Football Season Begins!

While I don't set my clock by the beginning of the BYU football season, my husband does. He shows great restraint, waiting to mow the big "Y" in the front yard until the week or two before the first game.

There is something about football season that I do look forward to - fall! I love rain, changing leaves, and long sleeve shirts. Nathan goes to most games, and I use the time to relax - ok, that's what I used to do, now I study. Going back to school means that when we have down time, I study. When the kids go out to play, I study. I sit on the porch swing to watch the kids ride their bikes in the cul-de-sac, and study. I never put such effort into my classes when I was younger! Not that it would have changed anything - I did fine before, and earned my bachelor degree. I didn't decide to do nursing until 10 or 11 years ago! Now that my youngest is in kindergarten, the time has come to return to school. I can't tell if it is fun or not, but I'm glad I'm doing it.

Being a mom is unpredictable. Jas had to get two big moles removed from his leg on Tuesday. One was bigger than a dime, and the other only slightly smaller. The moles were cut out and he has stiches for each one, the stiched line between 1 1/2 and 2 inches long. Yesterday Cam and Jas were goofing around, and the longer set of stiches site popped. Big gaping hole, larger than a quarter, wide open. Pretty deep to. Nate took him into insta-care to get it all stiched up again (of course, this happened on Sunday). Today is Labor Day. We went up to the family cabin for the day to relax and watch it snow! Der is prone to migranes, and got one right before dinner. He gets sick and throws up every time he gets one, which is about once a week. Fun for a 7 year old...or not. You just never know what will happen next. If we knew what to expect, how boring life would be!

Er...Was that a complement?

School has begun, for me as well as the kids. I am taking biology at Salt Lake Community College and physiology at UVU (previously known as UVSC). Yesterday was my first physiology class. I was about 10 min. early, but still had to sit in one of those small chairs with a little arm desk sticking out in front. Taking notes on such a thing is an interesting adventure! If I had been earlier I would have had a spot on the big lab tables. I will be earlier tomorrow!

So, some of us on the back chair row began chatting before the professor arrived. The subject of children came up, as it often does, and one gal said she has a two year old that she dropped off in the day care at the university. I said that I have five children, and had just dropped my kindergartner off at class too. She said, "Wow, you don't look that old!".

So, here is the rub. On one hand, it could be nice that I don't look old enough to have five children, but on the other, it made me laugh, because apparently I am "that old". Of course the conversation doesn't end there, and goes on to when we graduated from high school (what a natural thing to discuss in a place filled with people that mostly graduated 2 or 3 years ago, tops). After sharing that I graduated over 20 years ago, and earned my bachelors degree 15 years ago, the same comment with more energy was given ..."Wow, you don't look that old". So, here's to all of us that are "that old" and then some! It's a great age to be, whatever it is!!

Counting our blessings

You know when you pray every morning and ask the Lord to protect you and your family? Well, we are witness to those prayers being answered.

In front of our home this evening, a 32 year old man with a seizure disorder sped left to right, across the edge of our front lawn, through our flower garden, over a cable and phone box, across the front lawn of our neighbors to the south, and smashed into a full-sized pickup at at least 40 or 50 miles an hour. The miracle? The road he was flying down runs directly toward our cul-de-sac. He hit a speed bump 30 yards up the road, which forced his car to turn with the road, and veer away from our cul-de-sac. 4 of the 5 kids were out front playing. Somehow, the 12 other cul-de-sac kids were not playing in the path which the car took, nor were the 15 or 20 other neighborhood children that are typically outside playing in the front. While the neighbor owning the truck appears to be the only person who suffered a loss, it was a blessing that pickup was in his path. The driver rammed the pickup broadside, effectively stopping him from driving right into their home. There were no skid-marks showing any braking, and an aunt of his, driving by later, confirmed to us that he indeed had a seizure disorder and that he "wasn't suppose to drive." I was there very quickly and tried to help the driver remain calm, and stayed with him until the ambulance arrived. He was completely unaware of what had happened. We know the truth......God answered our prayers today. We're saying them again tomorrow - we suggest you do the same.


"The difference between God and the Devil is that God creates and organizes, while the whole study of the Devil is to destroy." -Brigham Young

(This post was written by Nathan, and changed around by Deb)

Back to School

Hard to believe that the school year has begun. My children are back to getting up early, packing their lunches, choosing their outfits (I guess that is a girl thing - the boys just get dressed), filling their backpacks, getting their hair done by themselves or me, eating breakfast, saying family prayer, scrubbing their teeth, and running out the door. It is a whirlwind! I always feel a moment of relief when the time has come for them to all walk out the door. We got it all done, and off they go. This year my youngest starts kindergarten, and will be leaving with the crowd starting next week. Kindergarten is what I like to call "pretend" school. It is too short to qualify for real school, and I have always wondered how they could get much done in class, because I don't have time to finish much at home before it is time to gather my kindergartener back from school.

In spite of all the chaos, I love fall and the beginning of school. It is another new beginning, full of possibilities for us all. We will be more organized this year, and more on top of the projects that need to be done. I have been saying that many times to myself, because I am starting classes tomorrow too. I will be taking a biology and physiology class, so I can get onto the nursing school waiting list in December. I have big plans to insure that all will be well. In spite of the fact that I have labs both Monday and Tuesday nights at 7 pm, and I will be teaching dance at BYU on Wednesday until 6:30 pm (my two girls will be in my classes), I will be on top of things and organized. I will make extra dinners on Saturday that can be refrigerated or frozen, that can be pulled out during the beginning of the week to make those days easier and less chaotic than they might be. I will get all my studying done while my children are still in school, so when they get home I can focus on their needs and not my own. I will still keep the house clean, and the bathrooms will not turn into the pit of despair. I will even still take time out for myself to read a relaxing book occasionally, or re-watch one of my favorite movies......Pride and Prejudice, or a Doris Day movie.

AND THEN...when all my resolve goes out the window, the bathrooms DO look like the pit of despair (no, I don't really know what that looks like, but it can't be good), and I didn't make extra dinners on Saturday and I am just not feeling like I can do one more thing before I run off to lab, we will have Macaroni and Cheese from a box, or the old stand by, Ramen Noodles, and my children and husband will like it just as well as they like the well planned, well thought out meals that I spent much more time on... or I may just look at Nathan and tell him that it's his turn to do dinner and the house, and he'll laugh and make dinner himself, because he is very able, capable, and happy to do it, and the children will clean the bathrooms because they can, and because it is their turn. And that will be ok too!

Olympic Dreams

There is something about watching people compete in the Olympics that is different than any regular sporting event. I'm not sure if it is because they only happen every 4 years (I know that winter and summer olympics are only two years apart from each other, but the events are 4 years apart :-) ) or if it is the hype that comes with the opening ceremony and non-stop coverage. What ever it is, I am staying up every night until nearly midnight because I am completely hooked.

Last night we watched the women's gymnastics competition. Tiffany (10) was watching it with us, and she said she hopes she can compete like that some day. As an adult I look at those gymnasts and think that out of all the clubs in all of the USA, only 6 made it on that team. It cost those families untold amounts of money, un-natural amounts of time, and complete focus and motivation, to the exclusion of all else, and most gymnasts still don't get that dream fulfilled. It's a goal that will bring only disappointment. It's not practical! And yet, a child watches the team compete and dreams that some day it might be her. Oh to believe like a child again - Anything is possible, and dreams can come true!

Myth or Fact

Have you ever heard that a bounce sheet in your pocket will keep the mosquitoes away? I had always wondered if it were true, so when Nathan, Cameron and I went hiking on Timpanogos Mountain, we each put a dryer sheet in our pocket. I even did one better - I rubbed the sheet on my arms and back of my neck to make sure the scent was prevalant. It worked great.....until the mosquitoes came out in the evening. Then they began to feast on all of us. I HATE the smell of most bug sprays - I wonder if the smell is worse than the bites until after I am home and showered and still scratching :-) - but in this case I was glad for the spray we had. It helped keep the mosquitoes to a minimum, even if not completely away.

Our hike was so fun! Cameron is 14 years old, 6'3'' tall, and prone to behave like a stereotypical teenager at times. On this climb he talked, we laughed, we were able to discuss a variety of subjects, concerns, and goals in a conversational way as opposed to a defensive manner, and I enjoyed it completely. On our way back it was pitch black, and we were going by the light of flashlights and headlamps. Our one moment of excitement was when Nate saw eyes reflecting in his light. We stopped, and a bobcat stared back at us from the trail. It started running toward us, but jumped off the trail when Nathan made a loud hissing sound. We heard it run up the side of the mountain. It made the jack-rabbit that we saw a few minutes later very common place. Perhaps we saved the rabbits life by distracting the bobcat? :-)