Updatng the Update

The end of Conference weekend found Jared and I kneeling down for couple prayer on Sunday night, both with the same question brooding in our minds.   "How do we keep our kids protected...spiritually speaking...in such a nasty world?"  That night, I felt a great unrest.
The next morning I found myself searching my conference notes and finding, at least one thing, that gave me great hope....someone quoting Elder Bednar...

"As you respond in faith to this invitation, your hearts shall turn to the fathers. The promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be implanted in your hearts...Your love and gratitude for your ancestors will increase. Your testimony of and conversion to the Savior will become deep and abiding. And I promise you will be protected against the intensifying influence of the adversary. As you participate in and love this holy work, you will be safeguarded in your youth and throughout your lives."

So my prayers quickly turned to "How can I integrate Family History into our busy lives?"  I was surprised to immediatley have an answer..."start telling them stories."  So the next morning  at breakfast I started telling them about my Grandma Grover.  The next answer came, "find more stories to tell them."  So I opened a Book of Rememberance that my Grandma Grover had made, that had been sitting on my shelf.  On the back of the front page, I found this message in Grandma Grover's handwriting:

"To an Ancestor
Dear One, my spirit knows this to be true:  
You are a part of me and I of you."

It was a nice message, but when coupled with the experience that I had had two nights earlier, it MEANT something to me.  The following is from my previous blog :


"Joey, I love you!  Do you know I have two Joes?"
No...Who?
"You are my first Joey, and my second Joe is my Dad!"
Really?
"Do you remember what his name is?"
And we said together, "JOSEPH DELANEY FOSTER!"
Then he got a huge grin on his face and said, "AND I AM A PART OF HIM!"

I think I will stick with Elder Bednar's promise....I think he is onto something :)

TRUDGING on :)

I just had to share my tender moment!  All of my kids are named after someone (with the exception of Ally....Jared named Ally, I named the rest!  Ally will have to make a name of her own, which I am quite confident she is capable of :)  My fourth is named Joseph Curtis. Curtis after his uncle, who we have enormous respect for, and Joseph after my dad.

For some reason, every night when I tuck Joseph in, I am reminded quite strongly of the connection, and I often remind him about his Grandpa.  Last night's conversation made my heart melt.  It went like this:

"Joey, I love you!  Do you know I have two Joes?"
No...Who?
"You are my first Joey, and my second Joe is my Dad!"
Really?
"Do you remember what his name is?"
And we said together, "JOSEPH DELANEY FOSTER!"
Then he got a huge grin on his face and said, "AND I AM A PART OF HIM!"

To which I promptly kissed him goodnight, exited the room, because I could no longer talk!
Joey was 2 when Grandpa died.  And yet I am quite certain, he still influences his life!  I am so GRATEFUL for eternities to come when death, disabillity, and disease, hamper our ability to see the positive impact we have on each other!
For now we will trudge on, with ETERNITY in our sights!

Almost everyday I get an email telling me that my cousin, Andrea, has updated her Good Reads activity....So I take a peak, and get really excited when I see what she has been reading.  Then I remember that my reading is inhibited by a 5 minute time span as of the last 10 years.  At which point, despite my deepest desires, my eyelids shut and I am lost in a world of  SLEEP!  Don't get me wrong, I love sleep, but I LOVE to read!

However, I HAD to go after the last book she added to her Good Reads profile.  And I WILL FINISH IT!  IF it takes me 5 months of 5 minutes! The title, "Team of Rivals!"  (An exploration of Abraham Lincoln's life, presidency, and cabinet as a quick synopsis)  Call me strange, but I LOVE stuff like this!

Today, my five minutes fit in PERFECTLY with the activity for the day.  If you didn't know, today and tomorrow is General Conference!  Which I love, even more than my Founding Father Obsession!

Okay, you have to bear with me as I make you read just 6 short paragraphs from this book, and then tie all my thoughts together.  Just so you know, we enter upon the subject of a man named Seward, a political rival of Abraham Lincoln, and although not my favorite character, he had principles.

"Meanwhile, he continued to speak out on behalf of black citizens.  In March 1846, a terrifying massacre took place in Seward's hometown.  A 23 year old black man named William Freeman, recently released from prison after serving five years for a crime it was later determined he did not commit, entered the home of John Van Nest, a wealthy farmer and friend of Seward's.  Armed with two knives, he killed Van Nest, his pregnant wife, their small child, and Mrs. Van Nest's mother.  When he was caught within hours, Freeman immediately confessed.  He exhibited no remorse and laughed uncontrollably as he spoke.  The sheriff hauled him away.....
Investigation revealed a history of insanity in Freeman's family.  Moreover, Freeman had suffered a series of floggings in jail that had left him deaf and deranged.  When the trial opened, no lawyer was willing to take Freeman's case.   The citizens of Auburn had threatened violence against any member of the bar who dared to defend the cold blooded murderer.  When the court asked, "will anyone defend this man?"  a "deathlike stillness pervaded the crowded room," until Seward rose, his voice strong with emotion and said, "May it please the court, I shall remain counsel for the prisoner until his death!"
Seward's friends and family....criticized Seward for his decision.  Only Frances (his wife) stood proudly by her husband during the outburst that followed, assuring her sister that "he will do what is right.  He will not close his eyes and know that wrong is perpetrated."  To her son Gus she noted, that, "there are few men in America who would have sacrificed so much for the cause of humanity-he has his reward in quiet conscience and a peaceful mind...
In his summation, he pleaded with the jury not to be influenced by the color of the accused man's skin.  "He is still your brother, and mine...Hold him then to be a man."  Seward continued, "I am not the prisoner's lawyer...I am the lawyer for society, for mankind, shocked beyond the power of expression, at the scene I have witnessed here."  he argued that Freeman's conduct was "unexplainable on any principle of sanity."
There was never any doubt that the local jury would return a guilty verdict.  In due time, gentlemen of the jury,"  Seward concluded, "when I shall have paid the debt of nature, my remains will rest here in our midst, with those of my kindred and neighbors.  It is very possible they may be unhonored, neglected, spurned!  But , perhaps years hence, when the passion and excitement which now agitate this community shall have passed away, some wondering stranger, some lone exile, some Indian, some negro, ay erect over them a humble stone, and thereon this epitaph, "He was Faithful!"

I find in Seward and John Adams (who once represented the ever-unpopular British, because of principle), something so STABILIZING!  A world where people act on Belief instead of acting like life is one CONTINUOUS ELECTION CYCLE!  Where words and actions depend upon the moment, momentum, and feeling in the crowd.

How utterly EXHAUSTING, and CONTINUALLY UN-NERVING it would be to base my life on the EVOLVING nature of man's whims!  (not always influenced by thebest of sources)!

I find my deepest gratitude lies in an unchanging God! Defined Doctrine! and living by principle supplies my greatest peace!

This weekend and everyday of my life, I am reminded why I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Ltter Day Saints!

12 years! And Counting!

Yesterday, Chris, the neighbor boy, came over and as he checked out out our temporary decorations, I hear Sam say, "Hey Chris, did you know that tomorrow is our family's anniversary?"  And with a weird look and half laugh, the conversation turned to the trampoline (faster than my sisters and I change subjects....that is saying something).

2 weeks ago as we sat down to plan out the budget, I pulled out my calendar to assess upcoming expenditures, and just as soon as Back TO SCHOOL spending stops, the Anniversaries and Birthdays start.  Joy.  To say the least, the budget was taxed, when budgets are taxed, creativity takes over.    So I started to think....

TODAY is our anniversary!  Yeah!  12 years of WHIRLWIND!  In a rare quiet moment I started to think about what has happened.  12 years ago, in a dress, I would never fit into today, I got married in the Idaho Falls Temple.  Surrounded by ALL of my family and meeting some of Jared's family (for the first time), the day was GREAT!

  And from there things get a little blurry...I remember LOTS of morning sickness!  5 deliveries, a couple of moves!  Lots of life changes.  Losing my dad and then Jared's dad....and all of a sudden, Ally is 10, on the verge of middle school, Daniel is almost 3, there are no more diapers in our house (YEAH!!!!!) and I am wondering HOW on earth I survived?   And better yet, LOVED what has become of us?

As my mind wove it's way down our path (and I am not going to lie, some of the path is clouded over with mists of "I have no idea what happened here, I was too tired to digest it")  I came to a realization!  It might have started out with Jared and I looking much younger, (and did I mention the dress size).  But it certainly didn't end there!  2 quickly has turned to 7!  And as I KNOW with all of my heart, that our little family is bound together FOREVER through temple covenants.  I realized that it was the PERFECT day to celebrate, the day the JARED and KATHRYN BOLTON family began....Our family's anniversary!

So what did I do, I cooked, all of our restaurant favorites!  Olive GArden salad and Breadsticks, Chili's chips and salsa and honey chipotle chicken fingers....and more!

It was a great night, and I think a tradition worth keeping!

For the History Books!

I have a favorite picture from the summer, and I would like to introduce you to it. But before I do, let me add my disclaimer… The night this picture was taken, after all the festivities were over, I went into my mom's bedroom and told her, "This was the best night, I just wish Jared had been here…". To which she replied, "I just wish Joe had been here!"

For the first time in years the Christensen's and Foster's gathered for a family barbecue. This is the documentation. Do you love it? You can barely even see me! Isn't it great?! This may be one of, if not the only, post- junior high picture where I am not towering over everyone else… Purely a side note...Now let me introduce you to the rest of my family… The Christensen's! 

 You are just going to have to trust me on this one, when I say that these people have earned the name of family. The ways they have influenced us, goes way beyond blood! 

 It has been quite a while since most of us have been gathered (minus dad's funeral, to which all of them made great sacrifices to come to). But this was a much happier time. We did what we always do, talked and ate, eating with secondary. External entertainment is never necessary at one of these get-togethers. 

 Let me give you the quick background scoop. It all started when my dad and Bob attended Ricks College together. Both nonmembers, there on athletic scholarships. One day meeting in a field of grass, where the sprinklers were on, only to bring their car washing supplies and wash their cars together. Several years later, both had joined the church and a lifelong friendship was on its way. It has become a culture all of it's own it may have started there, but now the families are totally intertwined.  

 For years, Bob was the wrestling coach at Ricks College. This summer several of us went to his retirement party, where wrestlers from miles around came to thank him for all of his service. For hours, wrestler after wrestler got up to tell the way Bob had impacted their lives. Little of it had to do with wrestling. That is just the kind of person he is. 

 After hour one, I was feeling pretty jipped. I wanted to get up too. But surprisingly, I recognized it was not the time or place:). Some pretty cool things were said, but I think there was one thing that summarized his entire life. His wrestling philosophy was that YOU CAN NEVER BE BETTER THAN THE BASICS! He had the basics down on and off the mat!


But… His greatest tribute… Has to be the way his children have turned out! We love the Christensen's! And hopefully… It won't be another 15 years before the next!

Panic!

The last two weeks have been crazy.  When you take a family that usually has lights out at 8 p.m. sharp and transport their bedtime to 11:30, you might as well have transported them to an alternate universise where chaos reigns supreme!  To top it all off, I have had ALLERies turned VIOLENT SINUS INFECTION within the last 7 days!  But all of this is quite secondary to the main trauma that has been happening...I will begin at the beginning.

Bear Lake, ID...Day one of Foster Family Reunion...on the beach, sitting under the canopy...Watching the kids reunite with cousins and the waves...eating a piece of chicken...and talking to my family.  It is important to note that in this story, the eating is SECONDARY to the talking,  obviously, because, as  I busily talked, I put a piece of chiken into my mouth accompainied by a lovely HORNET!  Which proceeded to sting my tongue repeatedly...let's just say that, for a brief moment, I thought the light was beginning to form at the end of the tunnel.

As the next two weeks unfloded, I began to notice my allergies flairing up and my sense of taste disappearing!  By last Friday, I was in a FULL BLOWN PANIC!  Jared and I went to the temple (which was lovely) and then to Chili's!  About the time that I realized that that there was no difference between my tortilla chips and Brownie Brittle my world became a VERY DARK PLACE.  So I kept eating, trying to find any hint of flavor.  As I swallowed gulps of salsa, I knew it was hot, I was sweating in fact, but no yummy tomato, salty ANYTHING!

For several hours I tried to resign myself to the fact that a hornet had paralyzed my tastebuds FOREVER, leaving me forever....TASTELESS.  At this point, my irritated eyes (which I had previously tried to scratch out on multiple occasions) seemed doable compared to a world without FOOD!

I had NO IDEA how much I relied on food for enjoyment!  Luckily, I am now medicated, and my sense of taste is slowly coming back to me!  The bag of Brownie Brittle is now gone, and I am ready to do a redo at Chili's.  I probably should have lost 10 pounds over the last 2 weeks.  Unfortunaltley, that would not be the case :)

NORTH!!!

We are heading NORTH!  I - 15 is BEAUTIFUL!  There are rain clouds (with the actual possibility of precipitation).  GREEN...oh the GREEN...everywhere! We actually just passed a lavender field with GREEN and PURPLE all in the same field.  I never knew how beautiful NORTH was!

Usually I love living in Nevada (don't let my sisters tell you differently)!  But these past few days have been an INFERNO and the forecast shows NO reprieve.  I was all too happy to hitch up the trailer and get on the road.  

The only problem came when the trailer had issues, and the lights had bigger issues!  I don't know how it is that problems like these always get miraculously solved at the very last minute, but so it was with the trailer issues at 10:00 p.m. last night.  

I am slowly coming to the whole point of this blog post!  I LOVE BEING PART OF A WARD!  Yesterday as Jared was wilting away in the sun, Brad from down the street saw and quickly offered aid!  They worked for 2 hours and got it working...for approximately 3 minutes :)  and then it quit.

After another phone call, Tyson shows up with his truck full of TOOLS.  I never knew about these tools, who has tools like that!  An hour down, Jared (who had been an phone advisor through the whole thing)....followed by Andrew, and when Andrew comes, things just get done!

All within a few blocks we had enough know-how, talent, hard work, and just GOOD PEOPLE to finish it up!  All we had to offer them were cucumbers, cantaloupe, and Zucchini (and there is more of that)  from the garden,  the entire rest of the house was packed up tightly in suitcases ready to go today!  Heavenly Father is BRILLIANT!  This should not be a shock!  but I love being a part of a ward!  

P.S.  We made it and Bluebell is Beautiful!  The smell alone was enough to make me think I was in Heaven!  The minute I exited the car my mind carried me to "No Bears Are Out Tonight being chased by several Mattingley's" and Jay, Renn, and Chris in the neighboring tent discussing the perks of anti-persperant!  Life is awesome!  If I lived in the North I would blog every night just about how good it smells!