Thank you all for coming! I know it's tight, and thanks for putting up with the crunched quarters! It was great to see everyone taking care of everybody else's children! You guys are just so great!
Thomas gave a wonderful talk in his YSA ward on Family History and Temple Work. Then he and Emma sang in our ward. Lauren wasn't feeling well so Sister Bennett saved the day and accompanied them at the last minute!
We're getting excited for our Christmas gathering which we will be letting you know more about within this week. We'll let you know the where, when, how, why, how long, who, etc etc etc.
Thanks for doing the music. It's always so good to here and Emma absolutely loves it when she gets to sing with her siblings. Thanks again for putting up with the very small space:) we really love it when you come! Dad liked the food, visiting, football, and of course ping pong (I don't think he'd like it so much if he'd lost;) Mom's favorite parts were holding babies (no shortage there!), playing heads up seven up (?), pie night, oh and the cousins Christmas Concert! It was awesome!
Note from Em (cuz I didn't want to write one by myself): Thanks for coming everybody! Skits were super duper fun! Y'all did so good! The food was awesome and I loved having you guys here! Thanks for putting up with me sometimes! You guys are pretty much my favorite ever! Come again, okay? I kinda like that;) I liked pretty much basically all of it! Black Friday shopping was awesome, pie night, games, putting kids to sleep etc etc etc;)
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Flake Fun
29 Nov 2015 - Well we made it home safe and sound. Glad to hear that everyone else did as well.
We had such a great time this week with everyone! Good food. Good company. Just a good week overall. It was rejuvenating Now it is back to the grindstone!
We had such a great time this week with everyone! Good food. Good company. Just a good week overall. It was rejuvenating Now it is back to the grindstone!
Hart Happenings
Jack thinks this week's post should say: "We're having crepes for dinner, bye!"
In reality, Thanksgiving was wonderful! So good to be with our favorite people on the planet! And the snowstorm just topped it all off. It really put us in the holiday mood and the kids and I have been decorating for Christmas all afternoon. Our little elf on the shelf re-appeared while we were gone and the boys love trying to track her down in the morning.
Thanks to everyone for being so great and for treating our kids so nicely. They are your biggest fans.
Monday, November 23, 2015
Hyde Park Happiness
Apples, tomatoes (spaghetti sauce), making a video for RS, calling people for a RS program, finishing my very involved research project, lots of prenatal/postpartum visits, and battling a silly headache for several days consumed the week. All are finished, except the apples, and we are ready to get ready for the BIG day (weekend)!
Emma's date turned out well, despite her off-the-charts stress level (or maybe because of her stress level). I think they all had a great time! It's so satisfying to see the caliber of friends our children choose. I've very grateful for that. Not a worry at all to leave them here for a few minutes so Dad and I could go to Lauren's and Nick's for dinner. They very graciously invited us when I told them we were going out somewhere since our kitchen had been taken over and there was no food for us! We enjoyed a very yummy dinner with them and some inspiring conversation. Lauren is looking more robust all the time and seems to be feeling sick less often. How nice! She even played racquetball the other day and has been using the little trampoline.
On to a few days of trying to get the house ready and loose ends tied up before you all get here. Which I am looking forward to more than anyone else!!! Happy Thanksgiving to us all!!
Emma's date turned out well, despite her off-the-charts stress level (or maybe because of her stress level). I think they all had a great time! It's so satisfying to see the caliber of friends our children choose. I've very grateful for that. Not a worry at all to leave them here for a few minutes so Dad and I could go to Lauren's and Nick's for dinner. They very graciously invited us when I told them we were going out somewhere since our kitchen had been taken over and there was no food for us! We enjoyed a very yummy dinner with them and some inspiring conversation. Lauren is looking more robust all the time and seems to be feeling sick less often. How nice! She even played racquetball the other day and has been using the little trampoline.
On to a few days of trying to get the house ready and loose ends tied up before you all get here. Which I am looking forward to more than anyone else!!! Happy Thanksgiving to us all!!
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Em's Exciting Existence
Remind me I never want to plan a girls choice dance ever again in my life. It was fun but golly moses, I was nervous nothing would work out! So, we went up to Idaho to get our tree for our day date! How cool is that? mom came up with that! She's awesome! You really should've seen their faces when I suggested we go hunt christmas trees.... That was a very new experience for all of them! Harley Cragun is one of my most favorite people ever! She took Nathan Hunzinger and I took Devin Potts (one of the redhead bunch;) It was a good thing Harley and I didn't go alone. We had no clue of direction in the snow and mountains but the boys got us out all right! We got a really large tree, about twelve feet tall maybe but we cut it in half so that we could fit it in Harley's truck. It's a very nice tree and we all smelled like evergreen for the rest of the day:) It was awesome! then we just had some hot chocolate (also mom's brilliantness coming into play) and chatted for a long time. Then we loaded back up and drove back to our house. We proceeded to make crepes (again, thanks be to wonderful mothers who relive their daughters extreme stress by setting the table, getting fresh fruit and fancy juice) and they were wonderful! We made a double batch and gobbled all of it! then we cleaned up and listened to music. We chopped of the very top of our tree so there was a little tree left over from that, and we took it to Harley's house. We decorated it with homemade decorations and took it to Mr. Geddes's house (he's the favorite teacher at SV and he teaches Psych) and doorbell ditched it. It was legit cuz I was the getaway driver and we peeled out and went screeching down the subdevision (don't worry, we didn't really peel out and go screeching, but it sounds better that way). Then we went to Harley's house again and decided to culture me with a bit of Star Wars which was AWESOME! Although my favorite character died super unexpectedly, it was great! I'm real upset about that actually but I'll get over it.... someday. Anyway, remind me not to be home late ever again because getting the look from dad is absolutely the worst ever. Yep, bad idea. Y'all know what I'm talking about don't you? I hope I'm not the only child that's got that look before....
Well, love you all and can't wait to see you guys super soon! Tell Gracie that it's fine and she can totally sleep in my room again! ;)
Well, love you all and can't wait to see you guys super soon! Tell Gracie that it's fine and she can totally sleep in my room again! ;)
Hart Happenings
Well, we didn't get that house. I guess the cemetery district wanted it too and it's hard to outbid an entity that has unlimited cash at its disposal. Alas. This house finding thing is quite the process. It was nice to talk to Joe about it and realize that they looked for about 8 months before coming across the place they're in now. I just get impatient.
Jack lost a tooth too!
Peter trying to get his hair to lay down flat.
It snowed this week. For real! The boys had fun playing in the snow with the neighbor boys.
Ian sang at the Festival of Trees which is a fun local even organized to benefit adults with disabilities. Different businesses decorate Christmas trees and donate them and then people can buy them for their personal Christmas tree. They are all GORGEOUS!
We hosted our Super Saturday at the church this past weekend which was fun. I made rice bags for all the kids. So now there are enough to go around and I can have mine back!
We toured Albertson's with our homeschooling group on Friday morning which was really fun. But one our best friends texted while we were there that she had gotten into a crash on their way to the field trip! We went out to visit them afterward and everyone was okay but that first snow storm of the season always does a number on drivers as we try to remember the driving in icy conditions rules.
We also had a great time doing Thanksgiving crafts with our neighbors on Wednesday. The projects turned out so cute! I never do that kind of stuff with the boys so it was extra fun.
We're super excited for this week! Can't wait to see you all!
Hot chocolate season is here! It is Peter's preferred beverage these days.
Although you can't tell it from his face, Peter was thrilled to see Santa ("Ho-ho") at the Festival of Trees.
And that is our silly, lovely life.
Nilsson News
We had a most amazing Stake Conference! I have given up trying to take notes when I have little people to look out for so I was doing my best trying to take mental notes. My mental capacity was fried up during the first three talks! So much was said of faith, missionary work and having the guidance of the Spirit in our lives. Elder Warner of the Seventy and his wife, were attending our conference. My favorite talk was by Sister Warner. She was explaining how in London when you are getting on and off the subway, there is a message that comes over the speakers that says, "Mind the gap." This is to warn people to pay attention to the gap between the subway and the platform. She related this to the own gaps in our lives; ones that may be confusing and prohibit us from getting from where we are to where we want to be. She kept emphasizing the importance to pay attention to them, learn to embrace them and not fear them. They are there for a reason that we may not understand, but when we look at them from the grand view of heaven, they will appear only as a mere fissure. Her experience with this was when she was wanting to be married and it just wasn't happening. She began to think that perhaps it wouldn't happen in this life. Finally, she met someone in her ward that just so happened to be the boy who grew up across the street from her. She said, "You may be wondering why I hadn't paid attention to him until now. Well let's talk of a literal gap. When I was leaving for college, he was just starting first grade!" Anyway, she was 37 and he was 25 when they got married. Now she understands and embraces that gap.
Another thing I took away from our conference was to not make a "big deal" out of things. Not many things in life are "big deal" so stop making the small things into a "big deal." My life has been reformed and now I just need to make it apparent!
We enjoyed a visit from Emma and Grandma this week which was a welcome delight. Emma needed to go shopping for some things, so I took her to the mall. Let's just say that when you take one person that is not good at shopping and combine her with another person that claims to be unsuccessful, you pretty much get a disappointing result. We at least had a fun time together! Anyone up for Black Friday shopping? If you don't want to find anything, come join me!
On Friday, we had a birthday party for Hyrum and Joseph. Garrett had to preside at a funeral the whole morning, which was a little challenging for him, but we got to spend the evening together. Balloons, pie and ice cream and singing all made it great.
We are looking forward to next week with all of you! I have to apologize to Ian though. We don't get around to watching very many Studio C episodes (okay, truth be told, we don't ever watch it. Please don't disown us!) so we hoped it would be okay if we made up a skit of our own? It won't be as entertaining as a Studio C production I'm sure, but hopefully you can be kind enough to endure it with us. See you all soon!
p.s. I think Garrett said he was wanting to bring yams and marshmallows for his in-law contribution to the meal.
Another thing I took away from our conference was to not make a "big deal" out of things. Not many things in life are "big deal" so stop making the small things into a "big deal." My life has been reformed and now I just need to make it apparent!
We enjoyed a visit from Emma and Grandma this week which was a welcome delight. Emma needed to go shopping for some things, so I took her to the mall. Let's just say that when you take one person that is not good at shopping and combine her with another person that claims to be unsuccessful, you pretty much get a disappointing result. We at least had a fun time together! Anyone up for Black Friday shopping? If you don't want to find anything, come join me!
On Friday, we had a birthday party for Hyrum and Joseph. Garrett had to preside at a funeral the whole morning, which was a little challenging for him, but we got to spend the evening together. Balloons, pie and ice cream and singing all made it great.
We are looking forward to next week with all of you! I have to apologize to Ian though. We don't get around to watching very many Studio C episodes (okay, truth be told, we don't ever watch it. Please don't disown us!) so we hoped it would be okay if we made up a skit of our own? It won't be as entertaining as a Studio C production I'm sure, but hopefully you can be kind enough to endure it with us. See you all soon!
p.s. I think Garrett said he was wanting to bring yams and marshmallows for his in-law contribution to the meal.
Manning Musings
Well, the semester is getting to crunch time! Nick is super busy but always cheerful about it and he has been able to play in some fun concerts lately. I am learning what a skill it is to write a good test! I think I worry about my students' grades more than they do!
But life is great and we are looking forward to Thanksgiving this week! Can't wait to see all of you!
Nick had the opportunity to teach a seminary class for a day a couple weeks ago. It was a good experience and we are waiting for the next phase which is teaching for one week. It is an exciting time!
Today in church was our primary program. We have such a fun dynamic in our ward because the Young Men/Young Women and the primary combine with the Spanish ward and the Chinese branch that are in our building. So there were a ton of primary kids but it was a great Spirit and lots to smile and laugh about.
That is about it for now! See you all soon!
But life is great and we are looking forward to Thanksgiving this week! Can't wait to see all of you!
Nick had the opportunity to teach a seminary class for a day a couple weeks ago. It was a good experience and we are waiting for the next phase which is teaching for one week. It is an exciting time!
Today in church was our primary program. We have such a fun dynamic in our ward because the Young Men/Young Women and the primary combine with the Spanish ward and the Chinese branch that are in our building. So there were a ton of primary kids but it was a great Spirit and lots to smile and laugh about.
That is about it for now! See you all soon!
Flake Fun
22 Nov 2015 - This week was a long one as far as work goes. I helped to host a Behavioral Health After Incident Exercise, a flu shot clinic and a military tent set up. It was nice to stay busy though. Scott has also kept quite busy with work. We are looking forward to a short work week and a visit to Utah!
Yesterday we helped TJ and Kim put up the trusses at their house. That is a long project that doesn't appear much improved when all is said and done. I think part of what makes it hard is being so high in the air and taking precautions to not fall off of the roof. There is still a lot to be done but things are moving along.
The weather has turned really cold and we have starting building fires every night. We have a thick frost each morning but no permanent snow.
Well, I think that is all for this post. Not much went on this week. If anyone can think of anything they would like us to bring up with us this week, please let me know by Tuesday evening. We are hoping to leave first thing on Wednesday morning! Can't wait to see all of you!
Yesterday we helped TJ and Kim put up the trusses at their house. That is a long project that doesn't appear much improved when all is said and done. I think part of what makes it hard is being so high in the air and taking precautions to not fall off of the roof. There is still a lot to be done but things are moving along.
The weather has turned really cold and we have starting building fires every night. We have a thick frost each morning but no permanent snow.
Well, I think that is all for this post. Not much went on this week. If anyone can think of anything they would like us to bring up with us this week, please let me know by Tuesday evening. We are hoping to leave first thing on Wednesday morning! Can't wait to see all of you!
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Flake Fun
15 Nov 2015 - Well, we had stake conference too but we were at a missionary homecoming but I'm sure it was great. The homecoming was wonderful. There was a sister leaving, an elder coming home and the high council man. Take away messages: don't forget to fellowship and be grateful!
We had Wednesday off for Veteran's day and we spent the whole day at TJ and Kim's new home putting up exterior walls and a few interior. On Friday we put up sheeting around the garage. Now it is looking like a house without a roof. The trusses are supposed to be coming on Saturday so that is probably where we will be. Scott has become quite an expert framer. It will be great to have them back in the neighborhood...in March or so. It seems like a long way off.
Our new rental is coming along but we will be stopping most major projects here in a few days so that TJ and Kim can move in. It seemed a waste for us to have an empty 5 bedroom house while they were living in a camping trailer. So we came to a mutual agreement and they will be there until their house is done.
The weather has been beautiful of late. We got a truckload of mulch and Scott is working on getting the tiller running (it's been sitting for 10 years or so). Hopefully we'll have a good garden prep so we can have a fantastic garden next year.
Glad to hear that the Hart's have an offer in. Glad to hear the Nilsson's have a bathroom in...kind of and that they survived Eliza's grumpiness. Sad to hear that Lauren is still not feeling well. Wish there was something we can do...if there is, let us know!
And that's it for us! Have a great week everyone!
We had Wednesday off for Veteran's day and we spent the whole day at TJ and Kim's new home putting up exterior walls and a few interior. On Friday we put up sheeting around the garage. Now it is looking like a house without a roof. The trusses are supposed to be coming on Saturday so that is probably where we will be. Scott has become quite an expert framer. It will be great to have them back in the neighborhood...in March or so. It seems like a long way off.
Our new rental is coming along but we will be stopping most major projects here in a few days so that TJ and Kim can move in. It seemed a waste for us to have an empty 5 bedroom house while they were living in a camping trailer. So we came to a mutual agreement and they will be there until their house is done.
The weather has been beautiful of late. We got a truckload of mulch and Scott is working on getting the tiller running (it's been sitting for 10 years or so). Hopefully we'll have a good garden prep so we can have a fantastic garden next year.
Glad to hear that the Hart's have an offer in. Glad to hear the Nilsson's have a bathroom in...kind of and that they survived Eliza's grumpiness. Sad to hear that Lauren is still not feeling well. Wish there was something we can do...if there is, let us know!
And that's it for us! Have a great week everyone!
Hart Happenings
Happy Stake Conference day! I know it was for us and Dad and Mom anyway. The president of the Idaho Falls temple spoke (how would you like to be the president of a temple whose use is "temporarily discontinued"?) He talked about how they had to dismantle and pack up all of the chandeliers. The one in the Celestial Room alone had 23,000 individual crystals that they removed, cleaned, and packed individually. Any that had been chipped were set aside and labeled so they could be replaced and the new ones could be placed exactly where they belonged. Sheesh! He then challenged us, while the temple is closed, to take inventory of our lives, piece by piece, clean it up, and set aside any parts that are chipped or damaged, and put it back together in better condition. I thought it was a unique illustration of a really great principle. We have another year to work on it before our temple is rededicated, so we're going to get cracking. C. Scott Grow was our visiting authority and he spoke for the majority of the meeting about pretty much whatever came into his head. It was delightful and quite inspiring. Ian, Alex, and I all sang in the choir which is always a great experience. Ian especially enjoyed himself. He says it was awesome!
We spent a lot of time this week out at a property that we actually made an offer on. Yikes! Yay! Yikes/Yay! It's kind of scary and exciting all at the same time.We should hear back from them by tomorrow night. So next week's post could contain thrilling news or absolutley nothing. We're on tenterhooks here!
It was so fun to have mom come up on Wednesday. We can never quite get enough of our wonderful grandma! It was nice to have some fun girl time getting her hair done and shopping and the boys loved a rousing late-night game of musical chairs. She said she hasn't slept as well as she did that night for a long time. That's what three boys will do for you!
The kids got to play with their friends while their dad was at the priesthood leadership meeting last night. It is such a blessing to have good friends!
We enjoyed some good outdoor time this week too. The weather in the latter part of the week cleared up and the sun warmed us nicely so we explored a new park and revisited some old favorites. I can handle Novembers like this!
Hope all is well with the rest of you! We're huge fans of this big, crazy family of ours!
Nilsson News
I was going to edit my last post when we were informed that the doctor had misdiagnosed Eliza's kidney infection. She did not have a kidney infection and that would explain why she wasn't responding to the antibiotics. She had what was called adenovirus which is very similar to influenza and sticks around for a good, long ten days. Anyway, what really matters is that Eliza is doing much better. We all survived her bout of grumpyitis and we are smiling.
Speaking of Eliza...I was able to substitute in primary today. Our ward does something where they ease the kids graduating from nursery into primary. They start bringing the "moonbeams" into singing/sharing time a little at a time. Well, Eliza was called on to pick something out of the bag during sharing time. She grinned when she pulled it out. Most of the kids looked puzzled and asked what it was. Eliza with a little giggle that suggested, "doesn't everyone know what this is," said, "It's a pomogwanate." I have to say it was pretty adorable. She has a new love for these fall fruits.
Well, progress is slowly being made on the bathroom. I just discovered how much Garrett despises projects. He took this training and test that evaluates a persons's abilities and their strongpoints. Well, he doesn't just not like projects a little bit, it is like a hiss and a byword to him! I never knew because he never complains. And I am such a project person! Opposites definitely attract but it is crazy how that works. Anyway, I'm happy to report that all the walls are up and now we just need a door...and tape and mud, and paint and tile, and a faucet and then I think it will be done! I'm realizing how controlling of a person I am and that I need to just be grateful for the help we get even if it isn't up to my standard. Sometimes I think it would be so much easier if I didn't have an opinion about things.
I'm looking forward to the Thanksgiving break with all of you wonderful people. We won't be able to come up until Thursday because Garrett's family will all be at our house for Thanksgiving. Everyone baled on going down to St. George, so they are coming here. It's a good thing I'm such a spontaneous person;)
Speaking of Eliza...I was able to substitute in primary today. Our ward does something where they ease the kids graduating from nursery into primary. They start bringing the "moonbeams" into singing/sharing time a little at a time. Well, Eliza was called on to pick something out of the bag during sharing time. She grinned when she pulled it out. Most of the kids looked puzzled and asked what it was. Eliza with a little giggle that suggested, "doesn't everyone know what this is," said, "It's a pomogwanate." I have to say it was pretty adorable. She has a new love for these fall fruits.
Well, progress is slowly being made on the bathroom. I just discovered how much Garrett despises projects. He took this training and test that evaluates a persons's abilities and their strongpoints. Well, he doesn't just not like projects a little bit, it is like a hiss and a byword to him! I never knew because he never complains. And I am such a project person! Opposites definitely attract but it is crazy how that works. Anyway, I'm happy to report that all the walls are up and now we just need a door...and tape and mud, and paint and tile, and a faucet and then I think it will be done! I'm realizing how controlling of a person I am and that I need to just be grateful for the help we get even if it isn't up to my standard. Sometimes I think it would be so much easier if I didn't have an opinion about things.
I'm looking forward to the Thanksgiving break with all of you wonderful people. We won't be able to come up until Thursday because Garrett's family will all be at our house for Thanksgiving. Everyone baled on going down to St. George, so they are coming here. It's a good thing I'm such a spontaneous person;)
Happy in Hyde Park
Well, Dad's stake conference went well yesterday and today - good spirit, good speakers, good messages. One thing that was said struck me: "Good is the enemy of great." Interesting statement. So, I guess I should say that the spirit, speakers and messages at the conference were Great! Those meetings are truly uplifting and motivating. We just hope the "water got to the end of the row," so to speak. We hope hearts were touched and members were inspired to go and do. I was!
I enjoyed a day in Idaho Falls, spending time with our favorite Harts. They ended up with an appointment to show their house, so we had to make ourselves scarce. The fellows endured spending time at the mall shopping with Elise and me. They are such good sports. We also looked at some property that they are interested in. We'll have to see what happens with that.
We are so glad Eliza is feeling somewhat better. Wish the same was true for Lauren. Well, I guess she's feeling somewhat better, most of the time, but when she has a bad day, it's really, really bad. We keep hoping things will improve. The bad days are getting farther apart, which is nice. Hope they completely disappear sooner than later!
Every time I talk with someone in the family, they ask what we are doing for Thanksgiving. I hope we figure that out really soon :) Watch for an email about what to plan on. I hope to send it out in a day or two. Just so you know, Jeremy Carlsen and his family may also be here, and possibly Grandpa and Christie. We've looked at using Dad's church to have our dinner at, but it's reserved so we are trying to find some other options. Someone suggested setting up tables in the garage, but it's mighty cold out there! We'll figure it out and let you know soon. If nothing else, we'll be thankful and we'll be together! Only 10 days or so....
I've been memorizing the Sermon on the Mount for the Family Challenge - well, the first part of it, Matthew 5. I continue to be impressed with the things the Lord wants us to focus on in our lives and how He looks for ways to bless us. Truly incredible. Watch for that in your own life. It makes a real difference.
I enjoyed a day in Idaho Falls, spending time with our favorite Harts. They ended up with an appointment to show their house, so we had to make ourselves scarce. The fellows endured spending time at the mall shopping with Elise and me. They are such good sports. We also looked at some property that they are interested in. We'll have to see what happens with that.
We are so glad Eliza is feeling somewhat better. Wish the same was true for Lauren. Well, I guess she's feeling somewhat better, most of the time, but when she has a bad day, it's really, really bad. We keep hoping things will improve. The bad days are getting farther apart, which is nice. Hope they completely disappear sooner than later!
Every time I talk with someone in the family, they ask what we are doing for Thanksgiving. I hope we figure that out really soon :) Watch for an email about what to plan on. I hope to send it out in a day or two. Just so you know, Jeremy Carlsen and his family may also be here, and possibly Grandpa and Christie. We've looked at using Dad's church to have our dinner at, but it's reserved so we are trying to find some other options. Someone suggested setting up tables in the garage, but it's mighty cold out there! We'll figure it out and let you know soon. If nothing else, we'll be thankful and we'll be together! Only 10 days or so....
I've been memorizing the Sermon on the Mount for the Family Challenge - well, the first part of it, Matthew 5. I continue to be impressed with the things the Lord wants us to focus on in our lives and how He looks for ways to bless us. Truly incredible. Watch for that in your own life. It makes a real difference.
Monday, November 9, 2015
Nilsson News
What a week! I don't know how much info mom gave you about Eliza so I'll just give you a recap since that is what this week entailed. Beginning with Monday, Eliza began to say that she didn't feel well and then she would run off and play so I didn't think much of it. By the evening though, she came down with a fever. I thought she was coming down with a bug since it is the season for that and prepared to be out for awhile as all that kids would get it. Well, she continued to have a fever and laid on the couch all day, every day. Medication did not seem to do anything for her. I was really perplexed as she continued to have a fever without any other symptoms.
Finally, on Friday, when she was looking very unwell and had a fever of 103.4, I decided to take her to the doctor. He did the vitals on her but was also very perplexed that she didn't have any other symptoms and that the medicine I'd give her didn't work. He ended up doing a nose and throat swab, which was awful, and sent me home with some things to collect a urine sample. Once we got that done and tested at the lab, it showed Eliza had a kidney infection. Luckliy, we were able to start her on an oral antibiotic, rather than an IV, which we had been told was a possibility.
Her fever is gone, and she isn't out on the couch all day, but she still isn't back to normal. It really knocked her out so I reckon it will take a bit to get back. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!
A side note, Henry is crawling all over the place and loving his new found freedom! It is hard for the kids to remember to keep small items picked up off the floor.
My ponderizing quote this week is from Elder Maxwell:
"We can say, 'I know God loveth his children, nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.' We have had and will have times in each of our lives when such faith must be the bottom line. We do not know what is happening to us or around us, but we know that God loves us, and knowing that for the moment, is enough."
Finally, on Friday, when she was looking very unwell and had a fever of 103.4, I decided to take her to the doctor. He did the vitals on her but was also very perplexed that she didn't have any other symptoms and that the medicine I'd give her didn't work. He ended up doing a nose and throat swab, which was awful, and sent me home with some things to collect a urine sample. Once we got that done and tested at the lab, it showed Eliza had a kidney infection. Luckliy, we were able to start her on an oral antibiotic, rather than an IV, which we had been told was a possibility.
Her fever is gone, and she isn't out on the couch all day, but she still isn't back to normal. It really knocked her out so I reckon it will take a bit to get back. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!
A side note, Henry is crawling all over the place and loving his new found freedom! It is hard for the kids to remember to keep small items picked up off the floor.
My ponderizing quote this week is from Elder Maxwell:
"We can say, 'I know God loveth his children, nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.' We have had and will have times in each of our lives when such faith must be the bottom line. We do not know what is happening to us or around us, but we know that God loves us, and knowing that for the moment, is enough."
Sunday, November 8, 2015
Happy in Hyde Park
Well, 'tis the season for leaves (as well as Elise's comfort foods)! That was my family challenge exercise for yesterday - and will probably be my exercise for the next few weeks. It seems like it takes forever for all of the leaves to fall off the trees. It would be nice if they all fell at once, but that just never happens. It's sure lovely weather for raking, though!
The other exercise we're going to get is turning the handle on the Victorio strainer to make applesauce. We still have a dozen or more boxes of apples in the garage. It's been tricky to find time to cut them up, cook them, strain them, put the sauce in jars and process them. It shouldn't be so hard to find that time, but it is. Hopefully this week we can make some progress on that job.
We enjoyed attending the baptism of Evan and Christy's daughter, Abby, yesterday. They also blessed their baby, Wyatt, at the same time. Well, they waited until after the baptism and confirmation, then blessed the baby. It was fun to see Anne and Wes and to be there with Ruth, Addy and Eliza. Little Eliza is feeling enough better to have a good case of grumpy-itis. But that's better than just laying on the couch doing nothing. When we got there yesterday, she was outside trying to herd the chickens to the back yard. But she tuckers out quickly and still doesn't feel really great. She is glad to take the medicine that helps her feel better, but only takes it once a day and is quite worn down at the end of the day. Hopefully she'll be back to normal before long. We'll all keep praying for her, and for Ruth (who hasn't had much sleep for a long, long time).
I was called to a birth early this morning, which I was glad about, even though I missed hearing Thomas teach Gospel Doctrine. It was this mom's 11th baby. Amazing. I never tire of seeing these sweet, precious babies come into the world. There is something especially sacred about attending a birth on the Sabbath day. It's a sort of sacrament. A true sacrifice of love, pain, blood, water, suffering and rejoicing. Beautiful. Mom and baby are well and happy and in love.
The other exercise we're going to get is turning the handle on the Victorio strainer to make applesauce. We still have a dozen or more boxes of apples in the garage. It's been tricky to find time to cut them up, cook them, strain them, put the sauce in jars and process them. It shouldn't be so hard to find that time, but it is. Hopefully this week we can make some progress on that job.
We enjoyed attending the baptism of Evan and Christy's daughter, Abby, yesterday. They also blessed their baby, Wyatt, at the same time. Well, they waited until after the baptism and confirmation, then blessed the baby. It was fun to see Anne and Wes and to be there with Ruth, Addy and Eliza. Little Eliza is feeling enough better to have a good case of grumpy-itis. But that's better than just laying on the couch doing nothing. When we got there yesterday, she was outside trying to herd the chickens to the back yard. But she tuckers out quickly and still doesn't feel really great. She is glad to take the medicine that helps her feel better, but only takes it once a day and is quite worn down at the end of the day. Hopefully she'll be back to normal before long. We'll all keep praying for her, and for Ruth (who hasn't had much sleep for a long, long time).
I was called to a birth early this morning, which I was glad about, even though I missed hearing Thomas teach Gospel Doctrine. It was this mom's 11th baby. Amazing. I never tire of seeing these sweet, precious babies come into the world. There is something especially sacred about attending a birth on the Sabbath day. It's a sort of sacrament. A true sacrifice of love, pain, blood, water, suffering and rejoicing. Beautiful. Mom and baby are well and happy and in love.
Hart Happenings
We are in the middle of football mania here and can I just say how great it is to have a Jack that understands football and loves watching it with his dad? I'm now absolved of all the guilt I used experience when I didn't get all jazzed to watch football with Alex. Thanks goodness for sons. And it is really fun to watch them cheering and high-fiving each other from the comfort of my reading chair and a good book.
Jack thinks that you should all know about the white cat who sometimes changes color depending on the spray paint available to his owners that moved in across the street. It has taken to leaving dead mice in our yard. Sweet thing.
I don't know if I'm the only one, but with the onset of this cold weather the baking bug has hit hard here. Currently we have a batch of molasses cookies on the counter and a pan of brownies in the oven which follows on the heels of homemade macaroni and cheese. Comfort food season, y'all! But it is wreaking havoc on the family challenge, I must say.
A highlight of our week was a trip to the local bowling alley to play darts. It was intense. Peter led the whole way by a pretty hefty margin, but then Jack came from behind and swept us all! Hysterical game! Good times.
Glad to hear Eliza has migrated from the couch and has resumed some of her normal activity.
We are counting down the days to Thanksgiving. Can't wait to see all of you! Peter has big plans for himself and Joe.
Quote of the week from Peter: "Mom! I found a balloon in my bum! It's magic!"
Context: while getting dressed that morning he had lost the balloon he was playing with and when he ran in to use the potty and pulled down his pants, there it was! He had made it disappear and then reappear!
Flake Fun
8 Nov 2015 - On Tuesday evening it was really windy and moments after I started dinner, the power went out. We waited a few minutes and the lights were still out so we lit our stove with a match and ate burritos by candle light. The power stayed out for the next hour or so but it was fun. Then, the next evening it snowed! We woke up to 1/4 inch of snow which disappeared quickly but was snow nevertheless!
On Thursday night we went to inspect our new house (Lovelake) and I learned that temporary renters don't feel an obligation to keep the home clean since they are not the ones personally losing a deposit. I spent Friday morning de-junking the house and now I think we can get started on the repairs that need to be done before we can rent it again.
Saturday we filled nail holes at Lovelake (Emma, I missed your expertise!) and took a general look around the house to finalize what projects needed to be done. In the afternoon we went to help TJ and Kim on their house. It is coming together. They now have 5 walls up and are hoping to get the rest of them up and the roof on by Wednesday.
We just got back from a wonderful regional conference. Elder Lynn Robbin's talk really hit home to me. It was about the joy of simplicity. Elder Oaks was in attendance and Elder Robbins explained that when Elder Oaks calls a new stake president he tells them that while Satan most likely won't have success in getting him to commit horrible sin, he will most likely have success at getting him to becoming too busy. "The one thing that money can't buy is time." I thought about that and the need that I have for slowing down. It was satisfying to think that while we could have spent the whole day at Lovelake, we had the time to help out a neighbor with something that is. perhaps, more important. That was my pondering for the day.
Love you all. Glad that little miss Liza is feeling better. See you in a few weeks! Oh, does anyone want some decorative cactus plants? We found a whole bushel of them in the backyard!
On Thursday night we went to inspect our new house (Lovelake) and I learned that temporary renters don't feel an obligation to keep the home clean since they are not the ones personally losing a deposit. I spent Friday morning de-junking the house and now I think we can get started on the repairs that need to be done before we can rent it again.
Saturday we filled nail holes at Lovelake (Emma, I missed your expertise!) and took a general look around the house to finalize what projects needed to be done. In the afternoon we went to help TJ and Kim on their house. It is coming together. They now have 5 walls up and are hoping to get the rest of them up and the roof on by Wednesday.
We just got back from a wonderful regional conference. Elder Lynn Robbin's talk really hit home to me. It was about the joy of simplicity. Elder Oaks was in attendance and Elder Robbins explained that when Elder Oaks calls a new stake president he tells them that while Satan most likely won't have success in getting him to commit horrible sin, he will most likely have success at getting him to becoming too busy. "The one thing that money can't buy is time." I thought about that and the need that I have for slowing down. It was satisfying to think that while we could have spent the whole day at Lovelake, we had the time to help out a neighbor with something that is. perhaps, more important. That was my pondering for the day.
Love you all. Glad that little miss Liza is feeling better. See you in a few weeks! Oh, does anyone want some decorative cactus plants? We found a whole bushel of them in the backyard!
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Manning Musings
I can't really think of what happened this week because time goes by so fast. One of the highlights of the week was the Latin American concert Nick was able to play in. The University had several guest artists from South America come and do various workshops, concerts and lessons. During his senior year, Nick went to Brazil with some guitar majors and we guests at a music school there. The director of the school can here for the festival and gave Nick a lesson and they played together in the concert. It was a very fun night!
I am feeling a little better lately and have had some pretty good days which has been a blessing. It was so nice to have Joe come up and teach my classes. It was fascinating and the students enjoyed it. We have a very talented brother!
Looking forward to Thanksgiving break and seeing you all!
I am feeling a little better lately and have had some pretty good days which has been a blessing. It was so nice to have Joe come up and teach my classes. It was fascinating and the students enjoyed it. We have a very talented brother!
Looking forward to Thanksgiving break and seeing you all!
Nilsson News
First off, Happy Birthday to Jenn! It sounded like you were able to do a little celebrating and that is good. Seeing the leaves falling in my yard reminds me of last year at this time when the girls took leave down to Arizona. How fun was that?! That was also the first time we heard about this Nick fellow. Who knew that in a few months from that time he would be a member of the family? Good times!
We were sorry to miss playing with the Springville cousins, especially since we don't get that chance very often, but we were unexpectedly thrown into having company. For those who may not know, Garrett's brother Quinn, is going to be living with us for a few weeks while he attends a rehab in Ogden. In order to make it more comfortable for him, Garrett's dad consented to helping us finish a bathroom and hopefully bedroom downstairs. After three crazy hectic days with hosting Garrett's parents, Quinn, and Garrett's brother Chris and his two girls, we are proud to announce that we now have a working toilet, sink and bath downstairs! Now that the not so fun steps are done, we can work on putting up walls, painting and fine tuning. Looking at it, it seems like not too difficult of a process. 50 steps and you have a bathroom, BUT you usually forget to take into account when you mess up (like drilling into the main sewer line, hooking up the hot water to the wrong piping, failing to tighten everything so when it turns on water spews forth all over) that it takes an extra 50 steps to fix the mistakes you made. DIY always takes a long time, but isn't it so satisfying?
It looks as though fall is in full swing. We had our first hard frost Friday morning and the whole day was chilly. I'm about ready to stoke up our fireplace. (Don't tell the government officials or we may get fined or something for polluting our air). Addy had her first piano recital with Anarie, and she did a fantastic job. The kids had a fun Halloween and did the traditional door to door trick or treating since our trunk or treat didn't happen. They had fun dressing up (I truly hope to get some pictures on here). Addy was a cowgirl, Emerson a chomping T-Rex, Eliza was a panda, Henry was an O Henry! bar and I was a BabyRuth and Garrett a Garrettdelli bar. Pretty fun!
My ponderizing quote for the week is taken from the Lectures on Faith:
"When a man works by faith he uses mental exertion instead of physical force. Faith works by words, and with these its mightiest works have been and will be performed."
We were sorry to miss playing with the Springville cousins, especially since we don't get that chance very often, but we were unexpectedly thrown into having company. For those who may not know, Garrett's brother Quinn, is going to be living with us for a few weeks while he attends a rehab in Ogden. In order to make it more comfortable for him, Garrett's dad consented to helping us finish a bathroom and hopefully bedroom downstairs. After three crazy hectic days with hosting Garrett's parents, Quinn, and Garrett's brother Chris and his two girls, we are proud to announce that we now have a working toilet, sink and bath downstairs! Now that the not so fun steps are done, we can work on putting up walls, painting and fine tuning. Looking at it, it seems like not too difficult of a process. 50 steps and you have a bathroom, BUT you usually forget to take into account when you mess up (like drilling into the main sewer line, hooking up the hot water to the wrong piping, failing to tighten everything so when it turns on water spews forth all over) that it takes an extra 50 steps to fix the mistakes you made. DIY always takes a long time, but isn't it so satisfying?
It looks as though fall is in full swing. We had our first hard frost Friday morning and the whole day was chilly. I'm about ready to stoke up our fireplace. (Don't tell the government officials or we may get fined or something for polluting our air). Addy had her first piano recital with Anarie, and she did a fantastic job. The kids had a fun Halloween and did the traditional door to door trick or treating since our trunk or treat didn't happen. They had fun dressing up (I truly hope to get some pictures on here). Addy was a cowgirl, Emerson a chomping T-Rex, Eliza was a panda, Henry was an O Henry! bar and I was a BabyRuth and Garrett a Garrettdelli bar. Pretty fun!
My ponderizing quote for the week is taken from the Lectures on Faith:
"When a man works by faith he uses mental exertion instead of physical force. Faith works by words, and with these its mightiest works have been and will be performed."
Hart Happenings
Weeks like this make me really grateful for the good health we normally enjoy in our family. Each of the boys took a turn with a flu-like bug that took them down for about 2 days each. Then came the aftermath grumpiness for a few days after that but I think we are now all in the mend.
Alex and I got away for the weekend which was really fun. We spent a couple hours at Lava Hot Springs and then stayed in a really cool hotel that one of Alex's friends owns. The boys stayed at home with the daughter of one of my friends and had a great time.
Everything up here froze too so I try to avoid looking out the window these days. The snow will come eventually and cover things up, but right now everything just looks so desolate.
Things are going really well right now for Alex in all of his business ventures and it's really rewarding to see some of his hard work and efforts paying off.
Halloween was a riot! We went to the ward trunk or treat and then some friends of our came over to trick or treat around the neighborhood. We kept collecting random friends as we walked around. Our neighbors joined the party and then our old bishop and two of his kids hooked up with us. The weather was perfect and no one got cold. My favorite part was wathching Peter try to give the people who gave him candy and piece of his in return. Then he would holler "Happy Halloween!" and jump of the porch and run to the next house with his Batman cape flapping behind him. Good times.
Hope you all had a lovely weekend.
Flake Fun
1 Nov 2015 - It was fun to be able to drive to work nearly every day this week with Scott. We are still working out the kinks of the schedule but I think it is going to be great in the long run.
We officially received the keys to our new house and got all of the utilities transferred into our name. We bought paint, some light fixtures and new locks for the doors and now we just need to figure out what else needs to be done before we can rent it out.
This weekend was a fun one. We helped TJ and Kim grout their house (pour cement into the block foundation wall) on Friday morning. Then we ran some errands and were able to get some things done. We went out for dinner at a really fun BBQ place called Grumpy Jakes. Oh, and we bought an engine for the tiller so hopefully we'll get that put together and get it running.
On Saturday we went back to TJ & Kim's to help lay floor joists. We got there at 9:00AM and left at 5:30PM. It was a long day but so much was accomplished. It has been a while since I did that much physical labor! The joists are now in and about 1/4 of the subfloor panels were put into place. Then we went to the annual 4th ward Halloween Chili Cook-off. Nathan brought his family up for Halloween. Baby Kaitlyn is getting really big.
The weather has turned beautiful but it froze hard on Friday night. Our last tomato plant is toast! We are pretty pleased with the harvest that we got though.
Hope that you all enjoyed an extra hour of sleep this morning! Now we are all on the same time!
We officially received the keys to our new house and got all of the utilities transferred into our name. We bought paint, some light fixtures and new locks for the doors and now we just need to figure out what else needs to be done before we can rent it out.
This weekend was a fun one. We helped TJ and Kim grout their house (pour cement into the block foundation wall) on Friday morning. Then we ran some errands and were able to get some things done. We went out for dinner at a really fun BBQ place called Grumpy Jakes. Oh, and we bought an engine for the tiller so hopefully we'll get that put together and get it running.
On Saturday we went back to TJ & Kim's to help lay floor joists. We got there at 9:00AM and left at 5:30PM. It was a long day but so much was accomplished. It has been a while since I did that much physical labor! The joists are now in and about 1/4 of the subfloor panels were put into place. Then we went to the annual 4th ward Halloween Chili Cook-off. Nathan brought his family up for Halloween. Baby Kaitlyn is getting really big.
The weather has turned beautiful but it froze hard on Friday night. Our last tomato plant is toast! We are pretty pleased with the harvest that we got though.
Hope that you all enjoyed an extra hour of sleep this morning! Now we are all on the same time!
Hyde Park Happiness
There is always much happiness in Hyde Park when we have visitors! We were tickled, delighted, thrilled, pleased, etc., etc., to have Joe, Lori and little ones here. What a busy family this is - times two!! These four little people are always on the go! I was amazed all over again at the dedication of the incredible parents and their ability to keep up with the constant movement, demands and chatter of four energetic little busy bodies, especially with as little sleep as they get night after night! I cannot imagine how exhausting it must be. But we had a very fun time while they were here. I particularly enjoyed watching Jake and Joy play in the flour drawer and chase Chester around. They had a blast playing tug-of-war with Chester. It was hilarious! I will try to post pictures later. Joseph taught Lauren's classes, and did a mighty fine job of it I'm told. Dad got to listen to both sessions and Lori attended in the afternoon while I drove four sleeping children around the valley. I was supposed to take them home to play, but they all fell asleep, so I just kept driving.... :)
We were sad that the Hart boys couldn't join us this weekend due to a stomach bug that joined their family. Ruth's family couldn't come either because they had company and were working on their new bathroom. Grace was sorely disappointed to not see cousins. We will definitely have to set up a cousins play date very soon.
Thomas and Victoria have set a tentative date, or time frame, for their marriage. The last weekend in February - the week before spring break at USU. It may change, but for now you can put that in the back of your minds for planning purposes.
Emma returned from her marching band competition in St. George at 6:00 this morning, after traveling all night long on a bus. They did well and received a music caption award and 2nd place overall out of lots (I can't remember exactly how many) of bands from various states. It was a great experience, but now she's sad that it's all over. She'll miss her friends and the time she got to spend with them.
We (Dad, really) have been picking more apples and have our applesauce work cut out for us. There are countless boxes of apples in the garage that we have got to get to one of these days. If anyone is needing a fun activity, you can always come and help make applesauce! It makes for good memories...
I have fallen very far behind on the family challenge this week. It's hard to get to bed on time and to get exercising in when we have company - but I wouldn't trade that for anything! I will just have to re-double my efforts this week so that Alex doesn't get too far ahead of me. I've given up trying to catch up with Ruth and Elise.
Dad has his stake conference coming up in a couple of weeks. He's quite stressed about it and could use some extra prayers. He hopes it will be a very uplifting and inspiring conference for the members of his stake and will open their minds to a higher purpose on the Sabbath day and more intentional living of the Gospel.
We were sad that the Hart boys couldn't join us this weekend due to a stomach bug that joined their family. Ruth's family couldn't come either because they had company and were working on their new bathroom. Grace was sorely disappointed to not see cousins. We will definitely have to set up a cousins play date very soon.
Thomas and Victoria have set a tentative date, or time frame, for their marriage. The last weekend in February - the week before spring break at USU. It may change, but for now you can put that in the back of your minds for planning purposes.
Emma returned from her marching band competition in St. George at 6:00 this morning, after traveling all night long on a bus. They did well and received a music caption award and 2nd place overall out of lots (I can't remember exactly how many) of bands from various states. It was a great experience, but now she's sad that it's all over. She'll miss her friends and the time she got to spend with them.
We (Dad, really) have been picking more apples and have our applesauce work cut out for us. There are countless boxes of apples in the garage that we have got to get to one of these days. If anyone is needing a fun activity, you can always come and help make applesauce! It makes for good memories...
I have fallen very far behind on the family challenge this week. It's hard to get to bed on time and to get exercising in when we have company - but I wouldn't trade that for anything! I will just have to re-double my efforts this week so that Alex doesn't get too far ahead of me. I've given up trying to catch up with Ruth and Elise.
Dad has his stake conference coming up in a couple of weeks. He's quite stressed about it and could use some extra prayers. He hopes it will be a very uplifting and inspiring conference for the members of his stake and will open their minds to a higher purpose on the Sabbath day and more intentional living of the Gospel.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)