He would do just about anything I ask of him.  He is putty when his daughters ask. Maybe that is part of what I love about him.  He holds his sons to a high standard and teaches them how to be a righteous man. He loves and respects women and is so good at being a goodly man.  He works hard and he plays hard.

I love that we each have our roles that are different and honor the strengths we have.  Because he provides well for me and appreciates the things I am able to do in caring for our home and family, I am able to have time to create beauty which brings joy.

As Elise shared, he loves Lake Powell.  He has always been good at water skiing and loves boating.  What we have found out though is it is not about him and having what he wants.  He willingly and patiently teaches our children and grandchildren to love the boating life.  He drives boat. He works hard to offer a lake vacation.  He quietly keeps buying more fun toys to play with on the water.

He also loves a good, competitive, thinking-required game on a Sunday afternoon.  He is too serious for my taste but he has taught the kids to think things through, to accept losing, to keep playing even when its not as fun in hopes that you might turn things around.

I guess in life he is like that.  He does his best, works through disappointments, and keeps his eye on the goal. He has a gift for making things just a little bit better.  If its worth doing, he wants to do well.  If its worth building, he wants to build it to last. Its always good to be prepared and pretty much anything can be fixed.

I continue to learn from him and to feel his love. I feel safe and loved and appreciated and grateful when I think of Mr. O.

(warning, a bit of a rant ahead)

obviously this hedge is threatening her roses and need that big chunk taken out of the middle

These are the precious rose garden that is intentionally being killed by bees because I planted a hedge too close to our wall.

And here is my patient and hard working husband doing what he can to keep the peace.

I have recently had another unwelcome lesson on being a neighbor and being patient and forgiving.  I have a neighbor next door who like to write me messages on messenger when she wants to complain.  It is usually masked in some sort of "we like you but would you..."  This time it is "how are you and your family. I hope all is well.  Your bushes that have been near our wall for 15 years are now attracting bees that are killing my tea roses.  Now that I have decided the only place in my big corner lot yard to plant my tea roses is under your bushes I expect you to trim your bushes back and re-do your sprinkling system so that no water will reach my roses."  Granted these are not her exact words but they are what I hear. Obviously all bees are bad for roses and the only reason that bees would come to her yard is because of my bushes (cotoneaster).  And obviously we are the ones at fault and it is our responsibility and duty to adjust our yard to fit her concerns.

In an effort to be nice I trimmed the hedge at the property line.  In an effort to let me know I am not meeting her expectations, she came across and cut branches out of the middle of the hedge that were an inch thick because they were connected to some smaller branches that she felt threatened her roses or the cinder block wall between us.

I was angry and felt violated to find my hedge butchered by her way beyond the property line.  When I wrote back to ask her to not cut my bushes again she called me unkind and started quoting "A soft answer turneth away wrath"?  Then she accused me of being weird because it was pageant time.

It was again one of the oddest conversation with crazy reasoning but with one continuous theme saying that I/we are in the wrong.

(enough, back to fathers)
I know the desire of my husband is to protect and provide.  I was wise enough not to share with him the gritty details of her crazy.  I did ask him to do what he could to adjust the sprinkler.  (Especially since now there is very little hedge to block the water from coming over to her roses).  He spent a great deal of time with sweat dripping off his nose to move this sprinkler and adjust it.  I know he did not do it for her.  He did it for me.  I am so grateful for his servant heart.

He is a great example to me.  As I try to work through the anger and ill feelings, listen to talks about forgiveness, I get to see him simply moving forward, doing his best, serving others, sharing his talents and becoming better each day.

The men I know are like that.  They are tough, strong, capable.  They are also kind, gentle and thoughful.  They want to be our everything and they make great effort.  They give so much for their kids and their wives.  They work hard every day to provide for their families and then they come home ready to teach, protect, love their family.  It truly is a beautiful plan of happiness.

I am sorry to have been petty and irritated with Ellen but I am finding the balance of standing up for truth and right.  I am grateful to not have dragged my dear husband into the details and let him stay above the fray. I am not sorry for anything I have said or done.  In fact, it has given me lots of time to consider who I am and who I want to be as well as the kind of person I do not want to be.  She often says we are good neighbors and she loves us.  I can not return those words to her.  I wish she wasn't our neighbor and I struggle to like her. But I choose to be kind anyway.  I feel mistreated by her and would hate to see how she would treat us if she didn't "love us".

Hoping for a better day tomorrow.  Life is good and I have a good husband and father to my children. God's plan helps us in families be the best that we can be.

accused

Yestesday was rough.  I am learning that it is about perspective.

I received a phone call from a friend who was very angry. She lit into me telling me what a horrible son I had, how dumb and mean all the boys in our town are, how her son was hard working, decent and treated unfairly.

I just listened. She cried. I said I was sorry. I couldn't hold back tears either.  I am super uncomfortable with conflict.  This felt like a direct attack and I didn't know what to do about it.  I have learned to be quiet. Let them have their say and then just give it time.

Unfortunately, though I had serious doubts about her accusations I was hurt and cried a lot.  That tends to upset my family.  By the time this sweet son got home he could tell I was very sad.  As I told him about the call I had received his eyes teared up and with them rolling down his cheek he said I wish I knew what I did wrong.

So here is the story.

The mom tells me that her son, who never gets invited anywhere and just earn money to buy a nice bike so he could be "in", saw my son and his friends.  He headed over to join them, crashed. My son came to him and said, "wow, that was cool" and then started to make fun of him.  All those other boys also came over and made fun of him. Teased him for wearing boots and jeans and a knife on his belt.  Left him to limp home hurt and alone, again.  She was now putting him back together physically and emotionally. She told me my son and my daughter were not nice people. (my daughter was not there).

As I talked to Simeon, his understanding was very different.  They were out biking. They saw this friend and they all headed towards each other.  When the friend crashed they did go over to him. They did say cool. (That is what they do. They compliment the wipe out, they laugh with the boy, it is much more comfortable than coddling and often if they can laugh through the pain they all feel better about mistakes and trying again.).  Sim invited the boy to come riding with them.  He just left the other direction and went home.  None of the boys had any idea that this friend was offended or hurt or sad.

Now what?

We prayed. We gathered up all the other boys and headed to this friend's house.  He welcomed us in.  I could see no visible injuries (which might be why the boys just asked him to join them rather than escorting him home).  We asked the friend to speak first and share what he experienced.  It was nothing as bad as the mom had described.  They boys talked, laughed, shared some of their embarrassing wipe outs. Admitted that they had all ridden in boots and jeans and the danger of having a knife on your belt from first hand experience.

The fact of the matter is that this mom is feeling lonely. The boys are not leaving her son out on purpose. They don't even get together very often. He is free to call them as well. Unfortunately she wouldn't see that the way the boys handled his wreck was actually a very inclusive 'you're one of us' way of dealing with it.  It was a way to help a guy save face.

It occurred to me last night as we were headed to bed that this poor mom is like an injured animal that is hurting and is quick to lash out, to assume that others are out to get her and her family.  It hurt me a lot but I can't really be mad at her.  I got to be her landing spot, her safe place to vent.  Hopefully it helped.

One day she will be ready to learn that these are all good boys.  She will learn that they are not given special privilege because of their name. They had to earn their own bikes too. They work and study and struggle. Someday when she learns some of the very real and difficult challenges these boys are working through with other friends, she might be very grateful that her boy is just lonely and not cutting himself or suicidal.

Someday.

We all have so much we are dealing with.  It is not a competition to see whose life is hardest. We each have our own tailor made life education. It is part of building relationships, building character, practicing courage and kindness. It is especially a chance to repent and to forgive.  We get to learn to love and trust by trial and error. We get hurt. We learn to see the good in every situation (or we just learn that God can find the good, create the good, use it all for our good and his glory)  It would be well to remember that we are all hurting and to just be patient when someone needs to let off some steam.  Somehow I will learn not to take it personally.  Already I am forgiving. I realize that truth wins.  Even if my son had done something wrong, we could learn from it.  This time he did right, very right.  I am so very proud of his tender heart and his courage to move forward in the face of wrongful accusations and try to make things better.

We just don't know what is going on with anyone else.  We don't know what silent battles they are fighting.  Just the other day as I found myself loosing patience with my daughter I found this little reminder that she is a sweet, kind, little girl who is just figuring out the growing up thing. She leaves evidence everywhere of her desire to be happy and bring joy to others. Seek and ye shall find.

What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it. I choose to remember that a friend was hurting and we became more aware and were able to be there to help them when they were falling, a safe place to land those punches. Then we can all heal and move forward. This is me. This is us. We are doing the best we know how and we will trust that you are too.

Today I added names to the prayer roll at the temple and added my own additional prayer.  Then I found this article very comforting.  May I Pray for You?

A trip to Orlando

We enjoyed a wonderful trip to Orlando, Florida.  We started planning a year ago and it was questionable whether I would be able to go or not but I made it, had a good time, and am so grateful.

 Her first plane ride.  We ended up in economy class and a window seat.  It was great.

 First trip to the Atlantic Ocean.  We ate at the North Turn beach-side restaurant and  could run out to the water while we waited for our food.

 So much memorabilia inside the restaurant about racing along the beach and neat old cars.

We visited the Daytona 500 speedway and did a tour of the raceway and stadium.  Isaac wants to be a racer. The rest of us just kept comparing things to the movie "Cars" since we don't really follow the racing circuit.

 We visited Blue Springs state park and the brave ones went swimming.

 The water was so incredibly clear that we felt if there were anything dangerous in the water, they would see it.

 We stayed in a great condo at the Marriot Imperial Palms.  Three bedrooms. There were 9 of us and it had the capacity to sleep 10.  Sure nice to be in a great space together and have a full kitchen too.

Sea World was a big hit.  We enjoyed the sea creatures, the shows and the crazy roller coasters

 A fun day spent at the Kennedy Space Center.  In preparation the night before we watched Apollo 13

 We also toured the church ranch and started in the visitors center with this huge gator. It was on our tour that we saw our first live gator on the shore sunning himself.  He can sure more quick when Milt threatened to come near.

We headed out for an airboat ride and happened on this lecture about alligators and learned some fun facts.  This little gator was actually 18 years old but was a runt that she had rescued and kept as a pet.

The kids voted for me, Mom, to be the one to hold the gator.  It was really cool.

 We enjoyed an exotic lunch at the cabbage fish...place.

 Dining on frog legs

 and gator meat.

 Our airboat ride was quite fun.  They are much louder and faster than I expected.  Because of hurricane Matthew the water level was high and we did not see alligators but we did see cows our in the marshland.

 Our last day we finally spent at a beach, Clearwater Beach.  The sand was amazing and the waves were so fun.

 Half of our crew flew out first thing in the morning. The rest of us had some time to kill so we visited a citrus orchard and had a tour on one of these monster buses.  It was so fun!

 Finally going home and Debbie and Henry got to share the window.

Our Florida trip was organized by Peter and Dane. Both of them served in the Florida Orlando English speaking mission and had their very own experiences without even overlapping any areas. The highlights of our trip involved visiting the families and people they had grown to love in the mission field.  Several of them even fed our crew dinner.  For me as mom it was a payday.  My boys served valiantly. They loved the people and the people loved them.  I got to watch my son as he connected with the people, taught them, prayed with them and encouraged them in their continued journey of conversion.

Grateful

• missionary experiences and missions that help boys become good men
• strength and energy to be with my family
• safety for all
• though I had some major allergy thing going on, it only lasted 2 days
• My family likes being together
• Good food and lots of it.
• happy memories made and remembered