4th of July 2012

(Disclaimer, I had been trying for weeks to get this post up with pictures. I could never get the pictures to come up, so I gave up I was ready to give up on the blogging world at that point, come to find out my computer had a little virus, so I am assuming that was the reason why I couldn't upload the pic. so I will make another attempt and see what happens)

The 4th started off with our traditional Leeds Town breakfast at the Park. Brittany and the kids, Dan, Chantelle and Haiven also joined us for breakfast. After that was kinda just a lazy day it was very nice. The boys went golfing with Grandpa Fowlks, and Ross (Ron's Bro.) Josh was working. Later that day we had Gma and Gpa Fowlks over along with Ross' family over for a BBQ. It was fun having some of our SLC family here, it has been along time since we have been together and celebrated the 4th. I was so excited t0 use our firepit. We let the kids roast their hot dogs and BBQ hamburgers. Then my most favorite thing, after dinner we had S'mores. Looove my firepit. Then we drove into St. George for fireworks. We took Raylie and Logan, Josh, Brit, Lucas and Kaiden went home. This year they were setting them off in 4 different place so we decieded we would drive up the old airport road so we could see them all. It was an awesome place to watch fireworks, until it was time to leave. It took us an hour or so from the time of the finale till we got to the bottom of the Hill on to St. George Blvd. We had two sleeping kids by the time we got them home. I know it wasn't dads favorite place to go, but he was a trooper and went along for the ride.

(As you can see it was the virus that was causing the grief trying to upload pic, thanks Josh for making my computer all better!!)

I left for Texas on the 6th, Chad and Danette purchased a ticket for me to come and watch their kidos while they went on a little vacation to CA. Sharise had quit her job, in preparation to drive home when they returned from CA. We had a great time with Carly and Sam, it was hot and humid and rained most of the days I was there, so we tried to do fun things indoors where ever we went. We went to a childrens discoverery museum, the playground in the mall we went to a movie. Sharise and I started the looooong trek home on the 16th of July. As we started out our plans were to drive to Albuquerque get a room for the night and get up early and continue on home. Well as the drive progressed Sharise said "I think I can drive straight through" as we got into NM we were both so wired (alittle to much pepsi(me) and mt dew(sharise)going through our veins) that we just kept on going. It was about the time we hit Jacobs Lake that we were both really ready to be home the last 5 hrs of the trip. We made it home in a little over 23 hrs. Sharise really drove most of the way. We stopped for gas when ever we hit a bigger town, we kept the tank on the upper half, and mainly just to get out and stretch our bodies alittle. (for my body mainly)It was really fun being with Sharise and talking for 23 hrs. I think we did take a few breaks talking in there for some shut eye. The rest of the month we really pretty much got started on wedding plans and got a lot knocked out before Sharsie got her job.

This is the beautiful sunrise that I saw flying from St. George to SLC on the morning of the 6th and then landing in SLC.

These are some of the picturs from the museam
Fun on the river!
Four wheeling in the rain and mudThe Loooooong drive home!!!! (yes I look tired because I am) But look at Sharise wide eyed and beautiful!!Some scenery along the way

Time for Smore's

I have been wanting a fire pit for a long time, I found one on pinterst that I really liked that was done with flagstone which I have and need to do something with. So I was telling Ron and Dan what I wanted to do and where I wanted to put it. We were outside swinging Haiv on our swing on the patio. They both said why don't you just remove some of these stones and put it in the middle of one of these squares on the patio. (Great idea Boys) So that is what I have been doing today, with Ron's help (thank you bunches for helping me with another one of my projects). I think I will like it here, it will be right by the tables and not in the dirt where I was going to put it.

Bring on the Hot dogs and Smore's

Now to find something to do with all my flagstone.

Happy Birthday Shariseepoo we love you

Since Sharise has been gone for the last year, I don't have many pictures of her plus I'm in TX, all of her younger pics are on the computer at home, so this is the best I can do.
Happy Birthday to our youngest, today she is officially an adult. The BIG 21, it is a bittersweet feeling having your baby turn 21. She has grown so much this past year and I don't mean physically, she has grown spiritually you can read here.
A little about Sharise,
She came into this world a week early, I'm sure I have said this before, she was in a hurry to get here and she has always been in a hurry to do whatever it is that she does.
Growing up, it never failed she was sick on Christmas, it was about the time she had her tonsils removed that she stopped getting sick. (13 years old)
In elementary school, if there was an award to receive on "caring" Sharise would receive that award She cares about others and their feelings.
She loooooves having fun and being busy. She wants to be with her friends and with her family at the same time, and feels bad when she can't be.
She has absolutely loved living in Texas, we have missed her but know that she needed to get away for awhile. So thankful to Chad and Danette for being so good to her.
She will be coming home in July, it is very bittersweet for her.
Your family loves you Sharise and grateful that you are a part of this family.

#'s 11 and 12, race for the cure a Texas visit, and two graduations

May 10th brought a new little person into our family. We are so excited to welcome little Annie into our family. She is a beautiful little girl. We didn't get to see her until she was 12 days old. This little family waited along time for her. I call her our little tender mercy baby, because she came about, the same week that we found out Des had cancer. I know that she is a blessing from up above, at that very moment in time. It has been so fun being here with them and seeing our TX family, Sharise included. :) Before we went to TX there were a few other things that took place...........................May 12th brought the Race for the Cure, we drove up the day before to prepared for this day. Sat morning we woke up early, rode the Trax in town. It was fun to be there to support Des in this cause. There was a huge crowd there. She had alot of support from family and friends running/walking in her name. The survivor walk at the end of the race was very emotional, I will just say I am glad that I had my sunglasses on because it hid the tears that were there. We are so grateful for the support, prayers and fasting in her behalf.
Because we were leaving for TX on the 22nd and Lukes B-day is the 28th we celebrated on the 20th, he wanted a Buzz lightyear cake so Brit and I decided to to Buzz cupcakes. They were kinda fun to make and did not take to long at all. Happy B-day Lukie!!
Tues the 22nd, we headed to TX, Dan, Chantelle and Haiven came with us for their family vacation. The pics below are at the airport and on the plane. She was a very good girl. You can see in the picture below that ripping up a napkin kept her pretty busy while dad caught a few ZZZZZZZ. As soon as the plane started the descent, Haiv decided she would go to sleep, after filling her diaper of coarse. The flight is 2 1/2, 3 hrs and she decides to go to sleep the last 15 min of the flight. :)
When we arrived at Danette's we had to celebrate some birthdays. Sam's was on the 12th so we let him open a present that we brought him. And that very day was Carly's so she opened presents and then we had cake and ice cream. The cake was yummy that Danette made.
AT THE LAKE

Sunday we attended church, and they decided to bless Annie while we were there. They chose to bless her in their home as they have the other two. Family was there plus a bishopric member. Love feeling the spirit where ever there is a baby blessing done. Sweet little things that just left the presence of our Heavenly Father. Then of coarse we had a wonder dinner after.

We went for a drive to the Battleship, USS Texas, on Mon. It was very interesting looking around the ship and imagining what it would have been like to live on a battleship for who knows how long. No privacy at all on these ships, unless you were very high up in the ranks.

May 17th and May 29th we had two little graduates. Raylie graduated on the 17th from her pre-school which I was home and able to go to. Carly graduated from kindergarten on the 29th and we were lucky enough to be in TX for her graduation. Carly is the one with the black top an levi skirt on the front row. I know that our little Ellie graduated from pre school as well this year but was in TX when hers took place. This is my favorite critter on the farm. This is Jack and I love to feed him carrots so I thought I would introduce Haiven to Jack and let her feed him some carrots, not sure if she was loving it like I do. She was a little timid when he approached us with those big teeth of his. And below are the new pigs added to the farm.

Some random pictures of smores night after Carly's graduation, and the kids playing.

Dan, Chantelle, Haiven, Grandpa and Grandma drove to Kemah Bay the Tues before they were to return home. The pictures below are of Haiven entertaining herself at lunch. We went to the Aquarium for lunch and it was all blue in there thus for the blue pics below, loved how they turned out all blue excpt for her pink flower.

More picture at Kemah

When we were headed to Kemah I received a phone call from Brit telling me about her Dr appt. she was dilated to a 5, the Dr told her that if she kept having contraction later today to go to the hospital. Now this little man was told by grandma (ME) that he was to wait until she got back home before he was to enter this world. After all he was not due until the 17th, so I figured getting home on the 8th would work out just fine. So we were keeping in touch all that day. Josh' mom was kinda on call to come help out if that day came before I returned. And yup that little guy did not listen to his grandma because he was born at 10:30 that night. He was 19 days early, now with that came some problems. Brit was 37 wks which is usually ok for babies to be born, the little man weighed in at 6lb 15oz and 19" long so not too small. But this little guy had not one, not two, not even three, but four things that usually come with being a preemie. Not to go into all the details but he stopped breathing as soon as the cord was cut, found out that he was born without surfactin which keeps the lungs inflated. Later finding out he has an ASD and a VSD (hole in arterial and ventricle) and a PPS which is a narrowing of some veins, which are all symptoms of a preemie. So needles to say when I received the phone call that he had been born and then heard first that he had stopped breathing, and they had whisked him away, it was heart breaking, Josh was with the baby and no one was with Brit, it was so hard. So my motherly instincts kicked in and I called Rons mom who happened to be in St. George at that time (on call as well) to see if she would go and be with Brittanyso she would not be alone.

I just think that us moms should be able to be where ever, whenever and in two places at once if need be. I need to get someone to work on that teleporter (you know the one from Star Trek) so that I can be here, there and everywhere when I need to be. :)

Had thought about flying home early but you know what the rate of a on the spot airline ticket would cost. And besides Ron was leaving the next day, Brit had her Mother in Law there and Grandma was there, I know she had help and support. So I stayed until my scheduled day, but I had updates continually and many pictures, even skyped with the little man. It was heart breaking to see the little guy struggle to breath. :(

Wed Ron, Dan, Chantelle and Haiven left for home, like I said above, I stayed another week to help out, not so sure I helped out so much, Danette was settled right in to being a mommy of three. But it was fun to be able to spend some more time with them and hold baby Annie more. It was fun being there for Sharise' 21st birthday. Can't believe my baby is 21. Oh well it happens right? I had a fun week holding Annie and playing with Carly and Sam. I decided on Thurs that I would try to do stand by on Fri to get an earlier flight home, so I called at 7 am and there were 10 seats open on the 11:30 flight piece of cake right? My flight was not due to leave until 5:30 so I thought I will get at the airport at 9am and would get my name on the stand by list and with 10 seats left I would be flying home early that day and be able to get home in time to go see Kaiden at the hospital. When checking in and paying the $75.00 to get on the stand by list, I was told that the 10 seats were gone. But I got all checked in and went through security and got to the gate in time for them to announce that the 11:30 flight had been delayed 2 hours. AUGGGGGG, but I was all calm and collected knowing I for sure would get on the flight. With a gate change and another announcement telling all the stand by people that this flight was full we all had been rolled over to the 2:06 flight. So with just about 15 min before that flight boarded, I started looking for my name on the stand by list (which I was #7 on the list to start with) I had been bumped down 2 names because of 2 people with higher priority than I. Now really who has higher priority than this grandma who needs to get home and see her new grand baby which happens to be in the NICU? So therefore I did not get on that flight either, so next option was my original flight of 5:30. Now remember I had been there since 9 am and it was now a little after 2, my phone had less than 1/2 the battery life and all I had was my car charger not my wall charger, I could not get my laptop to connect to the wifi in the airport, so I had to resort to the old fashion way of waiting at the airport and go buy two magazines, blaaaaaa. 5:00 comes and we start boarding the plane, plane is boarded, everyone is seated and we are all ready to take off. But oh no not yet, the co-pilot comes over the intercom and tells us that the pilot was not due in until 7:00 he was still in flight from Chicago, so OFF the plane we go and wait some more. So by the time I finally took off I had been in the airport for 8 1/2 hours. And then the long drive home from Vegas. All I can say is WHAT A DAY!!!!!

So this is how I got to see little Kaiden Saturday morning, he was release Fri night around 8 and was sent home with the lights because he was jaundice. Poor little man, but he is doing really good.

I am thankful for the many blessing our family has received this past year, we have had some really big growing experiences, and what would life be without the opportunity to grow and be stretched. I have tried really hard to be patient and calm, to lean on my Father in Heaven for comfort. I can say it hasn't been without many tears shed but that is my way of handling things. This momma and grandma LOVES her family!!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RON!!!!!

Another birthday in this family, and it happens to be the birthday of the husband, dad and crandpa (in Raylie language) of the Fowlks clan. Happy Birthday to you Ron. I hope you have an amazing day, even though you have to go to work.
We love you and appreciate all that you do for this family, you are the spiritual giant in this family and I am so thankful for your example and your guidance in my life and the life of our children.

I found some yummy recipes on pinterest last night, I thought what better time to use them than to get up early and have breakfast ready for Ron when he woke up. I even made it up early enough to get some scripture reading in before I started breakfast. I had found a french toast recipe, with a coconut syrup (the syrup I made last night). I didn't want to get up too early :) I picked a rose from our rose bushes and placed it by his plate. It's OK for men to have flowers right? I turned on some Hawaiian Music and made a pineapple smoothie. I cut the shape of the bread into a pineapple and palm tree shape, and since they were not very big I did cook a normal slice of bread as well. It was fun to have breakfast almost ready when he got up.

A little about Ron.........

He can come up with the craziest things to say sometimes.

He is a fun Crandpa!!!!

He is a pretty patient person most of the time, I am really not sure how he has been able to handle all the estrogen in this family as well as he has, coming from a family of all boys. But he has!!
And has been very patient with me and my hormonal craziness, thank you for that!!!

He loves to EAT!!! he remembers our vacations by the food we eat or bakery, or chocolate shops we stop at.

He is a hard worker, always has been, he has been a great example in his work ethic

Your family loves you Ron and we all hope you have a great day!!!!!

Fun Weekend and The Scent of Spring

This past weekend was so much fun for this grandma!!! I left for SLC Friday morning, arrived there in time for lunch. Had a very yummy lunch at Applebee's. (thanks again Des for the great lunch) Did a few other things and that night Emma had her first of two ice shows. This grandma is as proud as a peacock, when it comes to watching her grandchildren. Emma skated with a group and then she was chosen this year to do a solo and she did an AWESOME JOB!
Saturday was full of more fun, it was Emma' 10th birthday, YES I said 10th I cannot believe it, she is just getting to big. So we did a few birthday things and readied ourselves for Abbie' music recital. It was fun watching and listening to these cuties play the piano and sing. They each composed their own piece that they played.
We ate at Quizinos for dinner, Emma' choices. Then we were off to her next ice show repeat of the night before but again she did a great job. After the show we went for ice cream for her birthday, it was very yummy, I have to say the best Carmel topping (next to mine) that I have ever tasted. They could have brought me a bowl of the Carmel and left out the ice cream.

Sunday was again very enlighten spiritually for me. Des' wonderful Bishop (her husband) taught the lesson in RS being it was the 5th Sunday. He gave a great lesson on the duties and responsibilities of us sisters in the kingdom. The Ogden fam went to his parents to celebrate Marks birthday and I went and cooked, and ate dinner with my mom. It was fun visiting her. Monday left for home,but I stopped to say good bye to mom and my brother that has just moved back from Boston was there and I got to chat with the both of them for a bit. Was a great weekend!!!!

When I got home, I watered some outdoor flowers that looked a little thirsty, and I could smell this wonderful smell in the air. As I walked around to the back yard I could see where the smell was coming from. Our Texas umbrella trees are all in bloom, they smell so good when they are out in bloom. I wish you could smell through these pictures, it is amazing.

I am home for a couple weeks then heading back up to SLC for the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure. Pictures of that to come.

Then the end of the month we are off to Texas to see our # 11 grandchild and 7th granddaughter. So excited to see this new little one.

Good books to read

Got the pictures off Amazon so ignore the "click to look inside" wont work on my blog. But I just thought I would share some great books that I have recently read. This book is in a story form which I learn so much more than factual books. Not sure why but that is how my brain works. It is an amazing book about the Atonement. A little snippet of what the inside cover says

"What does the atonement mean, practically speaking? How is Christ the answer to a strained relationship with a spouse, child, parent or sibling? What if I am being mistreated how can the atonement help me cope with that? How can I discover the desie to repent when I don't feel the need to repent? And how can I invite others to do the same? These are the challenging, difficult questions of daily life, questions to which the gospel must provide answers if it is to have living, cleansing, redeeming power."

It made me take a good look at myself and the power I have within myself to forgive. I know that we all get different things out of books we read, for me that is one thing that I pulled from this book.

Another great book, same Author as "The Peacegiver" James L. Ferrell. This book made me really think about some things in my life. Here is a little from the Preface page.

"I believe that many today carry a secret: we do not love what we have been commanded to love; we do not love what is holy. While we might reverence things that are deemed holy--the temple, for example, and the scriptures, and the Sabbath--we do not love them. Not really. Not with our whole souls. I want to be careful not to be misunderstood. While I know that I, at times, have carried this secret, I do not presume the same about any other particular person. But our actions as a people--both as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and as a part of the larger Christian population--suggest that as a body of believers we do not love what is holy. Our temples, for example, are not as busy as they would be if we loved being there; the pages of our sciptures are not as worn as they would be if we feasted upon their words; our stores are not as empty or out chapels as filled as they would be if we truly loved the Lord's holy day. While many among us surely cherish and love holiness, our lives suggest that many more of us do not. At least, not all of the time."

Loved this book, it made me really think about my commitment of these things, and made me want to work harder at perfecting the things I love.

This is the last book that I just finished. Can I just say that I have absolutly nothing in my life to complain about. Oh I think I do and I do complain alot. Reading this book just confirmed to me that I really don't. I am sure I should read it about once a month, because that is how often I will need to be reminded of that. I am sure you have all heard of the "nieniedialogues.com" if not here's a short run down. She and her husband survived a plan crash, she was burned over 80 % of her body. A mother of two girls and two boys. It is her story, she just recently had her 5th child, a little girl. They are using her stretched skin from her pregnancy to do more skin graffs. Just an amazing story of her survivial and her faith in God to help her through.

I have never been much of a reader, but I have to say that as I have gotten older, I have enjoyed reading more and more. Still at that, like I said in the begining of this post, I love story form books, that teach great principles, I learn so much more. It has been a challenge for me to read the Book of Mormon in the past, but the last few years I have been picking out the stories that are contained with in this great book and have been able to understand it so much more. I have been able to learn so much more from it .

HAPPY READING!!!!