11 of My Most Favorite Things Ever....(i tried 10, but just couldn't do it....so many things to like!)

In no specific order:


1. My family  (duh) - ALL of them! (in a perfect world we'd all live 30 mins or less from each other)


2.  The Gospel


3.  Reading good books


4.  Photography (including appreciating good photography by others too)


5.  My Dad's photos of sunsets and his paintings


6.  The smell of fresh cut grass

7. Gardening


8.  Wheel throwing and also hand building pottery


9.  Raising Chickens (and ducks and geese are pretty fun too)

10.  English food (and yes that definitely includes sweeties)


.....and lastly #11 is as follows by the pictures...it truly warms by heart, it  instantly puts a smile to my face, and puts me in an immediate good mood.  I could watch and observe it for hours i think.....

That's right #11 is watching John and the kids wrestle!  I just can't get enough of it!  He's been wrestling with the kids since they were old enough to walk and they just love it so much.  Plus John laughs almost the whole time and i LOVE hearing him laugh!  Ah, it's music to my ears!  LOVE IT!  The bestis when Jack gives everyone the "Atomic Elbow."  Actually the other day i couldn't stop myself from laughing as i put Jack in the corner for being naughty and after i sat him down, he raised his elbow and patted it and threatened to give me the atomic elbow for putting him in the corner!  It was to die for!!  lol!

Here he is actually carrying all the children at the same time!  They think he's the best, and well....they are absolutely right!

What Did I Do?

On Monday I put myself in a different place than i ever had before (and i don't say this to toot my own horn...not by any stretch of the imagination, but to document and remind myself that there's hope yet for me).


Really i have to thank my amazing counter part, truly my Help Meet, helping me as always to be better than i am today.  


John asked a favor of me and really the credit goes to him for loving people enough to be willing to see that there's no obstacles for those that truly need or want help.


What am i talking about?  Well John's favor was the favor of a woman really.....a woman that wants to do what she needs to do to be whole again and to get her child back.....a woman who was stuck.  I hope it helped her as much as it did me....


A year ago i think i would have said no, you're crazy, (to a favor like this) but i thought....well she's a child of God too, he doesn't just ask us to be nice or kind or serving of those we go to church with or those we love or are friends with....he asks much more of us than that.  I would want others to help me if i was in dire circumstances.  We have to be willing to give up everything if He asks it....I have made promises.

I drove this woman all the way to Nashville four hours away so she could check herself into a rehab residential facility for addicts.  It is the (hopefully) last step in her being able to get custody back of her daughter.  She wanted to go, but had no way of being able to get there, until John offered a solution...me.

So the kids and i packed up snacks and DVD's galore and took her to Nashville.  We stopped at the Nashville Zoo (which is awesome by the way) afterwards only to realize that because of winter hours it was to close in 30 mins.  I think i  literally ran to every cool animal i could think of (having been there once before) in an effort to have the kids believe the illusion that they weren't getting the short end of the stick before our four hour journey back home.  

But you know what?  They said they were glad to help that woman, because it also meant they were helping Heavenly Father and Jesus.  Amazing!  I love my kids and how understanding they are and they all said the 30 mins of the zoo was worth the whole eight hours of driving (well let's not kid anyone, it's more like ten hours when you factor in all the potty breaks and stopping to go through drive-throughs for meals, and get gas).  ;-)  The good side to the zoo almost closing was that we were the only ones there and it felt like the place was ours.  Well it certainly made keeping track of 4 kids running around trying to see all the animals like crazy-heads easier! :-)


So again i thank my husband for putting me up to the task...for allowing me to see something better and greater than myself.....i thank this woman for allowing me to help her......and i thank my kids for being super troopers! This was a good experience for me more than anyone.

 Gibbons in the background...

they get their own free range of REAL trees to swing from here.  

It's magnificent!

 Only the males was around as 5 days previous one of the females had given birth to a beautiful baby giraffe and the other female that was the Aunt was help take care of the newborn along with the mother.  So sweet.

 Giant Ant-Eater...

 ...having dinner!

 The kids went nuts over these guys!  

So beautiful and they were so fast too!  

It made taking pictures hard that's for sure!

 Having learnt about lynxes in "school" it was especially exciting for them to see these guys.  These ones are Eurasian Lynxes and are the largest breed. 

They are native to Asia.  

The smallest breed being common to our area of Tennessee, 

but also more commonly known as the Bobcat.  

They didn't seem to like each other though.  

The white one kept growling at the other.

 This bridge goes right through the flamingo's habitat.

 The Anaconda.  Iman was really excited about this one having also recently learnt about it (not school this time, just Jack's Diego DVD, ha ha!).

See, we were literally the ONLY ones there!  So fun!

The Annual Washers Tournament...

Each year the Elder's Quorum puts on a washers tournament.  It's similar to horse shoes, but with these large washers.  This was the third one John has been a part of and i had fun watching him enjoy himself.  He wanted me to disclose that the picture of him jumping in the air for joy was because he thought he and his washer partner Ben has just won, but that he didn't actually win.  I say, who care?  It's just about the fun and i LOVE the picture anyway!  ha ha!  

I will apologize for the quality of the shot though as my battery was dying on my camera and i only had enough time to turn the camera on and quickly click a pic before it would shut off.  I was able to use this battery draining technique a few times before it completely shut off on me altogether.  Anyway enjoy!

 Ben Boyle, John's partner for the tournament.

 John's excitement over thinking he won.  

He did land the washer in the tube though, which is still pretty dang awesome and exciting enough to me to elicit a jump for joy like that.

John and Ben lost this round to Tre and Jim.  

Pretty sure they all had a blast though!  ;-)

Significant Moments and No Such Things as Coincidences...

When i reflect back on my life thus far and think about all the moments that lead me to today i cannot help but feel blessed, blessed in the witness that is clearly before me that there are no coincidences with an all-powerful, all-knowing God.

Some of the first significant memories i have are that of Missionaries coming to our home in England. No doubt i had no idea what was going on at the time, but i do remember these men frequently coming to our home to sit in our living room....and that they were fun and for whatever reason i looked forward to them coming....

I remember moving to Bury St. Edmunds and (my memory at least, which could be flawed as i was a child) that my dad "bumped" into Mike Muller....who happened to be the branch President of the Bury Branch...my parents at that point had not been going to church....how little did we realize how significant Mike was and his family in our lives as we came back to church.

I remember for some primary activity of some sort, my mother needing to write down on a card one word that described me and she put that i was kind. That helped define who i was and who i would be....

I remember my father being my Valiant teacher in primary at church and teaching me the importance of reading our scriptures....nice, neat, clean, and in good condition scriptures did us no good if it meant that they weren't being used....he used an analogy of them being in a nice box and kept safe under our beds....

I remember my sister playing with me all the time, laughing till it hurt with me and her being my best friend and ALWAYS wanting to be like her...that continued on throughout my life...she is to this day an amazing role model of what it means to be like Christ, to give people the benefit of the doubt and to be strong even when it's hard....

We moved to the United States of America...one of the most significant things in my life thus far as everything else that has happened to me would not have happened without being here.

I remember Nonette Gordon teaching me in a Merrie Miss class that we should think of prayer like a phone conversation....we need to be still...and give Heavenly Father a chance to talk back to us.....

I can never forget the great, dear kindness of Elizabeth Butler, Debbie Boyle, and Christina Repka, who taught me that i was lovable and worth something....during my high school years these girls did more for me than they could ever know. I am grateful to Heavenly Father for loving me enough to send them to me amidst the storms of life....

Likewise i am grateful for the blessing of Wendy Magda and Hugh Heisler, who took me in and treated my like a sister...Wendy was my inspiration for Dental Hygiene which proved extremely significant in my life....

Making the decision (regretfully at the time) to go to Harcum College to study Dental Hygiene was extremely significant....there i had a "mighty change" as i realized that being a member of the church meant "I" had to do it....alone as well and that it therefore had to mean something.....i prayed then to know if the church was true and was so flooded with blessings and knowledge and understanding that i could not deny it. It would be here that i would meet Lesley Gable, who would later join the church herself....where i met Tamara Robertson, who was nothing less than a God-sent angel....because of Tamara, i was able to be prepared for the MOST significant thing in my life....John.

If i hadn't moved to the US i wouldn't have met John....if i hadn't gone to Harcum College (my back-up school at the time that i cried about going to, lol) i would not have met John. If Tamara wasn't my friend John and all his wonders would have been too much for me....

On the other side of things if Sara Schutz hadn't opened her mouth 16 years ago and followed the Spirit, and shared the gospel with John i also would not have met and married him. I remember to this day on the day of my wedding, when i met the Schutzes for the first time, John telling me later how Vaughn and Sara "approved" of me and got a sense that i was a great spirit, that i was "good"...that meant so much to me and helped me again decide and come to know who i was. They are so spiritually gifted it's unlike anything i have ever seen before in my whole entire life. I value their thoughts and opinions greatly...they too are God-sent angels....they are parents...little did i know that 8 years down the road i would be living on their farm with them....no coincidences!

Back to me, back to John, back to me....(little old spice plug there) John taught me to look for truth....to question, to ask, to seek, to find answers i never knew the question existed to before....I was sling-shotted forward spiritually after i met John. This still in part to what he had learnt from the Schutzes, but at this point post-mission had become a part of who he was...a seeker of truth. Long before John became a therapist he started doing therapy on me, lol. There's nothing quite as painful i think as real therapy because it requires a lot of change and change is hard....almost feels impossible depending on what it is....but i now know it's always possible and that you can always be better than you are today....John taught me to let go of my pride that i thought defined me, he taught me to talk again, he taught me to trust, and that no matter what when you know God's will and you do it, you always have what you need. It has been our journey and he has been my strength through it all. John also taught me that i was beautiful and good and worthy. He made me feel unique and important and capable. He believes in me and this too has helped me to know who i am. There's only so many times a day you can hear, "you're so beautiful i just don't have the words for it" and not completely believe it. I am beautiful; he taught me to believe. He makes me feel like a Queen. John is my most significant moment....

Moving 9 times in 9 years of marriage is significant to me too. I have learnt that it doesn't matter where you are, BUT that you're doing what you're supposed to be doing. The Lord has always rewarded me for following him, even when to the rest of the world, or our friends, or our family judged us and thought we looked like crazy-heads. The Lords ways are not ours and he has a better idea of what makes us happy and the experiences we need to have in life to bring us to Him.

I could write too much about each of my children, but it suffices me at this point in time to say that they are each individually significant....they are noble and great....it says a lot to me about who i am and what the Lord trusts me with that he gave me Immanuel, Eden, Sarah, and Jack. They have so much to teach me. They are my friends...they make me try as hard as i do to be a good mother...they are the reason why being poor was worth it so that I could raise them and not a day-care center. We needed each other and I'll give up vacations and fancy cars any day for that, for them.

My brother is significant....he made me want to be a good example....he reminds me that i promised i wouldn't do to my kids what my parents did to me....it's hard to explain, but he keeps me in check and reminds me (without realizing he's doing it) to not judge and most of all to not be a hypocrite. He reminds me to trust and give the benefit of the doubt....he calls me all the time and it warms my heart that he loves me enough to not let too much time go past without seeing how I'm doing, or asking me for advice, or just saying hello. He is a loyal and loving husband to his wife and for some reason i cannot explain, there is great comfort in that for me.

Living in Morrisville, Pennsylvania was a significant event. We were led to buy a house in which Angel Buddenbaum would be our "duplex" neighbor (actually we moved into our homes the same exact day). Angel taught me much and again the Lord worked his magic and Angel joined the church. Through that experience i gained confidence in myself to recognize when i was receiving revelation. She taught me to love unconditionally. She taught me what it meant to "give the shirt off your back." She helped me honor my temple covenants and helped me begin to understand consecration.

Living on the Sweet dream Farm here in Tennessee was an extremely significant experience....it was purifying....it has changed me quicker spiritually than any other experience in my life. It's like i was on fast forward spiritually while i was there...could i expect less with amazing people surrounding me? I had no idea what i was in for. The Lord told us to be there and we did it. I wouldn't take ANY amount of money or luxury or wealth and trade it for that, not in a million years. There are not quite the words to express the value in having had this experience.

Being in the Cumberland Gap Ward is significant for me too. There has never been a place in all my life where i have met so many loving, giving, truly genuine people. I have more friends than i have ever had in my life at any given moment. These people are the kind of people that know what it means to love....to love the Lord, to love their country, their fellow man. I have been so blessed by the kindness of the Cumberland Gap Ward it is overwhelming. I love living here in Tennessee, in the South too. Here, people aren't afraid to talk about Christ...it's not politically incorrect to mention religion....it's a way of life. They are good to the core...not without their faults, but then no one is. They are kind and real and my love for them grows each day. Sometimes i think it's too good to be true. I hope i have there company in Heaven.

There are more significant experiences in my life of course, but for now these are the ones i felt inspired to write about. Nothing remedies a "woe is me" session better than thinking about the infinite blessings and significant events of ones life. Truly nothing is left to chance, everything is an intricately woven thread in the great quilt of life...we don't know the pattern when we begin, but everything comes together perfectly and it envelopes us with warmth. Today was a hard day, but i feel remedied now.

Here are a few old pics of some of these significant memories as they happened to be captured. Thank you for reading.

Me (hard to guess i know!) at my 4th birthday party

My wonderful sister, Louise.

My amazing brother, Jamie, and his now wife, Candice, in our home in Pennsylvania.

Christina Repka....my senior year of HS and her junior year.

Debbie Boyle, Me, and Elizabeth Butler at my high school graduation.

This represents my memory of Harcum College,
taken just outside the dorms in Bryn Mawr, PA. It was a beautiful place!

Tamara Robertson and I in San Diego, CA. Oh how I love this lady!

Lesley Gable and I at my college graduation, May 2000.

(L to R) Tamara, Lesley, Wendy, Louise (my sister), Elizabeth, Debbie.
Interestingly enough all of my bridesmaids were mentioned in this blog...i really hadn't thought about it and didn't even intentionally do this,
but i guess that's why i picked them....no coincidences!
These are significant and amazing women! ;-)

Sara and Vaughn with us on our wedding day.

Angel Buddenbaum - really an angel!

Fun on the farm!

My great ones!

How come being in your 30's used to sound so much older?

AND the winner is...JOHN, a.k.a. the Birthday Boy!

Behold the GLORY! One of the greatest board games EVER!

Jack giving Daddy the gift he got for him...Twizzlers!

Er, yeh, there was LOTS of candy from the kiddies!

Christmas wrapping paper a classic! There has to be at least ONE gift wrapped in it!

Sarah's interpretation of what Immanuel did for daddy (it's Strong Bad)...

Gimme the rock sista!

Immanuel showing Daddy his hard work at making almost life size construction paper characters from www.homestarrunner.com...

L to R: Strong Mad, The Cheat, Strong Bad, and Homestar
.

SO creative and such a hard worker! He did this all in one day!

Happy Birthday to you!

Jack helps...

Er...yeh...it was the best i could get, no really! LOL!
It's like a cake FORT! Who can climb those walls?!
Well at least the backside of it anyway...the front is more of an invitation...oh never mind! ;-)

Number 34! That's really close to 35 ya know? 35 sounds pretty old, BUT not as old as it used to. Now 40 sounds old...but i wonder if it still will when we're 39?

Life is busy and plans got changed and we ended up going with our traditional ( in the last 2 years anyhow) Schutz/Clayton/Morgan Birthday get-together. The only difference this time is that we were in our own home! Still it felt just the same and i was again reminded of how much i truly love these friends of ours.

We celebrated with Steak, roasted-red-garlic potatoes, steak fries (for John), broccoli, rice, and ICE CREAM CAKE!!! The ice cream cake as you will notice had a rough life and by "Happy Birthday to you" time, it was...well it still tasted as it should have, let's just put it that way! It was almost 50% off at the store because of whatever they did to it and then when i got it home i realized it didn't quite fit so well into our "you're-living-in-a-double-wide-so-you-must-not-need-a-real-size-fridge/freezer" freezer! It ended up on it's long side and well, like i said you can see the rest from the pictures!

Jack managed to restrain himself the whole birthday song through, which i could tell took an immense amount of effort, and after singing helped John blow out his candles. John then opened presents...lots of candy and other goodies from our friends, and then we had great discussions about the gospel, family, and life in general (our three favorite things to talk about, especially with the farm folk!) while the children played.

That evening the Claytons stayed and we played Sea Faring Settlers of Catan till midnight, which seemed early compared to our past games and the birthday boy won! We convinced the Claytons to sleepover and had waffles for breakfast the next morning!

The birthday was great, at least i hope it was for John anyhow, but it made me realize all the more how much i miss the association of our farm folk AND how difficult it will be when the Claytons leave us to go to Nevada at the end of this month. It makes me cry to think about, and sometimes the only hope i think i have of seeing them again in this crazy world is the fact that Amanda and I would like to arrange the marriage of Jack and Evelyn, BUT that is for another blog!