Tender mercies

It wasn't easy moving, we felt out of place and didn't know anything about the area or have any friends.  We had searched and searched for a house. We felt like we had seen every house in the entire city and nothing felt right.  We had made a list of things that we were looking for and had prayed about them.  Our kids had helped us and the girls had one major thing on their list.  Secret room or passage way.  I really wanted a view, but that was secondary to many other things.  When we found this house, it wasn't love at first sight for me.  I liked it and saw the possibilities, but I felt a spirit here that said this is your home.  And it has felt like home since the day we moved in.  No getting used to it, or feeling like strangers.  As you can see, it has a beautiful veiw to help me remember that Heavenly Father cares about all of us and hears our prayers.

It  wasnt until we moved in and found a note on the counter relized the Lord had given them a tender mercy as well.  And its in their room!

Sledding

I really hope my son is not scarred for life.
There's I was enjoying some peace and quiet.  Izy finally sleeping, the other kids all outside passing in the fluffy, powdery snow that they have up here in Idaho.  It was actually fairly warm outside and the sun was out so I expected them to be gone for a while.  All of the sudden I hear Alayna yelling my name, and I'll admit it I thought "please just give me a little bit longer".  But there was something in her tone of voice so I rushed out and she said Noah asked into a tree.  I started running and asked her where he was because my parents have a lot of land.  She went to a section they weren't supposed to be sledding down and pointed.  I slipped and slid down the hill in my tennis shoes when he came in sight my heart did a somersault.  His face was smeared all over with bright red blood, and the air echoed with his screams.  I froze inside for a split second and then "mom mode" kicked in.  You know the one, it's the one that says, I have no idea what to do and what I do know seems too hard or gross but I'm the mom and there is no one else so I guess I'll do it.  The same mode enabled me to reach into the toilet and outlook out a spoon that one of my children had knocked in just the week before.  It was horrid but someone had to.
Any way, I slid the rest of the way down the hill and talked to him.  He seemed coherent if upset and so I set about trying to get him up the hill.  My shoes were slipping so bad I want being much traffic and after a short trial I determined that there was no Way I could carry him.  Joseph Ammon said he had already tried so each of us got on a side and helped him the best we could up the hill.  When one of us slipped and fell they would let go of Noah and the other would hold him up. Finally we got him to the top and inside to clean up and see what happened.  I was relieved when I got his face washed off that his teeth were intact and the injuries while painful were relatively minor. 
The picture here is after lots of ice and ibuprofen later that night.  Now only a week later he has just a couple of scratches on his nose to show what happened.  Of course, everyone is asking him what happened, and he typically replies "I learned that trees don't move."  That's my boy! Gotta learn lessons from those difficulties in life.  Keep it up.
So I'm not worried that the smart won't go away, but I am concerned that he won't want to sled anymore.

Christmas

We found a fun ideas for an advent calendar this year.  The kids made little bags out of coordinating fabric ( I know I need to post a picture), and then we put slips of paper with something to do to get ready for the holidays in each one.  So this year we have made holiday cards, had a family dance, eaten caramel apples, made gingerbread men, sewed new nativity costumes, shopped as a family for Christmas, watched White Christmas etc.  at first I thought it would be hard to come up with enough ideas, but in the end we couldn't do all of them.  Some of them we had to do without papa which was sad, but his schedule is crazy.
Anyway, it was a lot of fun.  I wrote silly title rhyming poems for each activity and the first couple of weeks printed them on colored paper and wrapped them in ribbon.  This last weeks I just printed, folded and put in, but I couldn't do all of them at the beginning because we don't know much of our schedule until the week of and I needed to match our activities to time available.  We shall see if the kids liked it enough to continue next year, or if we will change it up a bit.

So I've always wanted a nice camera.  I should just buy something decent and be done with it, but I'm holding out for the nice one.  Which is silly, because in the meantime I am using my phone to take pictures and I know in the future I will be upset with myself.  *sigh*. My husband would buy the camera and call it and investment because then I could take our own pics of our kids, but I can't seem to justify the expense in my own mind.  Of course, I would go second hand, in fact that's probably what I would do anyway, but a decent one is still expensive even second hand.  So there is my explanation for why I am posting this!  I am entering a contest. (:  I don't expect to win, but why not try?

https://veryjane.com/giveaway.htm

Wonderful progress

I am learning to take things day by day.  Sometimes I remember when I was young and an hour seemed like forever.  I see myself vividly, I can still feel the impatience and antsy energy of youth.  I remember knowing about a vacation months before we would take it and feeling like it would never really come- that life would just keep going on and on and we would never really get there.  I sympathized with Annie when she sang "Tomorrow is always a day away".

I mostly got over that as I grew older.  Now all I want is for time to slow down.  I want a break but the break is never long enough.  I need time to think and ponder to understand to breathe, but I feel like every moment is precious and when I take time away I get behind on what I should be doing.

Now I am learning patience all over again.  I am learning to see that things have been progressing, and to appreciate the jumps that happen sometimes, making a change from the seemingly slow snails pace they usually occur at.  I am learning to trust in the Lord's timing.  To know that when He says something is coming, it is.  To strive to move forward when it seems of no use, knowing that when the time is right He will make up the difference.

I am grateful to learn, grateful to grow.  Sometimes though, as my Evie says, I wish I could just wave a magic wand and *poof* know it all.

I have to get to bed.  I've already written about Isabelle's progress at her website Izysinchstones.org

20 (or so ) questions

We decided for our family history FHE this month to talk about our own family history and keeping records of them and their likes and dislikes so that some day their children or great great great. . . (keep adding greats until mom says "that's enough") grandchildren can learn about them.  The kids loved this idea and they want to do it every year around October GC.  We'll see if we remember.
It was a lot of fun and we laughed a lot, but it may have been a situation where you had to be there.
Anyway, here are the questions and answers in no particular order.  Drum roll please........

	Evelyn
What's your favorite food to eat?	Don't have one- like spinach ravioli
If you could have any pet in the world, what would it be?	Baby penguin
What's the farthest from home you've ever been?	California
What is your favorite thing about primary?	Listen to Macio and them
What is your most ticklish spot?	I don't really have one
I love….	Ballet
When I am done with school i like to….	watch tv
My best friend is….	Julie, Miki, Libby
When I grow up, I want to be………. because…….	Scientist because I love doing science experiments
How tall am I….	4' 5"?
I like to collect….	Seashells
My favorite subject in school is…..	Science
The most exciting thing at school this year was…..	Science experiments
The funniest was….	?
Favorite toy	My mind
Favorite outfit	Lots of them
Favorite game	Foosball
Favorite animal	Penguin
Favorite book	?
Questions about Mom:
What does your Mom do while your busy….	She does her college
What is her favorite TV show……	?
What is your Mom’s favorite saying…..	?
What do you like best about Mom……	Because she likes to talk to me
Questions about Dad:
What does your Dad do at work…..	He's a manger or something
What is his favorite TV show….	Papa has lots of TV shows
What is his favorite Book…	?
What do you like best about Dad…..	That he will cuddle with me
	Alayna
What's your favorite food to eat?	A lot of foods -olive oil, pasta, parmesan, veggie, herbs
If you could have any pet in the world, what would it be?	Squirrel monkey
What's the farthest from home you've ever been?	CA
What is your favorite thing about primary?	Singing time
What is your most ticklish spot?	Stomach
I love….	Ballet and reading
When I am done with school i like to….	Play and read
My best friend is….	Finoula
When I grow up, I want to be………. because…….	Choreographer because I like it
How tall am I….	5'1"
I like to collect….	Nothing
My favorite subject in school is…..	Ballet
The most exciting thing at school this year was…..	pulling a table cloth out from under things
The funniest was….	?
Favorite toy	My book
Favorite outfit	favorite jeans with a cute T
Favorite game	Clapping game
Favorite animal	Squirrel monkey
Favorite song	Love at Home
Favorite book	Book of Mormon and Harry Potter
Questions about Mom:
What does your Mom do while your busy….	Work
What is her favorite TV show……	Psych
What is your Mom’s favorite saying…..	So. . .a needle pulling thread
What do you like best about Mom……	That shes loving and intelligent
Questions about Dad:
What does your Dad do at work…..	Costco supervisor
What is his favorite TV show….	The singing one
What is his favorite Book…	Book of Mormon
What do you like best about Dad…..	That He's fun
	Joseph
What's your favorite food to eat?	Food
If you could have any pet in the world, what would it be?	Golden retriever
What's the farthest from home you've ever been?	Miami, FL
What is your favorite thing about YM?	Week-long camp outs
What is your most ticklish spot?	No comment-
I love….	Singing
When I am done with school i like to….	Watch TV
My best friend is….	Ryan
When I grow up, I want to be………. because…….	History professor because I then can teach history the way I like to teach it
How tall am I….	6'3"
I like to collect….	Pens!
My favorite subject in school is…..	Government
The most exciting thing at school this year was…..	When I almost went and did the Russian with only one night practice
The funniest was….	How long everything takes
Favorite toy	My sword
Favorite outfit	Jeans and t shirt
Favorite game	two way 50 football
Favorite animal	sunfish
Favorite song	I am a child of God
Favorite book	Book of Mormon
Questions about Mom:
What does your Mom do while your busy….	She's busy
What is her favorite TV show……	Monk
What is your Mom’s favorite saying…..	Know what I mean?
What do you like best about Mom……	Even though shes busy she always finds time to help you- sometime
Questions about Dad:
What does your Dad do at work…..	Supervise the front end
What is his favorite TV show….	The Voice
What is his favorite Book…	Book of Mormon
What do you like best about Dad…..	He's always willing to listen and has a sense of humor
	Noah
What's your favorite food to eat?	They are all so good-Chocolate cake
If you could have any pet in the world, what would it be?	A Panda
What's the farthest from home you've ever been?	UT
What is your favorite thing about primary?	When they give us treats
What is your most ticklish spot?	I'm ticklish all around my feet are ticklish
I love….	to imagine baby panda bears
When I am done with school i like to….	Play with Izy, but sometimes I like to go down and watch TV
My best friend is….	The person who just moved to Texas, Asher
When I grow up, I want to be………. because…….	A fireman or a policeman, because I like to slide down poles and The policeman popped in my mind because policeman stop people who were like going to fast and killing people accidentally
How tall am I….	Let's see. . . 2'22"
I like to collect….	Everything!
My favorite subject in school is…..	Don't you know? Everything!
The most exciting thing at school this year was…..	Happy Scientist
The funniest was….	nothing
Favorite toy	Army man and the big spaceship things
Favorite outfit	Soft pants and t-shirt
Favorite game	Checkers because I always win
Favorite animal	Panda
Favorite song	I love to see the Temple
Favorite book	Treasure Island
Questions about Mom:
What does your Mom do while your busy….	Sometimes she cooks, or sometimes she's busy
What is her favorite TV show……	The one's were the were one person have visions that helps them solve problems
What is your Mom’s favorite saying…..	Just Kidding
What do you like best about Mom……	Because shes always available to cuddle
Questions about Dad:
What does your Dad do at work…..	Exchange other countries money for United states money
What is his favorite TV show….	The voice
What is his favorite Book…	I don’t know
What do you like best about Dad…..	That he cuddles with me
	Mama
What's your favorite food to eat?	Ice cream
If you could have any pet in the world, what would it be?	An awesome dog that did whatever i asked it to
What's the farthest from home you've ever been?	Canada
What is your favorite thing about church?	Getting to know the sisters
What is your most ticklish spot?	Tummy
I love….	My family
When I am done with school i like to….	Read
My best friend is….	Joseph Daniel
When I grow up, I want to be………. because…….	A mom I love love love my children
How tall am I….	5'8"
I like to collect….	quotes
My favorite subject in school is…..	Math
The most exciting thing at school this year was…..	Springville for Family History
The funniest was….	Funny things kids said
Favorite toy	Blendtec
Favorite outfit	Comfy jeans and cute cute comfy shirt
Favorite game	Michigan rummy
Favorite animal	Butterflies
Favorite song	On my own
Favorite book	Book of Mormon
Questions about Your sweetie:
What does he do at work…..	He deals with people
What is his favorite TV show….	The Voice
What is his favorite Book…	Book of Mormon
What do you like best about him…..	That He loves the Lord and serves Him with all his heart
	Papa
What's your favorite food to eat?	Food shared with my family
If you could have any pet in the world, what would it be?	dog
What's the farthest from home you've ever been?	Brazil
What is your favorite thing about church?	Helping others with their testimonies
What is your most ticklish spot?	My ribs
I love….	I love My Family
When I am done with school i like to….	Read the News
My best friend is….	Julie Lopez
When I grow up, I want to be………. because…….	A Airforce pilot because i like to fly
How tall am I….	5'7" and 3/4
I like to collect….	Fat cells
My favorite subject in school is…..	Physiology and theater
The most exciting thing at school this year was…..	Trip to Moab
The funniest was….	When we were in moab and the kids tent blew over in the strong winds and some of them didn't wake up
Favorite toy	Cell phone
Favorite outfit	Jeans and t shirt
Favorite game	and then. . .
Favorite animal	Bald Eagle
Favorite song	I am a child of God
Favorite book	Scriptures
Questions about Julie:
What does your She do while your busy….	home schools our kids, takes care of the house, feeds Isabelle, Textures walls, Shops for our food, helps us save money, works on websites, takes kids to ballet and doctor, cooks food, takes naps, eats. . .
What is her favorite TV show……	Psych
What is her favorite saying…..	Know what I mean
What do you like best about her……	She's a true eternal friend

Dear Friends and Family,

We have just entered a new month.  This month of October is a special one for our family.  Four years ago on the 13th we welcomed into our lives and home a new little girl and our lives will never be the same.  From the beginning there was something special about Isabelle, her spirit is strong and many commented on it.  Unfortunately, this special little girl, as most of you know, has come with a huge set of challenges.  It has been a fight to feed her, a fight to keep her well, a fight to help her learn and grow.  We have come so far since those early days in 2008, but we still have a long road ahead of us.  So far we have been able to find a way to do those things we feel are most important for her, but now we feel she needs more then we can do on our own.

After much prayer and consideration we have decided to ask for those who feel they are able, to for help with what we hope will be her best birth-month gift ever.  There are many ways and options to help.  The most valuable help you can give us is your prayers that we can find out what exactly is going on with her little body and thereby a way to help her.  If you feel moved, and are able to help in other ways we have chosen to put up a website detailing some ways this is possible.  We are deeply grateful that the Lord has chosen to bless us with this little girl, and grateful to have the support of friends and family.  Thank you for all of your kind words, your prayers, and your love.

Izy's website is www.IzysInchstones.org

We appreciate you sharing this service opportunity with any you feel might want to help.

Sincerely,

The Lopez Family