Super Blood Moon

This morning Makenna and I got to see the Super Blood Moon before heading to Seminary.

I didn't get a picture.

The picture she got isn't that great either. 

So instead you get a picture of me jamming out to tunes doing business taxes while Corban plays on the computer next to me. 

And you also get a photo of Afton and I, because quite frankly, I don't think anyone can have too much Afton in their lives. 

 

Farmhouse gratitude

Today I have kind of been crawling out of my skin.

I don't know what it is.

I ate an entire chocolate maca bar and then had a horrible stomach ache.

Duh.

I spent hour after hour swimming in DNA matches for my dad.

I am on to something that is exciting.

I just need to figure out some more things in regards to relationships and DNA.

I sent my sister a text telling her I hate it here in January.

I haven't said I hate it here for years.

This year seems like a good year to do that again.

Matt spent all day in the greenhouse getting the heater working.

It is on!

I went out to feel the heat and as I was walking back I looked at my farmhouse.

I love this house.

I love that it is paid for.

I love that it is set back in the woods.

I love the front porch.

I decided that I could still be grateful even if I was a hater today.

Tomorrow should be better.

At least I will be distracted by Afton.

MINDFUL

I couldn't remember if I said or not but I chose the word MINDFUL for my word of 2018. 

I really am trying to be more mindful.

I think that actively doing that enriches the moments that I exist. 

I still remember in the fall how I went down to the lake and practiced being mindful of everything that was happening there. 

Today I practiced again in our regional conference. 

I was surprised at all I noticed.

One thing I noticed was that I thought my kids weren't really listening.

They were drawing cartoon strips for each other.

But when we were headed home in the car I asked each of them about the meeting and they all had stuff to say, except Corban.

He has such issues focusing anyway.

We REALLY need to practice focusing for him.

I tried to not only notice the messages being shared, which were awesome and about service and happiness and more, but about what was happening in the room.

While they spoke about service, I saw it happening all around me.

At one point a sister had a seizure and many quietly helped her out of the room. 

Medical help was given and an ambulance was called.

I noticed another sister signing for those hearing impaired until the technology could be set up for them to watch someone sign on the TV.

I saw two little kids go to their grandparents who held them on their laps and cuddled and loved them. 

I found myself so grateful to be part of something so wonderful.

Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is my favorite thing.

 

Getting ready

Matt and I spent some time in the nursery today cleaning up.

It was a mess in there. 

I'm pretty excited for this growing season.

Matt is VERY excited.

He's been spending hours and hours getting everything planned out.

The hope is that this will be the year he leaves construction and becomes a full time farmer. 

Fingers and toes crossed.

He finally got the heater started in the main greenhouse so we will be able to get that cleaned out soon as well.

Right now it is still pretty unorganized in there.

We still have beds that have plants from last season dead in them.

Once it gets warmer in there I'm sure I will be spending a lot of time there. 

 

Cold Snap and Earthquake

The forecast for the next two days is between -12 and 2.

The heater can't keep up in the house when that happens so Corban and I decided to stack some wood on the porch in preparation.

We have the wood stove but do not use it as much as we really should be.

I am going to try and use it more.

Our gas bill is ridiculous.

Anyway, we used the sled to drag the chopped wood from the pile to the house. 

I have no idea why it is stacked so far from the house.

That is going to change this summer. 

Then this morning I guess there was a 8.0 earthquake.

I slept through it, but I do remember not sleeping very well most of the night.

Matt woke up.

He thought I was shaking my foot in my sleep and shaking the bed.

Nope.

Always an adventure living in Alaska.

 

Low Key

Things have been pretty low key lately.

I enjoy low key.

We went to the temple Friday night and enjoyed a pretty great experience.

I love the temple and those times when I am aware that Heavenly Father is aware of us on earth. 

Last night Sam brought her little family over for dinner. 

I love Afton.

I can't say that enough.

I love Matt too.

 Brittan and Matt made some strudles for dessert.

They got devoured.

It was fun to see them working in the kitchen together.

 

Me and My Jenwood

We are back to our Thursday schedule of classes for Corban.

That means I am in town all day.

Initially, jenwood and I had decided on brunch, but I am really trying to eat healthier and that would have been a horrible temptation.

I suggested walking instead.

We made lap after lap for over an hour.

We talked about so many things.

I love her spirit.

I don't know how else to put it.

She is an light giver.

Hooray for wonderful people in my life! 

Afton Fest

We changed our Afton day to Tuesday to help Sam out with babysitting, so she doesn't have to pay a sitter that day.

He's the funnest kid.

For real.

I made a smoothie and sat down to drink it.

He felt the need to share.

He kept trying to get the straw with his tongue and in the process kept licking my face.

The straw was a bendable one so when he figured out that getting it with his tongue wasn't going to work he just grabbed it and bent it toward him.

I was just laughing more than anything.

I had to take Corban to swim so we hung out while Corban did his lesson.

I love this sweet kid! 

 

My Jenwood Friend

Around lunchtime Jenwood texted and asked if Corban wanted to play with Sambo.

So I drove Corban in to town so they could play.

I love that they are still friends after all these years.

I also love that I am still friends with Jenwood after all these years.

Brittan picked Corban up from their house around 6pm and Jen had sent a Christmas gift for me home with them.

I opened it and to my surprise it was this really cute gnome thermal shirt, comfy socks and a mug that said "Owl always love you" with an owl on it.

Shes pretty great that Jenwood.

She knows how to give good gifts. 

 

Emotions

I had a moment during sacrament meeting today.

I was sitting alone during the opening song.

Corban was passing the sacrament, Makenna was on the stand leading the music, Brittan was home and Matt is in Kenai.

As I was singing I heard my youngest brother right behind me singing the song as well.

All of a sudden I was overcome with emotion.

I was so grateful that behind me was him, his wife, their 3 year old and their twins.

I thought about how grateful I was for his efforts to live the gospel.

I was grateful for his wife who, I am sure, is a great example of striving to do what's right.

Then I was sad for a moment for all those I love that aren't following his example.

For those that are outwardly rebelling.

For those who don't understand.

Then I went back to loving my brother and his example.

I feel blessed to be his sister.

A little while later, after Corban and Makenna joined me, I noticed Corban's artwork.

 I don't think he was really paying attention to the talks.

Not what we were expecting

Last Saturday Brittan woke up with swollen eyes.

She had just washed her sheets a few days before and we thought maybe she had gotten an allergy to the detergent.

A few days went by and she complained of headaches and was tired.

I switched out the detergent with allergy sensitive kind but no improvement.

Then this morning she told me that she had been having bloody noses every morning for four days.

At that point I was a bit more concerned than before.

I had thought it was just an allergic reaction to something, if not the sheets then something she ate, but now it seemed more serious and I figured I should take her in.

We went to the Urgent Care and they got us right in.

They did all the initial stuff and then the doctor came in.

He asked her some questions.

Then he said he wanted to do one more test.

For mono.

Our eyes both got wide and we laughed, but test we did.

And sure enough it came back positive.

We laughed some more.

She probably got it from sharing her chapstick with someone.

The last time she kissed anyone was before summer break so we knew it wasn't that.

I was actually pretty relieved to know what it was.

The doctor must have thought we were too light hearted and he emphasized how serious mono can be.

I didn't take the chance to tell him that before we entered the office I was thinking brain tumor so mono was pretty great.

I might overreact sometimes.

Anyway,

Mono.

Hahaha

Sunlight!

The clouds moved enough for a few hours this afternoon that I saw the sun.

It was so exciting.

I determined that I HAD to get out in it.

I put my snow boots on and decided that I would walk down by the lake, through the wooded path, around by the bees, and then back to the house.

I figured the snow wouldn't be too deep because we really haven't gotten a lot of snow.

When I got to the lake and started on the trail I noticed a truck had driven down there.

Not sure who or when but I followed the tracks until they split off into the neighbors property.

Then I found myself battling the snow.

It actually was pretty deep.

At one point it was up to my thigh which meant my boots were filled with snow because my pants were tucked into them.

It was totally worth it.

Enjoying the sunlight for those minutes was just what my soul needed.

I had to head through the woods back to the house though.

I need to invest in some snowshoes if I intend on taking more walks this winter.

I never appreciated the sunlight growing up in Arizona.

I love it so much.

I miss that kind of sunlight on months like these.

College bound

Makenna skipped 7th grade. 

It was just so boring to her.

That means she entered high school when she was 13.

She's been going to Redington for a year and a half now.

She hates it.

Mostly because of the atmosphere.

I also don't really think she is being educationally challenged.

So, next year she will start taking college classes.

At 15 years old.

That's kind of cool.

By the time she graduates high school she will be 17 and have tons of college credits.

By the time she is 19 she could have her Bachelors degree.

It took me 25 years to get my bachelors degree.

Haha.

I really can't compare our situations.

I think she is pretty incredible.

I'm glad she's mine.

Dallin Post

Monday's mean emails from Dallin.

I like to hear how he is doing. 

This week he told me he was struggling.

Super emotional and didn't know why. 

As his mom that is hard for me because I can't help him much from so far away.

I sent back some positive words in the hopes it would help.

We've said prayers for him.

I know he is struggling with his companion.

That's a pattern.

Then I emailed the mission president and asked him if we (Kenna, Corban, and I) could take Dal out to lunch when we go down to California next month.

He said no.

I was bummed even though I knew he would say no.

It's against mission rules.

Sometimes I struggle a bit with giving my son completely to the mission. 

Then today the lady that does the newsletter in the ward he is serving in sent me a copy and his phone number was right on it!

Ah!

The temptation!

I could just send a text.

But no, I won't.

I gave my son to the Lord for two years.

I can suck it up.

Two years feels really long right now.

Family heirlooms: The coffee table

When I went to get Jamie I had to wait a little while and ended up visiting with my Mom and Dad.

We got on the subject of the coffee table and my dad told me the story of how it came to be.

When he was about 16 years old there was a guy that their family knew that worked with lumber, specifically redwoods.

He had just tons and tons of end pieces in his yard and one day offered a few pieces to my dad.

Well, years went by and the pieces were stored in the rafters of the garage.

When he was about 23 their coffee table broke. 

He said they didn't have any money to go and buy a new one.

Then he remembered the pieces of redwood.

He pulled this piece down and turned it into a coffee table.

We joked about how he obtained that wood 50 years ago!

This table has been in the family ever since.

Almost every person (maybe every one) that has come to our house growing up hit their shins or knees on it.

All of the kids were fighting about who would inherit it and then it was decided that it would be Dad's gravestone with everyone's names engraven on it. 

I actually really love that chunk of wood.

The stories it could tell if it could only talk!

 

Crazy Saturday Night!

It had been a minute since we have had Jamie over so I went and got her yesterday morning. 

That girl basically brought her entire room.

She is still so fun, loves white pasta, doesn't want Trapper in the house, and loves to paint her own fingernails(and her clothing in the process).

She slept in the girls room with her fold out bed that she brought over, but really we all know she was sleeping in Kenna's bed with her. 

Kenna might have been more comfortable on the floor. 

When we had to take her home after church she didn't want to get out of the car.

She told Kenna that she wanted to live at our house again.

When Kenna told her that her mom would miss her she said that she could just visit her at the red building again. 

That is crazy that she still remembers those visits from when she lived with us over 3 years ago.

I love her.

I worry about her.

I pray for her!

Also, Afton joined us for part of the evening so it was a mad house.

One thing was for sure, Afton is more calm than Jamie.

It was a fun night. 

Also do your people eat Oreo's like this?

 

 

Insights

I love the cotton candy colors in the sky this morning. 

Last night, as I was in bed, I was reading more on Hygge.

This is the perfect time of year for lots and lots of reading. 

In fact, I have about 4 different books started and I really need to finish a few of them.

In my reading I came across an interesting insight.

Maybe it won't be interesting to anyone else, but it was to me.

Research shows that "our relationships affect our happiness."

Seems simple enough.

Makes complete sense.

But then I started thinking about people who I think are happy.

They have close relationships with a small amount of people.

Then I thought about people who are not happy.

And their relationships are awful with others.

Our relationships affect our happiness! 

Strengthening our relationships with others seems pretty important when you think about this insight.

Doing things together, being understood, feeling a sense of belonging and giving and receiving support are key to our relationships and our happiness.

The book also talked about Kagemand (cakeman).It is a gingerbread in the shape of a man that children have at their birthday parties.

They cut the throat of the cakeman while the party participants all scream. 

Seems legit.

 

Our Prophet Dear

This morning as I checked my social media I saw post after post of this mighty and faithful man. 

President Thomas S Monson was light to this world.

 I am so happy for him that he is now done with this portion of our Heavenly Father's plan. 

He taught me to never postpone a prompting and to be kind. 

He taught me how to serve others through his example.

I'm so glad he gets to be with his wife again. 

I know God still has prophets on this earth and he was one of them.

 I'm so grateful for the peace that knowledge brings.

A New Year!

It's day two of the new year. 

It's been kind of low key so far.

That is probably good. 

I am a little concerned about not having tons of stuff to do. 

This is the first time in a really long, long time.

It's 42 degrees outside right now so I decided to take a walk.

It was so beautiful out.

Me, no so much.

I haven't put on regular pants or makeup for days.

That's fine. 

Next week I will be back to teaching seminary and homeschool will be back in full swing.

Plus swim lessons for Corban again. 

There will be stuff to do soon enough.

I am thinking about writing a book about the Savior's interactions with others and what we can learn from them.

I'm also hoping to get some clients for family history stuff.

Otherwise, I am going to start on Matt's line because I just can't stay away from it for very long. 

And today I feel hungry.

Like I just want to eat lots of stuff. 

Anway, Happy New Year!