Quick Trip and a New Job

Richard had a job interview in Layton Utah last week.  This was to be his second interview with this company and it is a job he really wanted to get.  We decided to take the kids and make it a quick fun family trip in addition to the interview. While there we went to Cherry Hill water park.  It was a fun filled day of swimming, miniature golf, mazes, rock wall climbing and just plain fun!  Our favorite place was the lazy river.  It turned out to be a cloudy day and a little cool, so the place was pretty empty. But we are die hard Oregonians and weren't going to let cool and cloudy ruin our fun!  It was nice!

The night we got home Richard got the call!  He got the job.  He will be working as an electrical technician for a company called Schlumberger.  He will work two weeks away from home.  They will fly him around and then home for a week then back out to work two more weeks.  It is a tremendous relief after having no income for the past four months.  This job pays very well and will allow me and the kids to stay here in our home for at least another year.  For now, avoiding the huge change of moving is really important for the kids sake.  It will also take the pressure off me finding a job really fast after graduation.  If he settles into a place where he loves working, we may end up moving to be with him.  There are many location options and nothing is certain right now and we don't want to have to move the kids several times over the next few years.  Nothing has been certain for a long time now, so I am choosing not to worry and look at this as an adventure that could lead us anywhere. We are so blessed!

Before heading home we stopped at a fun restaurant that was having a half price special.  Have I ever mentioned how much I adore my little people???

Craters of the Moon

We decided to go out to the Craters of the Moon National Park and see what it is all about.  We took the Jeep with its top off and enjoyed the beautiful day!  We loved seeing all the different rock formations and plants. I found this quote about the park and it pretty much sums it up, 

"The strangest 75 square miles on the North American continent."

We decided to try the hike up the Inferno Cone Trail.  It was very steep and I almost didn't go, but I imagined the view must be incredible so up we went.  I had to stop a few times, but it was well worth the hike.  The hike itself was a half mile round trip to a 6181 foot summit that had an amazing panoramic view of the area.    I got some fun pictures at the top!

During our wanderings, the kids were working on their Lunar Ranger booklets.  So back at the gift shop they were sworn in and each received a patch.  After they were sworn in the Ranger made the announcement and everyone in the shop cheered!  It was a really fun way to spend the day!

Rexburg Airshow

I am from the land of amazing airshows.  I volunteered at the Hillsboro Airshow for many years in my youth.  I have attended many and have always loved a good air show.  Well, every two years Rexburg hosts a free airshow for the community. In fact, the day we moved here two years ago was Airshow day.  Obviously we did not get to attend due to unloading the moving truck, but we looked forward to being able to go to one while we live here.  I kind of thought it would turn out to be 4 or 5 people from Rexburg who own planes, flying them around for all to see. I was wrong.

We decided to take the littles  and go see what it was all about.  It was four hours of fun performances, including the Jelly Belly plane that does silly stunts and lands on top of a truck. It also took off, flew super high and the turned off its engines and slowly and ever so gracefully glided down to the ground, landing with the engines still off.  Very cool! One nice thing about a small town airshow is we were sitting right by the runway. I got some fun pictures.  It was a very fun way to spend a Saturday!

 

 

 

 

 

Elder Stafford

 A joyous occasion!

This is Kayla, she decided to follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized by proper authority. Pretty soon she'll have the opportunity to take a trip to Nauvoo and do baptism for the dead in the temple. I have a testimony this Church is true and this gospel is for everyone. And through the Lord's plan, families can be together for eternity. 

Elder Stafford

When we have holidays on a Monday, we don't get preparation day; we have it on Tuesday instead. I just got the letters and photos from the kids today. The letters were marvelous.

Last Tuesday, Elder J and I traveled to Charlotte and had a trainer-trainee meeting. That meeting helped me with my teaching. On our way back to Morganton, there was a homeless lady that needed food and money. I realized I had a couple of fruit rollups in my suit jacket, so I gave them to her. Elder P and Elder K came with us because we got another car. As of now, Morganton is an all car mission because Elder P can't ride a bike because of this wrist injury. On Saturdays Elder P and Elder K walk because every Saturday is car fast day, which is the day that we don't use the cars.

I finally learned how to polish my shoes, since I didn't remind Richard to teach me how; Elder K did.

Ward members do pretty good with feeding us, we rarely make dinner.

President and Sister Craven visited our ward on Sunday. They were travailing to Hickory to interview missionaries and our ward was along the way there, so they came and visited us. It was great to see them.

From, Elder Stafford

Serious Warning to Mom's Everywhere!!

A mission is an amazing thing.  Those who chose to serve the Lord for 18 months or two years are the most courageous people I know!  It can't be easy going off into the unknown. It would require so much faith!  I know missions are wonderful things and I was so happy when my son Jacob decided to dedicate two years of his life to the Lord.  I was thrilled.  Until the date of his departure got closer and closer. My excitement turned to worry and sorrow and I could not understand what my problem was.  So here is my advice, be prepared to feel anything you may need to feel!  You may be fine letting go of your child to serve a mission.  We are raised in the church to know that this is just what we do.  It is a beautiful, glorious thing.  And you may never have a second thought about it.  If that is the case, yay!

But I am here to say that if as the time grows nearer for letting go of your child, and you start to feel emotions that stray from joy and peace, it is okay.  My personal feeling is that giving up your child for two whole years, after spending 18-20 years raising them, is not an easy or natural thing for many of us.  We love our children. We grow accustomed to having them in our lives.  They grow attached to us as well and may express concern as their time to leave gets closer. So if you are having trouble with the thought of letting your missionary go, know that it is okay!  Probably the majority of us moms feel that way! One mother described herself feeling a sad joy, and I think that describes it beautifully.  Turn to the Lord and ask for the strength to support your missionary and the ability to let go gracefully.  He will bless you with peace, though it may not come easily or as quickly as you may prefer!  Trust that relief will come!

Jacob has been gone for 6 weeks now.  I can say that it has gotten easier for me emotionally.  I feel so blessed to be living in this time when his letters can get to me immediately via email and that I get those letters each week. I also love that I can see his updates on his facebook page. Although I cannot communicate with him that way, I love to read the spiritual thoughts he posts. I can see so much spiritual growth already and it is such a joy for me as a mother. I have learned not to worry about him.  I have replaced fear with faith.  I know that the Lord is watching out for him.

Picnic in the Wild!

After we saw the falls we went to the campground that is still closed to overnight visitors.  We built a fire in a fire pit near the river and enjoyed roasting hot dogs and marshmallows.  It was a fun way to spend the afternoon, out in the Lord's beautiful world!

Annalina found some shiny obsidian

Annalina gets a lesson in fire building

Love these kiddos

Washing up after dinner

On the way home the kids fell asleep. It is a little hard to see, but Annalina is bent forward with her head in her hat and Joseph is leaning over behind her.  So cute!

How we Jeep!

Took a few fun photos of the Jeep while out this weekend. We have a lot of fun with it!

 How we get out of the Jeep..

Where's Joseph??

 

How we get into the Jeep...

Actually both kids are good at hopping in and out of the back of the Jeep. I just loved that they were having so much fun with it!