Unexpected Visitors

Didn't I just blog about being the pit-stop on travels from the Northwest to Salt Lake City? Well, it happened again. Yesterday about 5 pm, I got a phone call from Uncle Bob, you know he's married to Ryan's Aunt Carol. He said they were driving home from Seattle and would like to stop and see us. They were about an hour west of here. We ended up having them sleep on our sofa bed, since Uncle Bob was starting to see double and Aunt Carol didn't think she could drive the rest of the way home last night.

Our kids absolutely loved having a new audience to impress. Sabrina played every song she knows on the violin and read Anne of Green Gables. Roderic talked impressively about Wallace and Gromit, Star Wars and Legos and dragged Aunt Carol (literally) on a tour of our house. Hyrum called Uncle Bob "Papa" and Aunt Carol "Mama."

Happily, our carpets were freshly cleaned (which also means that our rooms were clean!) and I only had to borrow one can of olives from my neighbor for dinner (we had tacos).



They didn't even mind watching the Vice-Presidential Debate (and follow-up commentary) with us.



And here is a picture that Aunt Carol drew of Uncle Bob using the Doodle Pro.

Family, Soccer and Vanity

Living away from family, really makes me appreciate the time - regardless of how few minutes - that we get to spend together. Like this past Friday night, when my sister and her family stopped by while they were on their way from Portland to Bountiful. My house is just about the halfway point. I made them a delicious Chicken Stir-Fry. Roderic got to show his cousins Lego Chess. Sabrina got to play Bears with Aanja. Ryan got to show off the 5 minute movie he made about Scout Camp this year. They got to refill their water bottles. It was great fun. Then after about 50 minutes, they got back in their Grand Cherokee and continued on their journey. I asked Milaka to NOT call me when they safely arrived in Bountiful because I most likely would be deep asleep.







Yesterday was "RecFest." Which means all of the games are played in the same location, professional team photographs are taken, there are bounce houses to play on, and food vendors are there. What it also means is that those who play in the afternoon are most likely going to have their game delayed because the morning games went over time. Sabrina's game was slated to begin at 1:30 pm. We arrived about 1:10 and noticed that the teams on the field we were supposed to play on were just having half-time. When we met up with other team members, we learned that there was still another game to be played before it was our turn. Fortunately, our coach and the coach of the other team decided that we'd rather play on time instead of wait an entire hour, so we went over to another field and played there. There were no goal nets, so we put flags in the ground to mark the goal. It was a smaller field than they are used to, and they only had the penalty box marked, not the goal box, but they played well, and Sabrina even scored a goal! I was really glad that we were able to come up with this solution and not have to wait another hour before playing.


Did you know that the State of Idaho requires all license plates to be changed every 7 years? We learned this two years ago when we got the annual renewal notice for our original plates - the ones we got when we first moved to Idaho, 1A K6796. We could have paid extra money to be able to keep the same number, or pay the regular amount and be issued new plates. We opted for the less expensive route. I'd forgotten about it again though until 2 weeks ago when we got our renewal stickers in the mail for the van. It included instructions for what to do if the new plates didn't arrive before the old plates expired.

Wow, has it really been 7 years since I've been proclaiming to the world that I'm a 10 COW wife? I cannot tell you the number of times that I have been stopped, at the grocery store, at the gas station, at the parking garage, at soccer games, at the Boise River rafting drop-off, in the foyer of the church buildings; and been asked what it means. Do I own cows? Did I sell 10 cows to buy my van? Did I grow up on a dairy farm? I keep meaning to put the extra copies of "Johnny Lingo" in the van and give them to the people who ask me about my license plate.

About a year after I got my vanity plates, my brother-in-law said he was driving around Utah and saw a Cadillac with 10 COW license plates. I still claim to be the original, though. This spring when we were in Oregon, Ryan parked next to this plate that looked remarkably similar:

What's Cooking?

Last night I had a successful dinner, so I'm putting it here to share with y'all.

Creamy Black Beans and Chicken Salsa
(modified from Heidi Rogers' recipe)

2-3 boneless-skinless chicken breasts
1 cup broth
1 cup salsa
1 can corn, drained
4 cups of cooked black beans (2 cans)
1 teas. corriander
1 teas. cumin
1 1/2 teas. chili powder
1 garlic clove, minced
some fresh basil, snipped

Combine all of this in your crockpot and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours. During the last half hour, stir in 1/2 cup sour cream.

Serve in flour tortillas with tomato, spinach, and cheese. OR Serve with corn chips.

Great Minds Dress Alike

The other day when my visiting teacher came over, we looked like this:

I thought it was pretty awesome, because I often look up to Caitlin for her sense of style. Perhaps she is starting to rub off on me!

American Lullaby

I learned this song in Junior High, when my choir teacher, Mrs. Loughton, recommend that I sing it for Solo and Ensemble. In my head, I always picture a strong soprano voice singing it like Billie Holladay or Ella Fitzgerald. I've sung it ocasionally to my children to help them fall asleep.

American Lullaby by Gladys Rich

Hush-a-bye you sweet little baby and don't you cry anymore.
Daddy is down at his stockbrokers office a keepin' the wolf from the door.
Nursey will raise the window shade high, so you can see the cars whizzing by,
Home in a hurry each daddy will fly, to a baby like you.

Hush-a-bye you sweet little baby and close those pretty blue eyes.
Mommy has gone to her weekly bridge party to get her wee baby the prize.
Nursey will turn the radio on, so you can hear a sleepy time song,
Sung by a lady whose poor heart must long, for a baby like you.

This song was requested by Roderic every night when Ryan was on his backpacking trip (and every night since that it is my turn to put the boys to bed). On the third night, Roderic told me that while I sing it, he closes his eyes and pictures himself in the story. I told him that I do the same thing. The next night, he asked me if I would change the words on the second verse, though. He doesn't want the mommy to play bridge. He wants her to go shopping instead, so here is Roderic's modified second verse:

Hush-a-bye you sweet little baby and close those pretty blue eyes.
Mommy has gone on her weekly shopping trip to get her wee baby a prize.
Nursey will turn the radio on, so you can hear a sleepy time song,
Sung by a lady whose poor heart must long, for a baby like you.

Cleaning Hazards

I've been meaning to clean my windows. It's amazing how many dirty fingerprints crop up on them. Well finally I washed the windows and two days later, THUD. I asked Roderic what it was. He replied, "A bird." I looked out my patio door and sure enough there was a bird, a quail -- one of those birds who rarely fly, yet eat up all of the newly planted seeds in my garden. Flapping and flailing around. It died after a minute. It flew at full speed into my clean window due to the magnificent reflection of blue skies just beyond. So sad to watch.



Ryan gave it a proper burial behind our fence. I guess I should avoid cleaning my windows.

A Broken Heart

Yesterday in Relief Society, the lesson was given by our Relief Society President. I always enjoy her lessons and this one was no different. It was titled "Broken Heart and Contrite Spirit." When Jesus Christ was crucified, that stopped sacrifice by the shedding of blood. Today, we are to offer a different kind of sacrifice to the Lord. Doctrine and Covenants 59:8 "Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit." She shared with us a conversation she had with her son about what having a broken heart means. Her son suggested that having a broken heart was not having your heart so sad that it is in pieces, but rather that it is more like the term "breaking in a horse." That is to say, having a broken heart means that we are more willing to follow the Master. That we are more connected to His ways. That we will do His will. And how do we do this? It's a daily process. Some days are going to be better than others. We're never going to get to the point where we can just glide along, though. If we think we can start to glide, that's pride entering in again. And pride is a sin. "When you think you can do something on your own - that's pride."

Have you ever thought of the human heart as a symbol of Christ? Well, she did. Our heart pumps the healing blood throughout our bodies, just as Jesus Christ, our spiritual heart, pumps healing throughout our spirits.

She showed us a picture of a painting that the artist intentionally put a razor slash through the canvas. The artist was revered with his foresight that what was inside the canvas was just as important as what was on it. And that got her to thinking, "The stuff that we go through in our pains is how we grow." The hurt we feel is what gets us to come back to Jesus. We need humility.

And I totally agree with her. The first time in my life when I felt the healing impact of the atonement in my life was when I mourned for the loss of my baby Xadie. In March of 2003 I was ecstatic. My braces came off - after 5.5 years. My crowns and bridges were installed in my mouth. And we found out that I was pregnant for a second time! I felt my pregnancy was going well, although I kept measuring small at the appointments and had some terrible back aches. At 18 weeks, my midwife was beginning to doubt my surety of when I got pregnant and said that if I didn't grow by the next appointment, we'd have to do an ultrasound. At 22 weeks, she couldn't detect a heartbeat using the dop-tone. After searching my abdomen for several minutes, she left to get the doctor who would help in doing the ultrasound. I was at this appointment alone - Sabrina was at a friend's house and Ryan was working - it was supposed to be a routine 15 minute appointment. I said a prayer in the exam room, asking for courage to be able to handle whatever I was about to be told. The ultrasound showed that the baby's heart had stopped beating. My midwife commented to me how calm I was with this news. I told her that I had faith in Jesus Christ. Through his atonement, I could be made whole. Even at the follow up appointments I had with her, she said how impressed she was with my outlook and demeanor. I had the hardest time singing the sacrament hymns for months afterward, even though I shortly afterward got pregnant with Roderic, because I was crying about the love Jesus has for me. Those hymns so beautifully portray the love of our Savior. And without the pain of losing baby Xadie, I would have missed out.

Our Relief Society President ended her lesson with a poem by Jane Mead, titled "Passing a Truck Full of Chickens at Night on Highway Eighty." Since I haven't contacted the author to ask permission to post it on my blog, I'm going to send you here to read it.