You all basically know what I did this week and it was freaking awesome! I love you guys. Mostly I just wanted to post some of my favorite pictures from the week. Hope you have a great week!
Sunday, November 26, 2017
...And Loving It!
Hope you all know that when you guys come, it's actually the best thing ever! I love it when everybody is home. Thanks for the good times!
You all basically know what I did this week and it was freaking awesome! I love you guys. Mostly I just wanted to post some of my favorite pictures from the week. Hope you have a great week!
You all basically know what I did this week and it was freaking awesome! I love you guys. Mostly I just wanted to post some of my favorite pictures from the week. Hope you have a great week!
Hyde Park Highlights
What a great family we have! I can't think of anything more delightful than the noise, mess and constant motion we experience when we have everyone here! Well, almost everyone... We were very sorry that T&T were too far away and that 2/3 of the Mannings were too sick to come for Thanksgiving. Other than that, the holiday celebration was perfectly wonderful.
Ruth and Garrett truly saved our lives - well, at least our sanity - by coming last Sunday and spending all day Monday installing our baseboards. Ruth worked her head off on Tuesday and Wednesday touching up paint, caulking every place a spider would even consider coming in, getting our mound in the front winter-ready, and every other thing she could do to help. We are very, very grateful!
Jenn and Scott pulled in Tuesday evening and also helped us get things put together on Wednesday - getting food purchased and prepared, changing the kitchen light fixture and helping me simplify and not stress about things.
Harts arrived on Wednesday and, as usual, brought the party! We are still scolding them for waiting until they were in Smithfield to eat dinner, at the exact time we were eating at our house. They brought the finishing touches for our Thanksgiving dinner, which made it extra-special.
Emma spent several days making delicious pies and came on Thursday to help put things all together. We enjoyed visiting in the morning, playing football at the park to build up an appetite for a lovely meal in the early afternoon. It was fun to FaceTime with Joe and Thomas on Thanksgiving day and see Thomas' new hair color (hope it helps make him millions!).
The ladies bravely ventured out early on Friday morning to see what deals they could help each other find. They had great success and were glad they went. Elise went with Emma to offer support and encouragement when she had her hair cut short (which is very cute). We were overjoyed when Joe and Lori's family arrived on Friday morning.
Playing games, visiting, eating, holding Millie, shopping for Christmas books, holding Hope, watching the epoch 4th Annual Cousins Christmas Concert, the darling Nativity program and Christmas games, watching Mr. Kruger's Christmas... I just can't choose what my favorite part of our time together was! It was all so wonderful and joyous. Too good to be true! Dad continues making notes and putting together the thoughts generated by lively conversations with Alex and Garrett about ways to help struggling members of his stake. That was a bonus for him.
Then... everyone went home. Nilssons left Saturday morning when more of their children woke up sick. Emma, Bellistons and Harts left Saturday night. It was eerily quiet and still. Jenn and Scott left this afternoon. It was so lonesome after they took off that I went up to our church to sign up for tithing settlement and see if anyone was there that I could talk to! I visited with a few ward members, then drove around looking at building lots before finally going home to keep Chester company. I know I will eventually get used to this stage of life, but it may take me more time than most folks.
Thanks for making the effort to come and to connect with each other. There isn't much that is more important in this world than family and building those sweet relationships. Thanks for the pains you take in order for that to happen! You are the best family around and I love you all!
Special thanks to:
Emma for getting off work early to be with us!
Menfolk for visiting with Dad and giving him some great ideas to implement!
Womenfolk for helping prepare, serve and clean up meal after meal after meal after.....!
Addy for cleaning up the basement and organizing the toy closet - over and over again!
Grant for the wonderful hugs you always give me!
Joy for letting me hold you at the book store!
Hope for smiling at me whenever I talk to you!
Eliza for doing your best to not touch the babies so they wouldn't get sick!
Jack for willingly participating in whatever is planned without complaining at all!
Henry for figuring out how to open the gate by yourself!
Ian for producing the Cousins Christmas Concert and including all of the cousins!
Jake for making me laugh and always liking the food!
Millie for sleeping so well at our house!
Peter for reminding me to make second food so no one would be hungry!
Emerson for hanging in there when you felt so sick!
Grace for inviting Grandpa to speak at your baptism - he's very excited!
Ruth and Garrett truly saved our lives - well, at least our sanity - by coming last Sunday and spending all day Monday installing our baseboards. Ruth worked her head off on Tuesday and Wednesday touching up paint, caulking every place a spider would even consider coming in, getting our mound in the front winter-ready, and every other thing she could do to help. We are very, very grateful!
Jenn and Scott pulled in Tuesday evening and also helped us get things put together on Wednesday - getting food purchased and prepared, changing the kitchen light fixture and helping me simplify and not stress about things.
Harts arrived on Wednesday and, as usual, brought the party! We are still scolding them for waiting until they were in Smithfield to eat dinner, at the exact time we were eating at our house. They brought the finishing touches for our Thanksgiving dinner, which made it extra-special.
Emma spent several days making delicious pies and came on Thursday to help put things all together. We enjoyed visiting in the morning, playing football at the park to build up an appetite for a lovely meal in the early afternoon. It was fun to FaceTime with Joe and Thomas on Thanksgiving day and see Thomas' new hair color (hope it helps make him millions!).
The ladies bravely ventured out early on Friday morning to see what deals they could help each other find. They had great success and were glad they went. Elise went with Emma to offer support and encouragement when she had her hair cut short (which is very cute). We were overjoyed when Joe and Lori's family arrived on Friday morning.
Playing games, visiting, eating, holding Millie, shopping for Christmas books, holding Hope, watching the epoch 4th Annual Cousins Christmas Concert, the darling Nativity program and Christmas games, watching Mr. Kruger's Christmas... I just can't choose what my favorite part of our time together was! It was all so wonderful and joyous. Too good to be true! Dad continues making notes and putting together the thoughts generated by lively conversations with Alex and Garrett about ways to help struggling members of his stake. That was a bonus for him.
Then... everyone went home. Nilssons left Saturday morning when more of their children woke up sick. Emma, Bellistons and Harts left Saturday night. It was eerily quiet and still. Jenn and Scott left this afternoon. It was so lonesome after they took off that I went up to our church to sign up for tithing settlement and see if anyone was there that I could talk to! I visited with a few ward members, then drove around looking at building lots before finally going home to keep Chester company. I know I will eventually get used to this stage of life, but it may take me more time than most folks.
Thanks for making the effort to come and to connect with each other. There isn't much that is more important in this world than family and building those sweet relationships. Thanks for the pains you take in order for that to happen! You are the best family around and I love you all!
Special thanks to:
Emma for getting off work early to be with us!
Menfolk for visiting with Dad and giving him some great ideas to implement!
Womenfolk for helping prepare, serve and clean up meal after meal after meal after.....!
Addy for cleaning up the basement and organizing the toy closet - over and over again!
Grant for the wonderful hugs you always give me!
Joy for letting me hold you at the book store!
Hope for smiling at me whenever I talk to you!
Eliza for doing your best to not touch the babies so they wouldn't get sick!
Jack for willingly participating in whatever is planned without complaining at all!
Henry for figuring out how to open the gate by yourself!
Ian for producing the Cousins Christmas Concert and including all of the cousins!
Jake for making me laugh and always liking the food!
Millie for sleeping so well at our house!
Peter for reminding me to make second food so no one would be hungry!
Emerson for hanging in there when you felt so sick!
Grace for inviting Grandpa to speak at your baptism - he's very excited!
Sunday, November 19, 2017
Birthdays and Ferrari's
Today during the sacrament Jake shouted "that bread was good!!" I think he was feeling the spirit. Tonight we had tithing settlement which went really well except for the kids jumping off the chairs in the bishops office. We have clearly taught them so well.
Grace had a great birthday that's lasted about the whole month. I took her to see Aida at the new Hale Center Theater in Sandy yesterday for her birthday present, so I think that wrapped up her birthday celebrations. By the way, the show was absolutely stunning. If anybody has an interest in going, I wouldn't mind seeing it again...
Grace also got some great birthday notes from her classmates at school. Here are a couple samples:
"Dear Gras, I hop you have a good birthday if you don't i'm sorry."
"Grace you are speshl. I like you."
"Dear Grace you are a good friend to me you are my 2't Bff I know that Abby is your 1st Bff. Happy Birthday."
Grant comes to work with me every morning and then I take him over to the BYU Kindergarten at 8:30. It has been a great time and we have fun conversations every morning. Last week I told Grant that the next time we buy a car I think it will be a truck. He said he would rather buy a Ferrari because they're faster. He's probably right.
Hope rolled over for the first time and is endlessly patient with all the love and affection she receives from her siblings.
We can't wait to see everybody over Thanksgiving! Love you all!
Grace had a great birthday that's lasted about the whole month. I took her to see Aida at the new Hale Center Theater in Sandy yesterday for her birthday present, so I think that wrapped up her birthday celebrations. By the way, the show was absolutely stunning. If anybody has an interest in going, I wouldn't mind seeing it again...
Grace also got some great birthday notes from her classmates at school. Here are a couple samples:
"Dear Gras, I hop you have a good birthday if you don't i'm sorry."
"Grace you are speshl. I like you."
"Dear Grace you are a good friend to me you are my 2't Bff I know that Abby is your 1st Bff. Happy Birthday."
Grant comes to work with me every morning and then I take him over to the BYU Kindergarten at 8:30. It has been a great time and we have fun conversations every morning. Last week I told Grant that the next time we buy a car I think it will be a truck. He said he would rather buy a Ferrari because they're faster. He's probably right.
Hope rolled over for the first time and is endlessly patient with all the love and affection she receives from her siblings.
We can't wait to see everybody over Thanksgiving! Love you all!
Hart Happenings
Can I just put it out there how entertaining and bossy 5 year-olds are? Peter has kept us in stitches and doing his bidding all week. We sure are glad he is part of our family!
Life is beyond good up here in Idaho. We are sitting here in front of the fireplace, laughing at everyone else's blog posts, and feeling cozy beyond belief.
We spent the week recovering from last week's illness but it is believed that we are all in the clear now. Hooray! We also got to do science with Ruth's kids, learned some crazy stuff about this planet that we live on, did some fall yard tidying, went to a housewarming party for some friends of ours in their new house, made some fun decorations for our Thanksgiving weekend, and enjoyed a family outing to the local Festival of Trees. The festival is where different local companies donate beautifully decorated, themed trees and the community turns out and can look at and/or buy them and all the proceeds go to The Development Workshop, a company in town that works with disabled adults. Ian's choir performed there on Thursday night and it was so fun to listen to him and wander around looking at the trees. They are all so different and absolutely spectacular!
Another embarrassing story from the annals of Elise Hart's personal history:
The Mia Maids and I decided to buy Thanksgiving for a family in the ward for our activity on Tuesday. We chose the family, went and bought the food, decided who would ring the doorbell and run. We were set. When we arrived though, we had so many bags that each of us had to carry one or two to the door. No sooner had I set the first one down than the porch light goes on and the door starts to open. Well, I promptly dropped my bags and bolted! Leaving my girls stranded on the front porch in this super shady trailer park! Not my finest moment. The girls were actually hot on my heels, but I had no idea of that when I lit out initially! Que verguenza!
The boys are all doing well. Excellent actually. They are great kids. It's such a treat to watch them do their things.
Alex has been busy making the magic happen. He takes good care of this family. We finished the painting project in Jack and Peter's room and now we just have to resolve the conflict between Jack and Peter when it comes to decor. Jack wants to put up the art that was on the walls before but Peter apparently likes the minimalist approach to decor and doesn't want anything on the walls.
See y'all next week!
Life is beyond good up here in Idaho. We are sitting here in front of the fireplace, laughing at everyone else's blog posts, and feeling cozy beyond belief.
We spent the week recovering from last week's illness but it is believed that we are all in the clear now. Hooray! We also got to do science with Ruth's kids, learned some crazy stuff about this planet that we live on, did some fall yard tidying, went to a housewarming party for some friends of ours in their new house, made some fun decorations for our Thanksgiving weekend, and enjoyed a family outing to the local Festival of Trees. The festival is where different local companies donate beautifully decorated, themed trees and the community turns out and can look at and/or buy them and all the proceeds go to The Development Workshop, a company in town that works with disabled adults. Ian's choir performed there on Thursday night and it was so fun to listen to him and wander around looking at the trees. They are all so different and absolutely spectacular!
Another embarrassing story from the annals of Elise Hart's personal history:
The Mia Maids and I decided to buy Thanksgiving for a family in the ward for our activity on Tuesday. We chose the family, went and bought the food, decided who would ring the doorbell and run. We were set. When we arrived though, we had so many bags that each of us had to carry one or two to the door. No sooner had I set the first one down than the porch light goes on and the door starts to open. Well, I promptly dropped my bags and bolted! Leaving my girls stranded on the front porch in this super shady trailer park! Not my finest moment. The girls were actually hot on my heels, but I had no idea of that when I lit out initially! Que verguenza!
The boys are all doing well. Excellent actually. They are great kids. It's such a treat to watch them do their things.
Alex has been busy making the magic happen. He takes good care of this family. We finished the painting project in Jack and Peter's room and now we just have to resolve the conflict between Jack and Peter when it comes to decor. Jack wants to put up the art that was on the walls before but Peter apparently likes the minimalist approach to decor and doesn't want anything on the walls.
See y'all next week!
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
T&T Times
So things are pretty good here. The ward is awesome! We had dinner the other night with the Harris', a couple who reminded us a lot of Elise and Alex, so it was fun to hang out with them and their 3 little ones. We unfortunately can't make the cub scout calling work, so we are waiting to see what the bishop wants us to do!
I heard that there was a study done that dark haired males tend to make more money/live more successful lives, so I did something I haven't done in 17 years and dyed my hair. Yes it's red again. Just kidding its dark brown. At least it was supposed to be dark brown, but since my hair was so light and I hadn't died it for so long, it went REALLY dark. So it looks like I have black hair. So yea, that happened...... Looks like I'm going to be REALLY successful; I better be...
Victoria is enjoying her job, she actually is up in North Dakota right now climbing and testing wind turbines to make sure they are up to safety codes. She's getting to do lots of exciting things and learning a lot! Its taxing work, and a lot of time spent doing paper work, but it's a good job for now. I however am still trying to get someone to pay me money.
We decided we are going to start a lifestyle and healthy living blog called Tom & Tori, so I'll keep you posted on how that goes, and when it's going to drop! Hopefully it takes off and we are able to make some extra money with it! I'm also going to be starting a few websites along the same lines, so we'll see how those endeavors turn out!
Well things are great here, I laid out by the pool today and listened to some of my favorite podcasts. They were discussing sports science and how and why different athletes succeed while others struggle, and it was so fascinating! They talked about how abilities and talents vary, but the mindset is and mental stability is what separates the legends from the masses. We often underestimate the power of the mind and what it can help us accomplish. We sometimes get caught up in comparing what we can't do which makes us feel inadequate, but what are we comparing it to? Turns out, the reason we can't do them is because we are comparing ourselves to people who do those things really well. Here's the bottom line of this rant folks; if you compare yourself to yourself, there is literally nothing you can't accomplish. Things you "can't do" become things that you just haven't done YET, not things you can't do. So, go out and do anything and everything you want, because you literally have the ability to allow your mind to train your body to do them.
'mic drop.'
Manning Moments
Hi Familia!
We are alive and I've been wanting to post on the blog for a long time but I was having difficulty doing it technologically. No, actually I just forgot how to do it because it's been so long and then I remembered this morning! I live in the dark ages when it comes to technology.
Lots and lots of things have happened in Utah County but to put it in a nutshell; life is good.
Wesley gets cuter every day. How, you ask? I have no idea but he does. Every time mom has seen him she can't stop laughing. He is a very funny boy. His vocabulary has exploded and he enjoys bossing the rest of us around. He tells us to put things back and when to give him a hug. His favorite words are No and Owie. Yesterday I was trying to play the piano a little and he was playing with his train. He repeatedly was saying Owie Owie Owie and so I finally looked at him and asked, "Is there an owie?" With his still distraught face he said, "No." We like to go to story time at the library and he is now very comfortable with the library and walks around like he owns the place. He has a very manly little strut. The best thing of all is that little Wesley is now sleeping like a baby! He gets 10-12 hours a night and he takes a longer nap too. It is a miracle and we are so grateful. He sleeps in the family bed and gets the most sleep out of all of us since he somehow manages to sleep amid all the antics he does during the night.
Nick is enjoying work. He laughs and laughs at his coworkers. They are all very funny people and just down to earth folks. I am so glad he gets to work with them. He is amazed sometimes at the teenage species but he is learning ways to connect and get them into the scriptures. Some of them have really tough things they're going through. A funny story though was a sophmore girl that came to his office in tears. "Brother Manning, my parents and I got in an argument this morning because I had to walk to school because my mom is having a baby and my sister is going to college and so I will be responsible for everything now..." Nick was very kind and sympathetic as she expressed all of her troubles. Then she said, "Well, I better get to class now since I'm late for it." "Ok. What class do you have?" (sniff,sniff) "Drama." Nick is pretty sure she getting an A in the class! Nick was just called to be the Sunday School president in the ward and he is enjoying that so far.
I have been enjoying the homemaking life. We got our garden hibernating for the winter. So excited to try some new things next year. We have also learned how to make some killer protein bars, bread (thanks to mom's expertise) and soap. It has been fun.
My testimony of service has been strengthened this past week. We had many opportunities to serve in our ward and it was such a great thing. I am so grateful for your examples of service. Can't wait to see you all over Thanksgiving weekend!
We are alive and I've been wanting to post on the blog for a long time but I was having difficulty doing it technologically. No, actually I just forgot how to do it because it's been so long and then I remembered this morning! I live in the dark ages when it comes to technology.
Lots and lots of things have happened in Utah County but to put it in a nutshell; life is good.
Wesley gets cuter every day. How, you ask? I have no idea but he does. Every time mom has seen him she can't stop laughing. He is a very funny boy. His vocabulary has exploded and he enjoys bossing the rest of us around. He tells us to put things back and when to give him a hug. His favorite words are No and Owie. Yesterday I was trying to play the piano a little and he was playing with his train. He repeatedly was saying Owie Owie Owie and so I finally looked at him and asked, "Is there an owie?" With his still distraught face he said, "No." We like to go to story time at the library and he is now very comfortable with the library and walks around like he owns the place. He has a very manly little strut. The best thing of all is that little Wesley is now sleeping like a baby! He gets 10-12 hours a night and he takes a longer nap too. It is a miracle and we are so grateful. He sleeps in the family bed and gets the most sleep out of all of us since he somehow manages to sleep amid all the antics he does during the night.
Nick is enjoying work. He laughs and laughs at his coworkers. They are all very funny people and just down to earth folks. I am so glad he gets to work with them. He is amazed sometimes at the teenage species but he is learning ways to connect and get them into the scriptures. Some of them have really tough things they're going through. A funny story though was a sophmore girl that came to his office in tears. "Brother Manning, my parents and I got in an argument this morning because I had to walk to school because my mom is having a baby and my sister is going to college and so I will be responsible for everything now..." Nick was very kind and sympathetic as she expressed all of her troubles. Then she said, "Well, I better get to class now since I'm late for it." "Ok. What class do you have?" (sniff,sniff) "Drama." Nick is pretty sure she getting an A in the class! Nick was just called to be the Sunday School president in the ward and he is enjoying that so far.
I have been enjoying the homemaking life. We got our garden hibernating for the winter. So excited to try some new things next year. We have also learned how to make some killer protein bars, bread (thanks to mom's expertise) and soap. It has been fun.
My testimony of service has been strengthened this past week. We had many opportunities to serve in our ward and it was such a great thing. I am so grateful for your examples of service. Can't wait to see you all over Thanksgiving weekend!
Sunday, November 12, 2017
Hart Happenings
So this is the land of the sick right now. Jack has had the Wog for the past couple of days and completely lost his voice yesterday. As of this post it has still not returned. Ian is curled up in a blanket after only being able to eat one crepe (you know things are dire), and Peter's cough can be heard around the world, I'm certain. Alex and I are hanging in there, unaffected so far.
This week was one of those lovely, ordinary weeks. Did some homeschool, had play dates, did science with Ruth's kids, went to the temple, played outside (courtesy of the sunshine), collected eggs, worked on some house projects, cleaned out the cars, etc....I love ordinary days and weeks!
Alex, Jack, Peter, and I all enjoyed going to mutual this week. Ian was at his 11-year-old scouts. I just got put in the Young Women's presidency so now Alex and I get to hang out on Tuesday nights sometimes. Party!
We enjoyed a visit from Alex's siblings and their family who came into town for his nephew's baptism. It was a fun day. The kids always enjoy playing with their cousins.
I had to teach the Gospel Doctrine class today and really enjoyed exploring my Gospel Library app a little more in preparation. Their temple and family history section is superb! They have an activity section with some really great ideas that could easily be adapted for FHE, and their inspirational resources section has some super thought provoking videos. The ones I particularly enjoyed and used in my lesson were Redeeming the Dead Redeemed Me and The River Will Grow. Check them out!
Counting down the days until Thanksgiving! Can't wait to see you guys!
This week was one of those lovely, ordinary weeks. Did some homeschool, had play dates, did science with Ruth's kids, went to the temple, played outside (courtesy of the sunshine), collected eggs, worked on some house projects, cleaned out the cars, etc....I love ordinary days and weeks!
Alex, Jack, Peter, and I all enjoyed going to mutual this week. Ian was at his 11-year-old scouts. I just got put in the Young Women's presidency so now Alex and I get to hang out on Tuesday nights sometimes. Party!
We enjoyed a visit from Alex's siblings and their family who came into town for his nephew's baptism. It was a fun day. The kids always enjoy playing with their cousins.
I had to teach the Gospel Doctrine class today and really enjoyed exploring my Gospel Library app a little more in preparation. Their temple and family history section is superb! They have an activity section with some really great ideas that could easily be adapted for FHE, and their inspirational resources section has some super thought provoking videos. The ones I particularly enjoyed and used in my lesson were Redeeming the Dead Redeemed Me and The River Will Grow. Check them out!
Counting down the days until Thanksgiving! Can't wait to see you guys!
Flake Fun
12 Nov 2017 - We had a super long weekend which was really nice. Since Veteran's Day was this week, we got Friday as our holiday. And since I don't normally work on Friday and Scott had his flex day on Friday, we got Thursday!! The "weekend" was spent tilling the garden, helping another cousin on their new house, changing the oil and air flow hose on the car, transplanting some of our black walnut trees, playing the piano for a baptism and the other normal weekend stuff.
The weather is still really nice during the day and gets pretty cold at night. We have a roadrunner that shows up in the yard from time to time and a squirrel that is living in our wood pile.
Scott accepted a new job which will start the week after Thanksgiving. He will be working for the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside. We are both pretty excited about the new opportunity.
We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and can't wait to see you all!
The weather is still really nice during the day and gets pretty cold at night. We have a roadrunner that shows up in the yard from time to time and a squirrel that is living in our wood pile.
Scott accepted a new job which will start the week after Thanksgiving. He will be working for the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside. We are both pretty excited about the new opportunity.
We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and can't wait to see you all!
...And Loving It
Pretty much literally nothing happened this week.... I feel like I'm slowly failing college so that's always a party, but as Mr. Nick Manning said, chemistry is for the dogs. I couldn't agree more.
So Mom got kind of huffy when I told her I'm having my mission call sent to my apartment instead of our house. My reasoning is because I want to be the first one to touch and hold it :) call me petty. I know I'm thinking WAY in advance, but it's gonna be the best thing ever so I can't help it. I promised mom that I wouldn't open it if any of you wanted to be here in person to see me open it, but if nobody is gonna be here, I'm just gonna open it the second I get it ;) So yep. That's the master plan. Give me two months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But yeah, that's all I got. Hope everyone has a great week. Hyde Park may be Zion, but I wouldn't recommend the winters. They're actually the worst up on campus. Love you.
So Mom got kind of huffy when I told her I'm having my mission call sent to my apartment instead of our house. My reasoning is because I want to be the first one to touch and hold it :) call me petty. I know I'm thinking WAY in advance, but it's gonna be the best thing ever so I can't help it. I promised mom that I wouldn't open it if any of you wanted to be here in person to see me open it, but if nobody is gonna be here, I'm just gonna open it the second I get it ;) So yep. That's the master plan. Give me two months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But yeah, that's all I got. Hope everyone has a great week. Hyde Park may be Zion, but I wouldn't recommend the winters. They're actually the worst up on campus. Love you.
Hyde Park Highlights
Since I have a few minutes before our YSA Stake Conference, I thought I'd sit and let Chester lick my skirt (urrrrgggghh!!) while I recount the events of our week. We worked on our house projects when we were home, which wasn't a whole lot, therefore we didn't get a whole lot done - but we are making slow progress with painting and organizing. We went to Salt Lake to talk to the folks in charge of Utah Retirement Systems to get the final scoop on what is needed to begin that process. It feels very strange... We drove to Provo after finishing in Salt Lake, stopped for a moment at Lauren's, then Dad helped Grandpa with some bank stuff, then we finished up with a late birthday celebration for Grace. It is always a party at the Bellistons! We have a delightful time whenever we get to be with any of the grandchildren - thanks for always making us feel welcome!
Speaking of parties, we went to a Stake High Priest social in Hyde Park and Dad was able to see some people he doesn't often get to see, now that he is less active in our local ward. We had a nice dinner and the stake president gave a "State of the Stake" address: We have 92 missionaries serving from our stake, which includes 10 couples who are scattered all over the world! I think he said there are more than 60 high priests serving in wards and stakes outside of Hyde Park (Dad sank low in his chair at this announcement because he has about half of them in his stake as bishops, counselors and high councilmen!). There are well over a hundred who are serving in the temple. One statistic caught my attention - 16% of the members of the stake are actively doing family history work and submitting names to the temple, or printing names to take. The church average is 4%. So, as you can see from this information, Hyde Park is truly Zion and you should all move back here!! 😇
Yesterday I had a very humbling experience. Because of all that's been happening here - travels, projects, weather, a few sick days in bed - we haven't gotten around to doing some things. Specifically, raking our deep carpet of leaves off the grass. We were just getting ready to start on some inside projects when an army of young men and young women from our ward, and their leaders, appeared in our back yard with rakes, tarps and leaf blowers! I felt a flood of changing emotions in quick succession. At first I was completely mortified! No one had ever raked our leaves except us and our children! Sometimes friends had helped, but this was something WE did for ourselves - and we helped OTHER people rake THEIR leaves. Then the feeling lessened to just embarrassment. I wanted to find something to give them for their effort, but I truly had nothing! I hadn't been feeling well enough to bake so there were no cookies, no leftover Halloween candy, the apples were all too soft to enjoy eating - nothing to share. Then I experienced an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. I was so grateful that youth would be willing to spend a few hours on a Saturday morning to provide service for their neighbors, without any expectation of payment of any kind. As soon as I got over myself and my pride, I went out and grabbed a rake and visited and laughed and had a great time enjoying my neighbors. They were here for less than 20 minutes and did what it would have taken Dad and me all day, and then some, to accomplish. Hyde Park is truly Zion and you should all move back here!! 😁
The theme for Dad's stake conference this weekend is "Becoming" and the meeting last night was amazing. You should ask him for the C. S. Lewis quote he read. I don't think anyone went away from that meeting just thinking, "That was a great meeting." I feel confident that most were inspired to do something about what they heard and felt. It really was quite powerful. I don't think I've heard Dad speak with such power for a long time. He is at their leadership meeting right now, where he will speak again. He will also speak at the general session in the Tabernacle this afternoon. There will only be 2 or 3 more stake conferences before he is released from his calling, so you'd better hurry and move back here so you can hear him speak while you can!! 😉
We are getting very excited for our Thanksgiving gathering! It will be so great! Can't wait to see you all there (we will be Face Timing with Thomas and Victoria so it will be like having them there)! Have a delightful week of anticipation!!
Speaking of parties, we went to a Stake High Priest social in Hyde Park and Dad was able to see some people he doesn't often get to see, now that he is less active in our local ward. We had a nice dinner and the stake president gave a "State of the Stake" address: We have 92 missionaries serving from our stake, which includes 10 couples who are scattered all over the world! I think he said there are more than 60 high priests serving in wards and stakes outside of Hyde Park (Dad sank low in his chair at this announcement because he has about half of them in his stake as bishops, counselors and high councilmen!). There are well over a hundred who are serving in the temple. One statistic caught my attention - 16% of the members of the stake are actively doing family history work and submitting names to the temple, or printing names to take. The church average is 4%. So, as you can see from this information, Hyde Park is truly Zion and you should all move back here!! 😇
Yesterday I had a very humbling experience. Because of all that's been happening here - travels, projects, weather, a few sick days in bed - we haven't gotten around to doing some things. Specifically, raking our deep carpet of leaves off the grass. We were just getting ready to start on some inside projects when an army of young men and young women from our ward, and their leaders, appeared in our back yard with rakes, tarps and leaf blowers! I felt a flood of changing emotions in quick succession. At first I was completely mortified! No one had ever raked our leaves except us and our children! Sometimes friends had helped, but this was something WE did for ourselves - and we helped OTHER people rake THEIR leaves. Then the feeling lessened to just embarrassment. I wanted to find something to give them for their effort, but I truly had nothing! I hadn't been feeling well enough to bake so there were no cookies, no leftover Halloween candy, the apples were all too soft to enjoy eating - nothing to share. Then I experienced an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. I was so grateful that youth would be willing to spend a few hours on a Saturday morning to provide service for their neighbors, without any expectation of payment of any kind. As soon as I got over myself and my pride, I went out and grabbed a rake and visited and laughed and had a great time enjoying my neighbors. They were here for less than 20 minutes and did what it would have taken Dad and me all day, and then some, to accomplish. Hyde Park is truly Zion and you should all move back here!! 😁
The theme for Dad's stake conference this weekend is "Becoming" and the meeting last night was amazing. You should ask him for the C. S. Lewis quote he read. I don't think anyone went away from that meeting just thinking, "That was a great meeting." I feel confident that most were inspired to do something about what they heard and felt. It really was quite powerful. I don't think I've heard Dad speak with such power for a long time. He is at their leadership meeting right now, where he will speak again. He will also speak at the general session in the Tabernacle this afternoon. There will only be 2 or 3 more stake conferences before he is released from his calling, so you'd better hurry and move back here so you can hear him speak while you can!! 😉
We are getting very excited for our Thanksgiving gathering! It will be so great! Can't wait to see you all there (we will be Face Timing with Thomas and Victoria so it will be like having them there)! Have a delightful week of anticipation!!
Sunday, November 5, 2017
...And Loving It!
Hey fam. So our big final band competition was this weekend. SUPER FUN. Being on staff is actually 10,000 times better than being in the band, despite my pay (which I still haven't received). We didn't make top ten, but the staff was super grateful because that meant we could go home and it was great. So... funny story with that. The buses leave at 5 AM Friday morning to get to St. George in time to get ready to perform. I got all ready and mom helped me get some groceries that I could take with me. I took a shower, packed my bags, set two alarms, and instantly fell asleep. Oh, did I mention I felt like I was gonna die? yeah. I was SUPER sick. So I got in bed around ten, and set my alarm for three and another for four. I was set. At promptly 6:36 AM I flew out of bed in a panic. I hadn't even looked at my phone to see the time, but I knew it wasn't right because I felt rested and it was too light outside to be 5 AM. I absolutely panicked and just cried for a minute. I looked at my phone to see six missed calls, two voicemails, three snapchats, and two text messages. Yep. I was so angry. Like legitimately so mad. so I called mom and she did some quick problem solving, rushed to pick me up, and we were on the road, trying to beat the band (hehe) to Lehi where they were going to take a rest stop. We got there fifteen minutes before they were leaving. I felt like an absolute idiot, and Mom is the real MVP everyone. So yeah, if you're ever in a pinch, call mom. She got you. Pretty much always. That was definitely exciting. All is well.
Not much to say about anything else. College is fine. I love it a whole heck of a lot more than high school, but I actually hated high school so IDK how great that is..... Jk, it's great.
EVERYONE! I get to turn my papers in in like, two months!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAY. Ask me if I'm excited. I am. Wahoo!!!!!! lil sis is just growin' up so fast *wipes away tear* Yes. I am so pumped.
I decided I write way too much on the blog, but it's whatever. Hey, when y'all come for Thanksgiving, we should go Ice Skating because I've learned a lot in my class at USU and it's so fun and I'll teach you all the things.
I miss you guys. Have a great week fam.
Not much to say about anything else. College is fine. I love it a whole heck of a lot more than high school, but I actually hated high school so IDK how great that is..... Jk, it's great.
EVERYONE! I get to turn my papers in in like, two months!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAY. Ask me if I'm excited. I am. Wahoo!!!!!! lil sis is just growin' up so fast *wipes away tear* Yes. I am so pumped.
I decided I write way too much on the blog, but it's whatever. Hey, when y'all come for Thanksgiving, we should go Ice Skating because I've learned a lot in my class at USU and it's so fun and I'll teach you all the things.
I miss you guys. Have a great week fam.
Nilsson News
I never thought I would ever say this but our house is way too quiet! Elise has been so kind and allowed Millie and myself to hang out with them. Garrett took all the four older children down to Provo to see his parents and brother Quinn, who was visiting from California. I decided to stay home with Millie because we got two new donkeys and we didn't want to desert them already! They are both brown but still look completely different from any of our others. Inigo is our jack and is such a little guy but he definitely knows how to bray and I think it helps him feel kind of tough! Lolli is such a cute, furry, mellow gal and has such beautiful color markings. When I can figure it out, I will post pictures of them. Starting in the spring, we are going to try our hand at this breeding thing and if all goes well, we will have five or six little donkey foals! Addy is really excited because we are going to take in her doe, Nibbles to be bred the middle of this month. Baby donkeys are pretty cute, but I will have to say that baby goats take the grand prize in the cuteness realm. They should arrive sometime in April so you will need to plan a trip up this way around that time!
Garrett got our garden tilled and now it is just leaf raking that is left. The kids have been enjoying that and I have enjoyed them doing it! Now that the outside projects are ending, we are already talking about what we want to do inside during the winter months! The kids really had a great Halloween and like always got way too many sweet treats. Addy was Belle, Emerson was the blue ninja from Ninjago (I've never seen it so it was a challenge to make a costume of something I've never seen), Eliza was Batgirl, and Henry was the sherriff. Millie didn't ask for a costume and I was content with letting her remain as her cute, crazy hair self. We enjoyed the evening with the Hart's and that is always delightful!
We have been listening to Christmas music and getting into that lovely holiday spirit. My goal is to have everyone's gifts done by December 1st so I can enjoy the month and focus on the season more fully. I felt like last year it just disappeared without much enjoyment and really the whole key is in the eager anticipation and slowing things down. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving with all you wonderful people! Enjoy your Sabbath!
Garrett got our garden tilled and now it is just leaf raking that is left. The kids have been enjoying that and I have enjoyed them doing it! Now that the outside projects are ending, we are already talking about what we want to do inside during the winter months! The kids really had a great Halloween and like always got way too many sweet treats. Addy was Belle, Emerson was the blue ninja from Ninjago (I've never seen it so it was a challenge to make a costume of something I've never seen), Eliza was Batgirl, and Henry was the sherriff. Millie didn't ask for a costume and I was content with letting her remain as her cute, crazy hair self. We enjoyed the evening with the Hart's and that is always delightful!
We have been listening to Christmas music and getting into that lovely holiday spirit. My goal is to have everyone's gifts done by December 1st so I can enjoy the month and focus on the season more fully. I felt like last year it just disappeared without much enjoyment and really the whole key is in the eager anticipation and slowing things down. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving with all you wonderful people! Enjoy your Sabbath!
Hyde Park Highlights
We had quite an eventful week... I had the blessing of taking lunch to Ruth Ann Clark and staying with her for a few hours while Dennis was at work. She has been quite ill and he doesn't like to leave her alone. We visited and ate and then she showed me around her house that has recently been remodeled. Wow! It is a masterpiece with lots of hidden wonders, including an elevator! I made a valiant effort to not covet! That same night we had a fall festival party with the YSA stake. Some of the members dressed up and Emma and her roommate even came as old ladies! We ate chili inside and had a trunk or treat and dance in the parking lot. It was cold, but very well attended and all had a good time.
Dad and I took off Tuesday to the thriving metropolis of Ely, Nevada to visit Uncle Larry and Aunt Wilma. It's quite the place! We thought the Denny's restaurant might be a safe place to eat but we really had to really hunt for it and finally found it hiding inside a hotel and casino. Uncle Larry is very thin and weak, but is up and around and feisty as ever! He laughed and talked and seemed very glad for our visit. He is 82 and can't see or hear well any more. Their daughter, Stacy, is living with them this year and teaching school in Ely so that she can spend time with her dad since they really don't know what is going to happen. He refuses to go back to any more doctors because he doesn't feel they have helped him in any way.
We drove from Ely to Delta, Utah, another thriving metropolis. It was delightful to drive through all the small towns on our way to Springville. We visited with Lori and the children for a little bit, but sadly missed seeing Joe. Things are lively at that house and we were treated with lots of smiles from everyone, including little Hope! We spent some time with Grandpa and Christi and arrived just as word came from the doctor that Grandpa had a "raging UTI." He is now on some antibiotics for that. Hopefully that will help him feel better for a while. We enjoyed having dinner with the Mannings and being entertained by Wesley before heading back home. It was a fun, quick trip.
I went back to Ogden the next day for some appointments and Dad had a meeting in Salt Lake all day on Friday - lots of back and forth! I ended up driving with Emma to Lehi on Friday morning, but that's her story....
We were glad to stay home on Saturday and get some work done in our house and go to the temple together. Because we were gone so much this week, the rain and snow got here before the leaves got off the lawn. The front leaves are in piles, but they totally blanket the back yard! Hopefully the sun will shine long enough in the coming week for us to get them off the grass.
Have a lovely week, all! And the Happiest of Birthdays to Grace today!! 8 years old already!!
Dad and I took off Tuesday to the thriving metropolis of Ely, Nevada to visit Uncle Larry and Aunt Wilma. It's quite the place! We thought the Denny's restaurant might be a safe place to eat but we really had to really hunt for it and finally found it hiding inside a hotel and casino. Uncle Larry is very thin and weak, but is up and around and feisty as ever! He laughed and talked and seemed very glad for our visit. He is 82 and can't see or hear well any more. Their daughter, Stacy, is living with them this year and teaching school in Ely so that she can spend time with her dad since they really don't know what is going to happen. He refuses to go back to any more doctors because he doesn't feel they have helped him in any way.
We drove from Ely to Delta, Utah, another thriving metropolis. It was delightful to drive through all the small towns on our way to Springville. We visited with Lori and the children for a little bit, but sadly missed seeing Joe. Things are lively at that house and we were treated with lots of smiles from everyone, including little Hope! We spent some time with Grandpa and Christi and arrived just as word came from the doctor that Grandpa had a "raging UTI." He is now on some antibiotics for that. Hopefully that will help him feel better for a while. We enjoyed having dinner with the Mannings and being entertained by Wesley before heading back home. It was a fun, quick trip.
I went back to Ogden the next day for some appointments and Dad had a meeting in Salt Lake all day on Friday - lots of back and forth! I ended up driving with Emma to Lehi on Friday morning, but that's her story....
We were glad to stay home on Saturday and get some work done in our house and go to the temple together. Because we were gone so much this week, the rain and snow got here before the leaves got off the lawn. The front leaves are in piles, but they totally blanket the back yard! Hopefully the sun will shine long enough in the coming week for us to get them off the grass.
Have a lovely week, all! And the Happiest of Birthdays to Grace today!! 8 years old already!!
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