Well, I didn't want to get to February (on Sunday) and only have one post for January, so here I am posting on Tuesday...
First of all, I must say what delight we experience when we read your posts and view your photos! They lift our spirits and warm our hearts and cause us to laugh and feel grateful! It's a blessing indeed. Thanks for contributing!
It's been a bit of an adventure around here since our last update. Two amazing births have occurred, one super quick and my assistant didn't make it, even though she lives closer to the mom than I do. All was well. The other was a little anxiety-laden. This was another midwife's client that I was assisting with. We didn't know exactly how far along this mom was. She didn't have an accurate date, but by her assessment, and ours, she was due toward the end of February. Well, she began having signs on the 18th so I went to check on her since the other midwife lives in Ogden. Yep. She was having consistent, though not close contractions, and had some other signs, including a dilating cervix (sorry for such graphic language on our blog!). So, after consulting with the other midwife, I had to take her to the hospital at 2 a.m. because our best guess was that she was somewhere between 32 and 35 weeks. Long story short, they gave her an IV and did an ultrasound and bloodwork. The fluids stopped her contractions (she was a bit dehydrated), the labs all came back normal and the radiologist who read the ultrasound estimated that the baby was over 6 pounds and 36.6 weeks. So, all was well and she went home at 5:30 a.m. However, the next night she called again, having contractions 10 minutes apart. I arrived at 11:30 p.m. (the other midwife had been called to another birth when she was halfway to Logan) and baby arrived on 01/20/2020 at 2:01. She weighed 7# 5 oz and was robust and healthy, nursed right away like a champ. My assessment was 39 weeks. All the stress was for naught - but we were glad for the trip to the hospital which alleviated our fears and allowed mom to have the calm delivery experience at home that she so wanted.
That experience happened while Lauren and Nick and their boys were here. But we did get to have some fun time together. Wesley and Chet had their first sledding experience on the little hill down the road from our house. It was Chet's nap time and he wasn't very impressed with the whole idea of going down a hill and getting snow sprayed up into his face, but Wesley loved it - after the first time. Instead of starting at the top, Nick took him from the mid-point and that was more comfortable for Wesley. Before long, he was dragging his sled up the hill and going down all by himself! We also did puzzles, played ping pong, danced while Lauren played the piano, chatted and talked and conversed, did a wonderful Come Follow Me lesson, and had a lovely time together. The weather was sublime and the company delightful. We do hope they'll return again soon!
Our lovely family cookbook has been beckoning to me and I've decided to prepare every recipe in it, except for maybe all of the desserts. I have shied away from making desserts for the last while, but we may try a few. Anyway, it has been a very delicious endeavor! May I wholeheartedly recommend Lori's Wild Rice and Chicken Soup?!!! We prepared it tonight and it is heavenly! Dad couldn't get enough and Emma even had seconds (we've worried about her eating like a bird lately!) and I relished every bite. No strange ingredients - except that our silly grocery stores here don't carry wild rice. We ended getting a combination wild/brown rice mix after trying unsuccessfully to find plain wild rice. It was delicious regardless. I can also recommend Grant's yummy nachos recipe - quick and tasty - and Lauren's Frittata recipe, absolutely delicioso!!! We are excited to try all of the other recipes.
In order to feed my soul, I am reading an interesting book by Tad Callister about the Book of Mormon (and reading the Book of Mormon, too). I really liked your insight, Jenn. Getting to the Tree takes effort, but it also takes effort to get yourself into the Large and Spacious Building, especially since you'll have to fly to get there since it's in the air! And, in order to feed my sanity I am reading, of all things, Carl Belliston's autobiography of his first 25 years of life. I don't think I've laughed so hard for a very long time! It is hilarious! It is quite invigorating and very refreshing to laugh. And I've loved getting some insights into a very unique and amazing person. I highly recommend it. I am planning to check with Carl and see if he has another copy we can have as a loaner. So good.
We are LOVING being ordinance workers at the temple, even though we have to get up at 4:00 on Wednesday mornings. It is an uplifting, inspiring experience each week. The sweetest experiences I've had are in the initiatory when a blind sister has come through and is so grateful to be there, and when I helped a young handicapped gal at the veil who is unable to speak quietly. She also speaks very slowly and with great effort. Apparently, as a young girl, she was hit by a car and not expected to survive. When she did, her parents were warned that she likely would never be functional. She is completely functional, just does everything very slowly and deliberately. She regularly comes to the temple on our shift. Last week a sweet, older lady with a thick foreign accent, came when I was at the new name area. She said she felt impressed to tell my why she was there - that she has an appointment with the Lord every day, at 6:40 in the chapel at the temple. On Sunday and Monday she keeps that appointment in her house. She said, "da Lord speaks to me and tells me vhat I should do. He vill tell you, too. You must keep your appointment vit da Lord." It was quite powerful for me.
Love you all! If you want to party with Jenn and the babies while they're here - come on over!!!
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Flake Foursome
The week started off really well with the holiday so Scott was able to be home. That is always a fun treat. It also ended on a high note when we spent all day yesterday in Globe at Uncle Dee's wedding. He is Randy's oldest brother whose wife died last year. She dealt with MS for 30+ years. Anyway, he married an adorable lady named Jane and we attended the wedding. It was fun to see him so happy and see their children so happy.
The weather has started to warm up and we have been on 3 walks this week!
The big news of the week is that Rand cut 2 teeth on Thursday. He is a little miserable with a sore mouth but he is a tough kid. I don't think Robin will be too far behind in getting a few teeth herself.
Scott has found a plot of land that he likes and has designed a house to put on it. It is good to see him have a project again.
I hope that you all have a terrific week! Oh! One last thing, I was reading 1 Nephi 8 (I'm a little behind in Come Follow Me) and came to verse 31 and it hit me that the great and spacious building takes work too. I think that I always just felt like if you aren't working at holding fast to the rod that you just end up in the building. But I think that just gets you lost in the clouds of darkness and wandering in strange paths. It takes effort to get to the building. Just wanted to share that interesting thought.
The weather has started to warm up and we have been on 3 walks this week!
The big news of the week is that Rand cut 2 teeth on Thursday. He is a little miserable with a sore mouth but he is a tough kid. I don't think Robin will be too far behind in getting a few teeth herself.
Scott has found a plot of land that he likes and has designed a house to put on it. It is good to see him have a project again.
I hope that you all have a terrific week! Oh! One last thing, I was reading 1 Nephi 8 (I'm a little behind in Come Follow Me) and came to verse 31 and it hit me that the great and spacious building takes work too. I think that I always just felt like if you aren't working at holding fast to the rod that you just end up in the building. But I think that just gets you lost in the clouds of darkness and wandering in strange paths. It takes effort to get to the building. Just wanted to share that interesting thought.
Hart Happenings
What a glorious week!
It started out with an indoor picnic with our homeschool co-op, Compass. Jack and I scoped out the kitchen where we will be teaming up to teach a Chemistry in the Kitchen class. Ruth has said she would help too if Millie will allow it. It was fun to see our homeschool peeps again and got us really excited for Compass to start TOMORROW!
Tuesday we enjoyed a Great Brains presentation day with Ruth's family, the Martins, and the Kleins. There were presentations about money, sign language, the Titanic, Pokemon, Louisa May Alcott, weather, dinosaurs, and eyes. I felt so much smarter afterward! Alex was supposed to be in Boise that day to train some new affiliates in his brokering business but went to bed feeling lousy and woke up feeling worse so he stayed home, which never hurts my feelings. Jack and Ian love going to their youth activities together and Peter really enjoys having his parents all to himself on Tuesday nights.
Wednesday we had Ruth's family over to do some Idaho history/geography and talked about state parks and national monuments (it was rather confusing). We also practiced our counties song that Ruth wrote. It is a hard one because Idaho has 44 counties! A little excessive we've decided.
Thursday the Banff Film festival rolled into town which is something Alex and I look forward to every year. There are always some really inspiring stories, some films that make my heart race and my palms sweat, and the filmography is superb. Alex bought tickets for shows all weekend and so Dad joined us for the Friday night showing. We were exhausted and panting by the end as if we were the ones bouldering with no ropes or kayaking down the Colorado River blind, or slack lining across the Rio Grand. So fun! Dad also helped immensely with building the fort and cheered the boys on at the Parkour practice.
Saturday morning found us out in the snow yet again. I don't think you can imagine how behemoth this fort is. We also attended Jack's basketball game, I hosted a book club, Ian went to a party with friends, and Jack had a friend over to work on the fort in the dark. Alex lit up the yard with some spotlights and they went at it. Such a fun day. Plus we got the laundry room cleaned out. Bonus!
Today was spent at church, we brought some investigator kids home from church with us to have lunch a hang out a bit and then Alex dashed up to Rexburg to do a teacher training while I rushed off to the Stake Center for our ward's Great to be 8 presentation which turned out so well! We have 16 kiddos up for baptism this year so there were a lot of people present.
I came home and collapsed on the couch and have only moved to get a drink of water. I think I will probably stay here for the next little while. It's so cozy with the fireplace going and my blanket and the younger boys playing ping pong, Ian Face-timing his cousin in Oregon and Alex talking to his dad who is in Thailand complaining that he couldn't get his air conditioner to work. We're not feeling a lot of sympathy for them. It's all great background noise. I love Sabbath evenings.
Well, that's about it from the frozen north country. Hope all is well with my favorite people on earth. That's you guys.
It started out with an indoor picnic with our homeschool co-op, Compass. Jack and I scoped out the kitchen where we will be teaming up to teach a Chemistry in the Kitchen class. Ruth has said she would help too if Millie will allow it. It was fun to see our homeschool peeps again and got us really excited for Compass to start TOMORROW!
Tuesday we enjoyed a Great Brains presentation day with Ruth's family, the Martins, and the Kleins. There were presentations about money, sign language, the Titanic, Pokemon, Louisa May Alcott, weather, dinosaurs, and eyes. I felt so much smarter afterward! Alex was supposed to be in Boise that day to train some new affiliates in his brokering business but went to bed feeling lousy and woke up feeling worse so he stayed home, which never hurts my feelings. Jack and Ian love going to their youth activities together and Peter really enjoys having his parents all to himself on Tuesday nights.
Wednesday we had Ruth's family over to do some Idaho history/geography and talked about state parks and national monuments (it was rather confusing). We also practiced our counties song that Ruth wrote. It is a hard one because Idaho has 44 counties! A little excessive we've decided.
Thursday the Banff Film festival rolled into town which is something Alex and I look forward to every year. There are always some really inspiring stories, some films that make my heart race and my palms sweat, and the filmography is superb. Alex bought tickets for shows all weekend and so Dad joined us for the Friday night showing. We were exhausted and panting by the end as if we were the ones bouldering with no ropes or kayaking down the Colorado River blind, or slack lining across the Rio Grand. So fun! Dad also helped immensely with building the fort and cheered the boys on at the Parkour practice.
Saturday morning found us out in the snow yet again. I don't think you can imagine how behemoth this fort is. We also attended Jack's basketball game, I hosted a book club, Ian went to a party with friends, and Jack had a friend over to work on the fort in the dark. Alex lit up the yard with some spotlights and they went at it. Such a fun day. Plus we got the laundry room cleaned out. Bonus!
Today was spent at church, we brought some investigator kids home from church with us to have lunch a hang out a bit and then Alex dashed up to Rexburg to do a teacher training while I rushed off to the Stake Center for our ward's Great to be 8 presentation which turned out so well! We have 16 kiddos up for baptism this year so there were a lot of people present.
I came home and collapsed on the couch and have only moved to get a drink of water. I think I will probably stay here for the next little while. It's so cozy with the fireplace going and my blanket and the younger boys playing ping pong, Ian Face-timing his cousin in Oregon and Alex talking to his dad who is in Thailand complaining that he couldn't get his air conditioner to work. We're not feeling a lot of sympathy for them. It's all great background noise. I love Sabbath evenings.
Well, that's about it from the frozen north country. Hope all is well with my favorite people on earth. That's you guys.
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Hart Happenings
Happy 2020 everyone!
I feel like we are just barely starting the new year given the fact that for the first couple of weeks in January we/I was smitten by a foul sickness and languished on the couch for many days. But now we are back to normal and ready to rock and roll.
Jack was ordained a deacon last week and passed the sacrament and was able to attend the temple after a two hour wait on Saturday. He was kind of nervous about the sacrament but made it down his row just fine and didn't spill on anyone so he felt pretty accomplished. The temple was wonderful and we were so glad Addy could go with us and so grateful that Ruth would let Peter hang out at her house while the rest of our fam was at the temple. Jack was also elated to take 2nd place in the Ping Pong tournament at his first deacon's quorum activity. It's so weird that I only have one boy left in Primary...…
Ian attended his cast party for Matilda which was a lot of fun! He was so glad to be able to see his good friends from the play again. It was such a good experience for him.
Peter has been learning all kinds of new games and playing with friends.
The boys had friends over this week to work on the snow fort but it was too cold for the snow to be workable so Alex pulled them on innertubes behind the van down our street. It was so fun! There was a lot of boy yelling that happened and then lots of hot chocolate afterwards.
Jack is playing soccer and basketball now which takes up a good chunk of our weekends.
Peter is looking forward to his Great to Be 8 meeting and gearing up to be baptized in just a few months (GASP!)
The boys are looking forward to our homeschool group starting up again in another week and have been working really hard on their studies. They are learning so much these days and it is fun to observe their interests and try to keep up with them.
Alex has been making good progress on GOALit and has had so much fun working with Joe and their other partner on this project. It has been fun to have Emma and Mom, Joe and Lori and Thomas all participating at one time or another. Good progress being made all around.
Ian and I got to go out and attend church with a really good friends today. She has a little cabin that she and her family live in on the weekends completely off the grid and it was so fun to see their set up and bear witness to their ingenuity. People are SO clever!
Anyway, it is such a treat to see all the fun photos of projects that you all are working on and I feel lucky that we get consistent photo updates of the cutest babies in the universe! Keep those coming! It's so nice to be connected even if we can't all live across the street from each other. But I am going to back Ruth up in her encouragement of Jenn and Scott to do just that! Come on up! It would be the absolute best to have you. That's it. I'm going to start sending you listings...….Lauren, Joe, T's, the same goes for you.
Hope everyone is staying warm and dry and safe.
I feel like we are just barely starting the new year given the fact that for the first couple of weeks in January we/I was smitten by a foul sickness and languished on the couch for many days. But now we are back to normal and ready to rock and roll.
Jack was ordained a deacon last week and passed the sacrament and was able to attend the temple after a two hour wait on Saturday. He was kind of nervous about the sacrament but made it down his row just fine and didn't spill on anyone so he felt pretty accomplished. The temple was wonderful and we were so glad Addy could go with us and so grateful that Ruth would let Peter hang out at her house while the rest of our fam was at the temple. Jack was also elated to take 2nd place in the Ping Pong tournament at his first deacon's quorum activity. It's so weird that I only have one boy left in Primary...…
Ian attended his cast party for Matilda which was a lot of fun! He was so glad to be able to see his good friends from the play again. It was such a good experience for him.
Peter has been learning all kinds of new games and playing with friends.
The boys had friends over this week to work on the snow fort but it was too cold for the snow to be workable so Alex pulled them on innertubes behind the van down our street. It was so fun! There was a lot of boy yelling that happened and then lots of hot chocolate afterwards.
Jack is playing soccer and basketball now which takes up a good chunk of our weekends.
Peter is looking forward to his Great to Be 8 meeting and gearing up to be baptized in just a few months (GASP!)
The boys are looking forward to our homeschool group starting up again in another week and have been working really hard on their studies. They are learning so much these days and it is fun to observe their interests and try to keep up with them.
Alex has been making good progress on GOALit and has had so much fun working with Joe and their other partner on this project. It has been fun to have Emma and Mom, Joe and Lori and Thomas all participating at one time or another. Good progress being made all around.
Ian and I got to go out and attend church with a really good friends today. She has a little cabin that she and her family live in on the weekends completely off the grid and it was so fun to see their set up and bear witness to their ingenuity. People are SO clever!
Anyway, it is such a treat to see all the fun photos of projects that you all are working on and I feel lucky that we get consistent photo updates of the cutest babies in the universe! Keep those coming! It's so nice to be connected even if we can't all live across the street from each other. But I am going to back Ruth up in her encouragement of Jenn and Scott to do just that! Come on up! It would be the absolute best to have you. That's it. I'm going to start sending you listings...….Lauren, Joe, T's, the same goes for you.
Hope everyone is staying warm and dry and safe.
Nilsson News
Well Flakes, if Scott is itching to build a house, I can look into details as to how much the lots are across the street from us! Can you imagine living across the street from each other?! Woot, woot!
The weather this week has been C.R.A.Z.Y!!! (Flakes, do not let this story scare you or deter you in way from moving up here) Schools were cancelled four out of the five days of the week because of blizzard conditions that closed down roads all over the town. Cars and buses couldn't go anywhere, the interstate was closed in places as were the highways. On Monday, I went out to shovel down the drift that builds up in front of our garage so Garrett could get to work. The drift was easily four feet tall. Out on our street, a car had gotten lodged in a massive drift that was blocking the road and five other cars were stuck because there was no place to turn around. Three large moving trucks decided to try to go around the stuck car and of course, they all three got stuck and really blocked the road. A tow truck was parked near our driveway and I guess he was trying to figure out who to help first. Another car saw the blockage ahead and decided to turn around using our driveway which I hadn't shoveled out yet so he got stuck. The wind was still blowing at 30 mph and a snowmobile guy was having a blast going all over the place. Garrett finally made it to work three hours late. That has been the weather this week.
It is hard to tell in this picture, but all those trucks are trying to rescue the big moving trucks that jack knifed all over the road (see Jenn, the fun adventures you'd have living across the street from us?!).
Anyway, aside from the crazy weather, the inside of our house looks like a windstorm went through it as well! Dust is still all over the place and the majority of our kitchen supplies are now residing on our fireplace hearth. Yesterday, our wonderful neighbor came and helped us redo all the electrical work that was up in the soffit area. He and Garrett ran into several things that were not up to code and it is amazing that our house hasn't burned down (if Scott lived across the street from us, he could help us with all of our electrical issues!). Drywall is next and is sitting in our hallway as I type this. Millie thought it was quite fun walking the narrow pathway through the hall. We were actually just trying to make more of a visual with our Lehi's Dream discussion this week. Drywall makes a great visual.
Now you see them (the cabinets)....
...Now you don't!
Hope you all have a lovely week!
The weather this week has been C.R.A.Z.Y!!! (Flakes, do not let this story scare you or deter you in way from moving up here) Schools were cancelled four out of the five days of the week because of blizzard conditions that closed down roads all over the town. Cars and buses couldn't go anywhere, the interstate was closed in places as were the highways. On Monday, I went out to shovel down the drift that builds up in front of our garage so Garrett could get to work. The drift was easily four feet tall. Out on our street, a car had gotten lodged in a massive drift that was blocking the road and five other cars were stuck because there was no place to turn around. Three large moving trucks decided to try to go around the stuck car and of course, they all three got stuck and really blocked the road. A tow truck was parked near our driveway and I guess he was trying to figure out who to help first. Another car saw the blockage ahead and decided to turn around using our driveway which I hadn't shoveled out yet so he got stuck. The wind was still blowing at 30 mph and a snowmobile guy was having a blast going all over the place. Garrett finally made it to work three hours late. That has been the weather this week.
Hope you all have a lovely week!
Flake Foursome
I keep checking the blog hoping that there will be a YouTube link from the Ts with an awesome gender reveal video (or something like that). I fully expect it to be quite the announcement!
This has been a strange week. Scott was summoned for Federal jury duty so he headed to Phoenix on Sunday afternoon. Luckily he was not chosen for the jury so he was able to come back on Monday evening.
The weather is still being temperamental and it keeps us guessing daily on what the day will be like.
I got a humorous phone call the other day from a friend/co-worker. "Hi Jenn. I don't know if you are still getting your emails but I need your effort report for last quarter." Hmmm. Nope, haven't checked my emails since I quit!!
Rand and Robin have both come down with colds so no one is sleeping very well at our house. I think that it is also exacerbated by teething. I am still assuming that they are both teething even though there is no visible evidence other than excessive amounts of drool.
Scott helped a neighbor put up some house trusses yesterday which renewed his desire to build a house. So that could be our next big project. Speaking of, can't wait to see the Nilsson kitchen progress!!!
I hope that you all have a great week. Oh! I'm planning a trip to Smithfield Feb 10-14. I'll keep you updated as it gets closer.
This has been a strange week. Scott was summoned for Federal jury duty so he headed to Phoenix on Sunday afternoon. Luckily he was not chosen for the jury so he was able to come back on Monday evening.
The weather is still being temperamental and it keeps us guessing daily on what the day will be like.
I got a humorous phone call the other day from a friend/co-worker. "Hi Jenn. I don't know if you are still getting your emails but I need your effort report for last quarter." Hmmm. Nope, haven't checked my emails since I quit!!
Rand and Robin have both come down with colds so no one is sleeping very well at our house. I think that it is also exacerbated by teething. I am still assuming that they are both teething even though there is no visible evidence other than excessive amounts of drool.
Scott helped a neighbor put up some house trusses yesterday which renewed his desire to build a house. So that could be our next big project. Speaking of, can't wait to see the Nilsson kitchen progress!!!
I hope that you all have a great week. Oh! I'm planning a trip to Smithfield Feb 10-14. I'll keep you updated as it gets closer.
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Smithfield Scoop
Well, I must agree with Ruth - those Flake babies are pretty darling! And the Nilsson's are magical in what they attempt and what they accomplish! We can't wait to see the end result...
We had a delightful time reading all of the December blog posts a few days ago, since we had not even been on the blog since Thanksgiving. It is a new year and time to repent and do better! So, here we are.
The news of the month so far is a very fun trip that Dad and Emma took to Houston to visit the T's. I was supposed to go, but... yes, I was waiting for a baby. They flew out from Las Vegas at 4:30 p.m. on Dec 31st, and the baby decided to get on his way here at midnight. He was born at 2:43 a.m. and was actually the first baby born in Cache Valley in 2020! (See the link below to read the Herald Journal report of the New Year's Baby) The fun thing about this baby is that he is baby #6 in this family, and the first boy! Can you imagine having 5 older sisters?! Not to mention, the mom was a good friend of Jennifer and Joseph from marching band days...
https://www.hjnews.com/news/
But I missed going to Houston... The highlights of the trip were going to NASA, an aquarium, Galveston on the seashore, Barry's where Thomas works, and seeing the new house where Thomas and Tori live. They enjoyed playing games and watching movies in the evenings. It was warmer than here by a long shot, even when it rained. The Bellistons are great hosts and took Dad and Em to some of the neatest places to eat. It was interesting to drive on some crazy roads and to go to some "Texas-sized gas stations named Buc-ee's." Dad was quite intrigued by the restrooms and grocery stores in those gas stations!
I enjoyed going to Idaho Falls after the baby came, on New Year's Day. It was nice to not be home alone to start the new year. Harts and Nilssons were very welcoming and we enjoyed some book shopping and kitchen demolition. After returning home, I realized I was not feeling well and went to bed with a stomach virus and stayed there for the next two days. It was a most unpleasant bug, but I was very grateful for a miracle associated with that sickness. Even though they returned home very late on Saturday night, Dad got up when he heard me being so sick with some excrutiating stomach pains that I had been suffering with most of the night. I was able to lean on the bathroom counter long enough for him to give me a blessing and as soon as he finished the blessing, the pains stopped and I was able to walk to bed and lie down comfortably and rest. It was truly a miracle for me, a direct result of the priesthood. I hope all of my grandchildren will know and remember this story.
We are loving our Book of Mormon study and hope to post some of our insights and impressions from time to time - and really hope all of you will, too! We can learn so much from each other! We sure love you all and hope you are looking forward to the April Gathering. It will be very fun! The countdown has started....
We had a delightful time reading all of the December blog posts a few days ago, since we had not even been on the blog since Thanksgiving. It is a new year and time to repent and do better! So, here we are.
The news of the month so far is a very fun trip that Dad and Emma took to Houston to visit the T's. I was supposed to go, but... yes, I was waiting for a baby. They flew out from Las Vegas at 4:30 p.m. on Dec 31st, and the baby decided to get on his way here at midnight. He was born at 2:43 a.m. and was actually the first baby born in Cache Valley in 2020! (See the link below to read the Herald Journal report of the New Year's Baby) The fun thing about this baby is that he is baby #6 in this family, and the first boy! Can you imagine having 5 older sisters?! Not to mention, the mom was a good friend of Jennifer and Joseph from marching band days...
https://www.hjnews.com/news/
But I missed going to Houston... The highlights of the trip were going to NASA, an aquarium, Galveston on the seashore, Barry's where Thomas works, and seeing the new house where Thomas and Tori live. They enjoyed playing games and watching movies in the evenings. It was warmer than here by a long shot, even when it rained. The Bellistons are great hosts and took Dad and Em to some of the neatest places to eat. It was interesting to drive on some crazy roads and to go to some "Texas-sized gas stations named Buc-ee's." Dad was quite intrigued by the restrooms and grocery stores in those gas stations!
I enjoyed going to Idaho Falls after the baby came, on New Year's Day. It was nice to not be home alone to start the new year. Harts and Nilssons were very welcoming and we enjoyed some book shopping and kitchen demolition. After returning home, I realized I was not feeling well and went to bed with a stomach virus and stayed there for the next two days. It was a most unpleasant bug, but I was very grateful for a miracle associated with that sickness. Even though they returned home very late on Saturday night, Dad got up when he heard me being so sick with some excrutiating stomach pains that I had been suffering with most of the night. I was able to lean on the bathroom counter long enough for him to give me a blessing and as soon as he finished the blessing, the pains stopped and I was able to walk to bed and lie down comfortably and rest. It was truly a miracle for me, a direct result of the priesthood. I hope all of my grandchildren will know and remember this story.
We are loving our Book of Mormon study and hope to post some of our insights and impressions from time to time - and really hope all of you will, too! We can learn so much from each other! We sure love you all and hope you are looking forward to the April Gathering. It will be very fun! The countdown has started....
Flake Foursome
I am officially done with work!!! Since I didn't walk out of the office on Friday for the last time it is still a bit surreal but I am really looking forward to not pulling out the computer tomorrow.
The weather decided to get really cold again this past week and we even woke up to snow once!
Robin and Rand are getting quite proficient at sitting up and this week Rand rolled from his back to his tummy. I am having a hard time believing that they will be 6 months this week!
The weather decided to get really cold again this past week and we even woke up to snow once!
Robin and Rand are getting quite proficient at sitting up and this week Rand rolled from his back to his tummy. I am having a hard time believing that they will be 6 months this week!
Nilsson News
Flakes win the prize for the most consistant bolg posts and the cutest baby pictures ever!
Dust, dust, dust everywhere! That is what we have been dealing with. Yesterday, Garrett and I tore out the soffits above the kitchen cabinets. Something we realize the more remodeling we do is just how well built our house is. Nails, chicken wire and plaster, oh my! We can't believe how many layers there are. We got the demo pretty much all done and now we have some electrical re-routing that needs to be done. Addy became a little hysterical when we first started doing the demo and declared, "What have you done to my kitchen!" We promised that we would fix it but it would be a bit of a process. We also promised that she would LOVE it when it was all finished but we still don't know if she believes us.
The weather is cold, snowy and bitterly windy. The roads were quite trecherous going to church and coming home, I nearly crashed into the side of our house while trying to plunge through a large snowdrift blockading our garage.
A couple of days ago, I heard a loud crash on our back kitchen door. We are always getting little house finches flying into that window/door so I went to see what unfortunate bird had succumed to that fate. When I looked out, sitting in our stairs was a peregrine falcon! As soon as it saw me, it flew off unscathed. The kids were pretty thrilled when I told them and only wished that I had gotten a picture.
Life is going pretty well and everyone is currently healthy (hip-hip hooray!). Stay warm, stay well, stay true. Love you all!
These pictures aren't nearly as cute or delightful as the Flake babies!
Dust, dust, dust everywhere! That is what we have been dealing with. Yesterday, Garrett and I tore out the soffits above the kitchen cabinets. Something we realize the more remodeling we do is just how well built our house is. Nails, chicken wire and plaster, oh my! We can't believe how many layers there are. We got the demo pretty much all done and now we have some electrical re-routing that needs to be done. Addy became a little hysterical when we first started doing the demo and declared, "What have you done to my kitchen!" We promised that we would fix it but it would be a bit of a process. We also promised that she would LOVE it when it was all finished but we still don't know if she believes us.
The weather is cold, snowy and bitterly windy. The roads were quite trecherous going to church and coming home, I nearly crashed into the side of our house while trying to plunge through a large snowdrift blockading our garage.
A couple of days ago, I heard a loud crash on our back kitchen door. We are always getting little house finches flying into that window/door so I went to see what unfortunate bird had succumed to that fate. When I looked out, sitting in our stairs was a peregrine falcon! As soon as it saw me, it flew off unscathed. The kids were pretty thrilled when I told them and only wished that I had gotten a picture.
Life is going pretty well and everyone is currently healthy (hip-hip hooray!). Stay warm, stay well, stay true. Love you all!
These pictures aren't nearly as cute or delightful as the Flake babies!
Now you see it...
Now you don't!!! (all you can see now is layers upon layers of dust)
Sunday, January 5, 2020
Flake Fun
The sun has been playing hide and seek this week but today it is shining brightly but there is a bitter cold wind. A majority of our snow has melted but it stuck around longer than Scott remembered ever seeing.
Robin and Rand are getting better at sitting up each day. They are still a bit wobbly but they seem to really enjoy their new ability.
I was so excited that our church schedule moved to 10:30 because I was sure that we could get there on time. I was wrong! Hopefully next week we'll do better.
Not too much to report. We hope that Mom and Elise are feeling better, that Emma and Dad had a good time in Texas and that T&T enjoyed having them. (And that Tori is feeling terrific)
Robin and Rand are getting better at sitting up each day. They are still a bit wobbly but they seem to really enjoy their new ability.
I was so excited that our church schedule moved to 10:30 because I was sure that we could get there on time. I was wrong! Hopefully next week we'll do better.
Not too much to report. We hope that Mom and Elise are feeling better, that Emma and Dad had a good time in Texas and that T&T enjoyed having them. (And that Tori is feeling terrific)
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