{June}

June has been a really fun and hectic month. 

When we got home from Nauvoo (pioneer trek) we were met with a man digging a gigantic hole in our front yard and an urgent note from Chris on the door.  I called him and he proceeded to tell me that one of our sewer pipes had backed up and flooded our bathroom and entry way and gone through the floor into our newly finished basement.

There were no words...

We were hot and really really dirty and sweaty.  There was no running water and the kids desperately needed lunch, a bath, and a nap.  It was not a fun day and my attitude was very poor.  Once we all got a bath that evening and the plumber had found the pipe and fixed it I was able to calm down a bit.

I started making calls to the service center for clean up and also to our insurance to start a claim.  I was on the phone and filling out paperwork and letting workmen in and out all day.

Chris left for scout camp (in Canada) the next day.  After days of clean up and chopping up our wood floor and fans blowing and air purifiers running it finally quieted down some...in time for the insurance guy to come over for hours and also the wood floor guy...etc.

The blessing?...

new wood floors that I actually like and think will stand up better with small children running around. 

 In between all this mayhem we have had a lot of fun also.

(Fondulac Farm)

(Chilicothe Splash Pad)

A familiar sight. 

 My children have adopted these chairs as their own.  They just love curling up on their own chair and reading a book.  In this picture they were waiting while I cleaned up after lunch.  I finished up and turned around and saw both of them sitting quietly reading and I had to take a picture:).

(Chris came home sporting quite the beard)

He was gone eight days during a highly stressful and busy time, but I have to say it actually went well.  The kids were great and we were able to squeeze in time for fun and friends...and I get a new wood floor:)

{a pioneer trek...part 3}

(Henry helped push the back of the cart quite a bit.)



(Crew taking his turn with the gun.)

(water break)

Eliza hated her bonnet, it was itchy and hot, but she absolutely needed something protecting her from the sun.  Brother Crespo let her borrow his for a little bit so she could have a break form her bonnet.



All of the ice on the ground is the result of Henry "roping" the bucket with the tent rope.

{a pioneer trek...part 2}

I really appreciate Chris being the voice of reason sometimes and helping me not do something that is beyond my capabilities, but this time I just was not going to budge.  Chris really thought I should not go on this trek because of my health.  He was worried because many times the heat and any kind of arduous labor really flare up my asthma.  I wanted to go so bad and really thought that Heavenly Father would make it possible for me to do this with my children.  I brought my nebulizer and was on a higher dosage of medicine and was going foward with faith.  We were also concerned for Eliza.  She is very sensitive to the sun and burns really easily.  I never saw anyone else putting sunscreen on their kids during the trek, but I was dosing Eliza every 20 to thirty minutes.  It was really hard to tell because she was beet red all up and down her arms and on her face the whole time. 

I cannot say that this trek was necessarily spiritual.

  It was so hard that all I could think about was putting one foot in front of the other and pushing and pulling and carrying Eliza and giving both kids lots of water and sunscreen and holding Henry's hand and holding other kids and.....etc.

I did get a very good sense of how difficult it was for the pioneers and their children.  We walked for about 4 1/2 hours and they walked for months.  

All of the kids did very well the first part of the trek.  It was very rocky and there was difficult terrain so it was mostly tiring for the adults.  As we continued walking in the blazing sun (100 degrees and 96% humidity) the kids started to wilt.  I heard no complaining and they just kept walking.  Eliza needed to be held most of the time.  I honestly thought my back was not going to make it.  There were two young men with my handcart and sometimes they would take turns carrying her without me asking.  She also rode in the handcart for little stretches.  My asthma was great!  I had to stop and get my breath sometimes but no major attack.  Henry was amazing but he was actually the one that ended up getting over heated.  He told me he had to go to the bathroom so I took him to the side of the forest.  It ended up not being number one.  His body was just getting rid of everything.  All I had with me was my apron so I just did the best I could. 
We ended up being left behind.

Henry could barely walk at this point.  I tried carrying him for little stretches, but I could barely stay on my feet.  As we walked over the hill and I saw our group sitting together at the end of the trail my heart lept.

There was something very poignant about being the last one to arrive... holding my sick child's hand as we walked the last steps to "zion".  This is when the spirit hit me hard.  A young man that was with our handcart had already started out to get us.  He picked up Henry like a little baby and Henry laid his head on his strong shoulder.  We were met with cheers from everyone else.

I am not sure I would do this again with small children...I am just not sure, BUT...
it really was incredible to see so many people help others.  Older children helped little children.  Mothers with older children helped mothers with younger children.  Women were sometimes carrying their own children, but often were seen carrying someone else's child and sometimes both.  The few men that were there were everywhere helping everyone.  It was really amazing.  Henry really did have a great experience.  He even got to hold a pretend rifle to hunt for buffalo and scare off wild animals.  He told me that he had fun and had lots of energy at the beginning of the trek but he was very tired at the end.:)

 Eliza was...Eliza.  When we got back to camp she was everywhere.  While I tried to get our tent set up she kept walking down to another part of camp (far away) to be with some other little girls.  She would not sit still to eat and almost fell off a cliff, got into poison ivy, and succeeded to burn her fingers on the dutch oven.  Thank heavens we had a nurse.  She was exhausted but it took hours for her to fall asleep and once she did she would wake up and want to play.  It was not fun.  I do not think we will go camping again this year because I am not sure I can keep her alive.  I did not even get to eat my dinner because I could not sit down and just let her wander.

All in all I learned so much about myself and my children and the pioneers.  We have really NO idea how hard it was for them and how much faith and courage and strength they had to dig down deep and find.  The hardest thing had to be watching their children suffer and not be able to ease them from it fully.  Eliza got to a point where she was just miserable and kind of whimpering and it was heartbreaking...The mothers who walked across the plains inspire me.  I want to have that much faith and determination in my own life and want to help my children have it.  Sometimes I think it is okay and maybe even great to have our children experience something really difficult.

The gospel is true!
 It was the gospel of Jesus Christ burning bright inside of them that got them through and it will be that same fire that will get us and our children through this life with our faith strong and our eyes on heaven.

to be continued...  

{a pioneer trek}

The Relief Society in our ward decided to organize a trek in Nauvoo just for the women and children.  I thought it sounded like an amazing experience and was on board right from the start.  I went on trek when I was 18 years old and while it was certainly difficult it was a very spiritual experience.  I was hoping that Chris could take a day off and watch Eliza so I could go with just Henry, but Chris had some important meetings that he could not miss.  The closer the date came to our trek and the hotter it became I started to have some apprehension.  June 19th we packed up early and dressed in our pioneer clothing.  We picked up some friends (the Christensens) and headed to Nauvoo.  The clothing I ordered for myself and Henry did not come so we had to stop at a store in Nauvoo and try to supplement what we had.  I was not in the best mood.  It just seemed that so many things were going wrong and it was SO HOT.  I was wet with sweat before I even got out of the van.  We ate lunch and picked out our campsite and were off.  As we gathered on the trail and I saw all the women and children in our ward dressed as pioneers my heart softened.  I geared up my loins and we set off.  The Crespo family and the Christensen family were with our handcart and there were two other handcarts in our company.  I think there were nine handcarts total. 

 Here are a few pictures from the beginning of our journey.

I know I have funny eyes in this picture but I LOVE it of the kids.

  We were listening to a missionary give an introduction. 

 Can you see how hot and red I am already? :)

Our Handcart

to be continued...

{random}

Here are some pictures from the month of June so far.  We have been having lots of fun playing with friends and neighbors and church members and getting lots of sun and fresh air.  Eliza loves to have other kids over and loves to go somewhere else and play with kids.  She will wake up and ask to play with so and so.  It looks like she might end up being quite social.  We will be playing outside on a slip and slide with neighbors and Henry will tell me he is ready to go home and Eliza screams the whole way home saying "I don't go home, I don't go home"! 

It seems they come how they come:)

(Eliza with Luke)



(Henry decided to get a snack for himself and Eliza...applesauce.  There was nothing broken and no spills or mess.  I was very relieved and proud!)

(Henry building with his friend Caleb)

{our home...a work in progress}

This is our house. 

 It has been a process to make it feel more like a home. 

 Our landscaping is starting to fill in and now we just need to finish the paving brick and landscape the other sides and back.  We are also going to remove those little bush things on the left side and replace them with  two hydrangeas to match the right side.  I tried to paint the door and framework to decrease all the brown and tan and to lighten things up

  I was going for more of a cozy cottage look...

...it ended up looking like an Easter egg:) 

 I am still deciding on a new color!