Cara is dating a really nice guy from Missouri. They make a cute couple. My mom said I need to post some pictures on my blog so family can see them. So here goes. First I will put in a video of them jumping on the trampoline. He can bounce Cara pretty high! The first pictures are some they took on their trip to Runestone State Park in Oklahoma, which is about 20 minutes from our house.

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted anything. I last posted in August and here it is October. Getting back to school is a busy time. I am especially busy at school this year. I have 6 distance learning classes that I supervise and 2 hours of yearbook students. Yearbook is very time consuming, but I have a great staff this year. They all want to work and turn out a great yearbook. I just wish we had more money to work with. But I predict another really great yearbook.
Today is Matt's 16 month mark, so time continues to march on by till he will be home again. At the top of this post are a couple of pictures he sent me that I really love. He is still in Livramento and loving it there. He is teaching some wonderful people and taking great joy in seeing their lives change.
Ryan and Sarah are expecting a baby. It's due May 30th. Michelle and Ethan are also expecting a baby on June 22nd, which we think will be Matt's release date. Nice timing Michelle. But we are so excited to have 2 new members of the family on the way!
Caroline had her tonsils out a week and a half ago. Poor little thing has been miserable! But hopefully she is on the road to recovery now. The doctor said it is a good thing they got them out because he didn't know how she was even breathing since they were so big! It should really make a difference to how well she can run and play and even sleep.
The leaves are turning and it is my favorite time of the year!

More pictures from Brazil

Matthew sent a few more pictures from Brazil. I'm posting them here so you all can see them. I love to see his pictures! He looks so great.
One picture is of a sunset and one is of a rainbow. In one picture Matt is standing in front of a view of Santana do Livramento. The rest are taken before baptisms.

Old nostalgic items

My husband just got back from a trip to Arizona to visit his mom. He spent the time helping her get her house ready to sell. They didn't get it all done, but they made some progress. I'm glad he's home. He brought home an old rocker that is many many years old. It needs work on it. About 50 years ago his grandparents leased some land that had an old abandoned house on it and the rocking chair was in that house. It was old then, so I'm sure it's quiet old now. It is pretty. Years ago my husband replaced the rockers on it for his grandfather. Now it is ours.
He also brought home a lot of old tools that were his grandfathers. His Grandpa Barney would paint the handles of his hand tools either yellow or green. So now he has a collection of his Grandpa's tools.
My daughters are excited about he quilt tops that he brought home for each of our kids. They were made by his Grandma Barney, their great grandmother. I haven't seen them yet, since he left them with Michelle as he drove through Fort Smith on the way home.
The favorite thing for me, that he brought home, is a beautiful butterfly tray. It was a gift he brought home to his mother when he returned from his mission in Uruguay back in 1975. It is made from the butterflies of the Amazon. One thing that is significant to us now is that he bought it in Santana do Livramento, Brazil when he visited there for a conference. That is where our son Matt is currently assigned on his mission in Brazil. The glass is broken on the tray unfortunately, but it is still beautiful. I am thrilled to be able to display it in our house.

Pool fun

Michelle and the girls are staying with us a few days. They love to spend time in the pool. Here are some pictures of them enjoying the pool. In one of them, Holly is eating her lunch on the deck. The deck is not finished yet. David is working on it this summer, trying to redo it. He has only a little time now and then and the priority has been to make sure the pool is secure from little ones being able to getting through the fence. Caroline, of course, found a way into the pool right away, so Poppy had to put up more chainlink fence around the deck, but it is pretty secure now. The pool has provided lots of fun over the years, but now with small grandchildren around we have to be diligent with safety measures.

Camping at Queen Wilhelmina Park

This weekend we went for an overnight campout at Queen Wilhelmina State Park. It is located in the Ouachita Mountains and is about and hour south from where we live. The whole family went, except for Matthew (who is working away in Brazil) so we had a great time. There was a bad storm that moved through our area just after the kids left for the campout and before we left for it. I was a little frightened and David called from work to check on me. Ryan and Sarah got hit by some pretty bad hail and now their cute little Volkswagen has hail damage.

When David got home we packed up and left for the campout. When we got there, the kids had our tent up and ready for us. David said he could get used to camping like that! The temperatures were about perfect, which is what I enjoy. We had lots of fun being with the kids and grandkids and talking and laughing. We grilled a couple of beef tri tip roasts and hamburgers, hot dogs and bratwurst. We were so full after eating that we decided to save the dutch oven dessert of apple crisp to make for breakfast.

There is a little train that runs through the park that people can pay 4 dollars and go for a ride and see the great view of the Ouachita Mountains and the parklands. Before we got there, the kids went on it and enjoyed it. The tracks for the train ran beside our campsite and whenever that little train went by Caroline and Holly would get so excited and wave. I had fun going for a walk down the tracks with the little girls. We saw beautiful wild flowers and butterflies and woodland (Caroline called it the jungle where the bears live).

The park people came by and told us to be sure to put all our food in the car because a lot of bears were in the area. Michelle was worried about using her sweet smelling lotion. : )

A heavy fog and mist moved in during the evening hours which was pretty cool looking. We all settled into our tents for a nights sleep. Of course at 2:00Am I woke up and needed a quick trip to the restroom which was hidden in the fog. I drove to it. There was thunder going on and I figured I better go before the storm hit. Diana wasn't so lucky. When the rain started her husband and her got up to make sure everything was put up safe and then she had to go to the restroom. She walked up there in the pouring rain.

By morning the rain stopped and the fog moved back in. The sun coming up through the fog was really cool. I took lots of pictures. The fog soon burned off and we had a beautiful day to enjoy. We had eggs, sausage, fried potatoes, biscuits, and apple crisp for breakfast. No one went hungry on this trip! David and I took Caroline and Holly up to the lodge to look around and play on the playground while everyone else went on a hike. Later it was time to pack up and go home.

It was a great time. The only part that was hard, was that I missed Matthew so much. He would have loved being there with us.

Two cuties

My oldest daughter Michelle and her family came for an overnight visit. They went to the Tulsa zoo yesterday and got here late. This morning we all went to church together. The girls wore their adorable new dresses that Michelle made them. They are the prettiest flowers in the garden!

orange lily after the rain

I just had to add one more picture of this beautiful orange lily. We just had a sudden cloud burst and the raindrops on the lily are really fantastic. To really get a good view of it, click on it to enlarge it. WOW!

Lilies in bloom

My lilies are blooming. They are so gorgeous. There are only a few that have burst forth so far, but there are tons of buds coming along. I love to go outside and look at them. I can see them from my kitchen window and it gives me joy to look outside and see them so tall and beautiful along the fence. I have dark pink and medium pink ones, and orange ones blooming now. Soon I will have deep rose colored lilies blooming and finally huge pure white lilies will bloom. What fun!

Our Mother's Day Phone Call

Last Sunday was Mothers Day. It was a wonderful day. A day of family and church and enjoying the many blessings of motherhood. It was also a day to talk to my son, who is serving a full time 2 year mission for the LDS church. We only get to have a phone call on Mother's Day and Christmas, so it is extra special. We talked for about an hour, (oops, it was only supposed to be for 45 minutes).
He sounded wonderful. He is only 20 years old, and he is living far from home, learning another language, and working hard everyday to share the message of the Gospel with God's children. I can't express how much joy it brings me to see how mature and strong he has become. He has always been a great kid, but his mission is refining him into a wonderful man. His love of the Lord and the people of Brazil is a shining light in his life. I miss him tremendously, as he misses us, but we all accept and recognize that this is his time to serve the Lord exclusively.
He walks everywhere, gets very tired, struggles with the heat and humidity, and sometimes doesn't get enough to eat, but he gains far more than he suffers. He gains joy, peace, happiness, and satisfaction. He sees lives changing for the better. He sees people accepting the Lord's message and turning their lives around. He has learned to rely on the Lord like never before in his life, and he is gaining an understanding of the great love our Father in Heaven has for each of us. He fully understands how important his family is and how much his family has done for him. He is very thankful for all his blessings.
How do I know these things? He has communicated them to us in letters and in the phone calls. Also, I too, served a full time mission. I may have walked different paths, but I walked similar paths. I know what it is like. So does his Dad. There is just nothing like a mission to turn a lump of coal to a diamond. The diamond may need some more polishing as time goes on, but the foundation is laid for life.
Even though he can't read this now, "I love you Matt (Elder Lee)".

My Mother's Day message from the Santa Maria Mission

Mother's Day is in one week. This is a very special day for the families of LDS missionaries because we get to have a phone call from our son. We only get phone calls on Mother's Day and Christmas, so it is a much anticipated event! I was pretty excited to check my email yesterday and found that I had a Mother's Day message from Matt's Mission President and his wife, President and Sister Myhrra. It had this picture with it. Matt looks marvelous and happy. I can't wait to talk to him.

I emailed the mission office and asked for the names of the other Elders. Elder Christensen emailed me back and this is what he said, "Hi this is Elder Christensen, the Financial Secretary from the Brazil Santa Maria Mission. I arrived here in the mission just 1 transfer after your son, and he was in my zone during the first few months of my mission. He´s a really good guy. I can´t tell you exactally when it was taken, but I can give you the names of the missionaries ok? (Left to right) Elder Marinho, Elder Moreira, Elder Lee, Elder Frame, Elder Leite, and Elder Meireles. I hope this helps!"

Elder Lee and Elder Meireles with a cute Brazilian girl...

Matt's companion, Elder Meireles is getting transferred tomorrow. Matt will get a new companion, and he will have a friend from his first area back in the district with him. Elder Breinholt is coming to Sao Borja. They should have some good times!

Elder Meireles emailed this picture, with the following description:
"isnt this the cutest baby you've ever seen??
hahaha!!
;)
Meireles:

Pandemic Awareness

Lately I have been thinking more and more about our family's preparedness. In our church we are counseled to store food and water and other essentials. We have tried to follow these guidelines with our family. We have been working on updating it recently. One of the things that is always a possibility is a pandemic. With the recent news about a possible pandemic starting in Mexico and now spreading to the USA, I have been thinking again about how important it is to be prepared. If a pandemic starts, there is a very real possibility that authorities could quarantine people to their homes. Are we prepared that we could get by without having to go to the store?

Here is an article about the new flu that is raising fears:
New swine flu likely widespread, experts say.

and here is a link to the Provident Living site:
Pandemic Preparedness Planning

Finally, here is the Link for the government's site:

PandemicFlue.gov

I hope and pray there is no need to worry, but pandemics have been something the human race has dealt with for centuries, and we most likely will again, so it is best to be prepared.

I survived the storm. We got some big hail. It was bigger than quarter size. The storm was very fast moving and so while we were in the thick of it the sky was clearing to the west which gave the sky a very cool orange glow to it. The orange glow was caused by all the smoke in the air. On the news they said that Oklahoma has a lot of brush fires and homes burning. I'm posting a picture of the hail, the orange sky, and a cool one of the street light that came on when the storm got really dark and then went off when the storm had moved on by. And yes, instead of taking cover like the weatherman said to do as a lot of rotation was approaching Hartford, I was out taking pictures. What a fool. With thunder, lightening, and rain all around I had to balance the camera on the car top, and while holding an umbrella over it hold down the shutter release. I went inside during the hail. That was some BIG hail. In the picture of the hail I have a quarter and a nickel in the center.

Dark and stormy night!

David has gone to Fort Smith for his High Council meeting and I'm here alone. There is a heavy thunderstorm moving it. It has been super windy this evening. I've even worried that the trampoline in the back yard will blow away. Looking at the radar, I see a heavy red line of storms just about to hit. Well If I have to go to the inside room for safety (the bathroom in this house) then I won't be too crowded.

I love all my family and friends. I hope they are safe as the storms blow through!