April..

 This past week and a half has been a crazy week. A tornado hit areas in our stake 3/31, so Jake, the boys, and I went to assist with clean up.  Jake threw out his back after a few hours so we had to leave. It was very humbling and I kinda felt petty feeling for at times wanting to be back in our home, at least we did not lose everything.  We took the opportunity to teach the boys that instead of watching conference that this type of situation warranted working on the Sabbath. The victims were in crisis and although our efforts were small, we helped in large ways but truly only making a dent in the work to be done ahead.  

Jake had to take work that following Monday and Tuesday due to his back but was better by Thursday. Will attended his first formal dance and looked so very handsome. It was the stake Spring formal and was on the Memphis Riverboat. He had a wonderful time.  Ginny also made it home that night for Easter weekend.  It is always good for my soul when she visits but I greatly miss Aubree still too.  I feel a little guilty taking a family photo with her not in it. 

Happy Birthday Jake and Ginny

I am not sure if I can ever fully express how grateful I am that the Lord saw fit to give me Jake. He is my rock and best friend.  Happy Birthday to my forever chips & salsa date. The world is better with him in it. He touches lives for good and strives to be the man the Lord needs him to be. His wife and kids are crazy for him, even though he makes front of us.

Ginny was able to visit the week before her birthday on Spring Break. She and her dad went to their annual birthday movie and we just enjoyed having her around.  While she will not do my annual birthday questionnaire, I know the answer to a few. We feel so fortunate she is in our family. 21 years, 21 years…that’s how long I’ve been a mama. Ginny had the privilege of helping me learn to be a mom and is still teaching me. She’s patient, strong, and loves the Lord. She has always been our obedient one (until she left home) and makes her dad and I proud. Continue to grow Bug and rely on the Savior. We love you and hope your birthday has been wonderful. Here’s to adulting

 

Family time

 The weekend before Ginny's birthday, we went to Paris to see Elijah ordained.  While I enjoyed visiting with my family, I do not feel pretty around my sisters these days.  I feel like I do not belong and am the chubby sister. 

Spring Break

 We are mid-Spring break this week and it has been somewhat relaxing and in other aspects busy.  Jake went the week before to Washington DC with his dad and brothers for about five days and had an enjoyable time.  When they planned the trip, initially he thought it was his Spring Break when he looked on the calendar but did not note it had Aubree's name beside it, which I am good with because that means he is here with me this week. Still no progress on our house. We have Ginny here this week too so we are enjoying that.

 

 

More mercies from above

 There is an old saying that when it rains, it pours and that is how we feel about the blessings from above. Since our last update, another miracle was that Will was spared his foot and toe.  We were having Sunday dinner at a friend's house a few weeks ago and the Will and his friend decided to chop a few logs for s'mores after dinner.  However, before dinner was served, Will managed to miss the wood and hit his foot instead. While I would have preferred it not have happened, there were several mercies we saw besides his foot was safe and the tow sewn back together.  First, Jake was accompanied by the husband to the Emergency Room and they took Will straight back to control the bleeding. While Mark (the man that accompanied Jake) was in the waiting room, a member of the congregation was brought in from having a stroke, so Jake and Mark were able to give a blessing. 

Ginny was scheduled to have a bilateral TMJ procedure done on 8/22, removing some fluid and adding a steroid.  Originally, she was under the understanding that the anesthesia was not covered by insurance but a peer to peer review was completed and it was deemed necessary, so insurance approved it.  I left after work on Tuesday 8/21to drive to Knoxville.  We were at the hospital by 6:00am for the procedure, only to find out the facility itself was not covered. Due to the time difference, insurance was unable to be verified and too much time had passed to self-pay as the doctor did not have time to perform.  While I do not know the reasoning the Lord had, I trust for some reason it was not to happen that day.  I was able to spend the morning with my daughter and sister, Charity before I headed back to Memphis. We are also house-sitting and dog sitting for Rebekah and Adam from 8/22 to 3/3, so I wanted to get back and help. We have enjoyed sitting on a couch in the evening and having a kitchen again.

Still in hotel......

It has now been almost six weeks in a hotel, and we have adjusted fine.  One of the most challenging parts for me is not being able to  multi-task, especially doing laundry while I am doing other things. This past week, school was out for three days due to ice. We learned a new game with the boys to play and played it several times.  We have seen many blessings during this time and know the Lord is mindful of us.  Jake came home from church a few weeks ago and said he knew everything was going to be okay with the house, so I too feel the same. I trust Jake and I trust God. The boys broke the television in their hotel room, which costs us $500 to replace. Initially they told us it broke with them playing with a nerf basketball but a few days later, Christopher came to us and said that they were actually playing a game and Will through the remote at the television (which makes much more sense), Will later told the truth.  We explained it is always best to be honest to begin with and not compromise your integrity. I have began applying for some jobs here and there outside of the classroom to see what opportunities may be out there. 

Here is a quick cute story. The other day we were having lunch and I told Will that he had my hair line and Christopher that he he had his dads. The next thing we know Christopher is eating his hamburger crying because he is scared he will now be bald one day.  We had a good chuckle. 

Welcome 2023

 We rang in the new year in a hotel room but were together and that is all that is important to me.  Aubree headed back to school on Tuesday, break ended all too quickly for me with that.  We helped her get another car for Christmas, so it needed to be driven out to Utah. Ginny was kind enough to drive out with her and fly back home. We were concerned with the snowy weather, so had them go the southern route and break it up. They drove to Abilene TX the first day, spent the night with Tommie and Karen, the second day to Cloud croft, spending the night with Grammy and Papa, and the third day on into Logan. We were worried but that is typical and so grateful they made it safely there.  

We are now in our second hotel room from the water damage to our home.  People have been so gracious to invite our family for dinner a few times.  We are making the best of the situation and trying to stay positive. I am a little concerned about the amount of money we may be spending and want to try to be more frugal.  We are enjoying still having Ginny around a few more days.