Onward and Upward

William Palmer talking about the Martin handcart company:

"We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism?...We came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with him in our extremities.

"I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up, for I cannot pull the load through it... I have gone on to that sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there.

"Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay."

I love this quote. I could never phrase it better than that. The angels are with us. Onward and upward.

Tender Mercies

This is truly a time and a season of thanksgiving. I didn't think I'd feel that way this year. You shouldn't be able to when your mom has terminal cancer. But I'm definitely feeling grateful today. My mom had her stomach scoped today. Honestly, I was expecting bad news. O ye of little faith. Her stomach looks no different than it did in June, almost 6 months ago. That is amazing. That is unheard of. The doctor said he was surprised that she was still around and even more surprised at how good she looks.

I think of the holidays last year and remember how we were in mourning. Mourning for a lost sister and mourning for the future loss of our mom. This year the holidays seem to be ones of rejoicing and gratitude. Is my mom cured? No. Is she going to stay this well forever? No. But it is truly a miracle that she is doing so well. I will be forever grateful for the time we've been given with her. When I hoped for time before I thought it would be time with a sick mom and trying to take care of her. Instead, she continues to do more in a day than I do. How is that possible? One answer. Only through the tender mercies and miracles of the Lord. So rather than spend this holiday season in mourning, I choose to rejoice, and hope to spend the holidays next year in continued awe over the tender mercies of a loving Heavenly Father.

Halloween Fun

We made it through another Halloween. I must be honest and say that this is not my favorite holiday. Just call me the Halloween Scrooge. I do like seeing the kids excited and dressed up. But that's about it. I must admit that I'm probably feeling even more like this than normal because I spent the night awake with Zack while he threw up. Super fun. Now I'm waiting for it to hit Kate and praying it doesn't hit Sage. Anyway, despite their scrooge mom, you can see that my kids did get dressed up and have fun:)

Fall Colors

The leaves were soooo pretty this year. Bright red and yellow. These pictures definitely don't do it justice. It was also a little smokey that day so some of the colors didn't show up quite as bright. I would like to point out that this is what it looked like about five minutes from my house. Feel free to move here. We'll never move back to the other side if we can help it:)

Rest and Relaxation

I finally got what I've needed for so long - some real true rest and relaxation. Most people would say that's impossible to get with 8 kids five and under running around. Yes, there were plenty of moments of chaos. But the rest and relaxation came from being able to get away from the every day grind, spend some time in the beautiful outdoors, and most of all, be together as a family.

My entire family got to go to a cabin in Franklin, Idaho. We will be forever indebted to our good friends the Shipleys for letting us go. Its the first time we've all been together in a long, long time. It just felt good. We ate, rode 4-wheelers, ate, played games, ate, did a super slip-and-slide, ate, and just spent good time together. It was just what I needed. Now I'm back to the grind, dealing with every day life, and trying like mad to cling to the happy memories of the weekend. I love making memories!

Finally

All right already. Here are some pictures. I've been a little busy with three kids and a husband who always works. Geez!

Actually, Jake always takes the camera to work so it's hard for me to wrestle it from him long enough to get pictures off of it. We're doing well. Three kids seems like ten kids sometimes, but we'll make it. How did my mom do it?

Sage is super cute of course. A bit fussy because she has some reflux. But she's so cute I don't hold it against her. She smiles lots for my mom and a little bit for everyone else. Guess she knows she and my mom share a name. Smart cookie already.

Disclaimer

I realize I didn't give credit to anyone for the poem entitled 'Great Lessons' in my last post. I don't know who wrote it, but I do know it wasn't me. Sorry I wasn't more clear on that. Still a good message though, would be even better if I had thought of it:)