Memories that shaped the man.

Yesterday was memorial day and so this past weekend B and I decided it was time to go down memory lane and visit Leamington.  I haven't been back since my grandparents passed away and to be honest wasn't sure if I ever would go back to this little desert town in the mountains that still holds so many memories for me.  As we wound through the canyon under the cement factory and past the pioneer charcoal pits my soul seemed to want to go back in time.  Although I was driving with my wife and kids my minds eye caught flashes of riding in the back of my grandpa's truck down to the local store, now just a boarded up decaying building, I saw myself jumping from the banks of the river into the current below to laughter and jeers.  I saw myself flirting under the white bleachers during the Leamerado Days Rodeo and carrying various jellos' and salads from the kitchen surrounded by women that I loved and looked up to.  I saw myself leaping from the tops of sand dunes to sink into the cool sand below and eating lunch that my grandma lovingly prepared in her bushel basket carryall.  I saw walking through the fields my hands outstretched to feel the alfalfa as it brushed by.  I saw the terrific thunderstorms that raged across the farms that crisscrossed this little valley and feel the electricity in the air.  I saw a family gathered on my grandparents back porch in the heat of the summer air as hummingbirds danced above our heads.  I saw a boy who grew up to be a man in the shadow of some great people who knew the simple truths and what was really important.

We drove by my grandparents house with all the memories that it held and realized that now it was playing it's part in someone else's life.  Loving another family and creating memories that they will carry with them for a lifetime but as I slowed the car for one good look I knew that the house hadn't forgotten my grandparents and it seemed to call out to me that it never would but would stand as a testament to who they were.  I said a silent thank you and goodbye.

We then headed to my aunt Lori's house in Delta.  Lori had done some remodeling and we wanted to see the house and visit with her.  Lori looks the most like my mom and has the same sense of humor so in a way it was like going home.  We spent a few hours there and Sophie got to be friends with my cousin Maci's son Bladen who was happy to give her a ride on the back of his four-wheeler which she loved!

We then drove back to Leamington as it was on our way home with Lori and Craig following us to visit my grandparents grave.  Now Lori prepared B as to what the tradition was in Leamington for memorial day because unlike other cemeteries where you carry flowers and set them on the grave in Leamington you bring your shovels, rakes and hoes because it is more like a ghost town graveyard then a cemetery.  We filled in the snake holes and leveled the graves and tried to show Grandma and Grandpa that we will never forget them!  It seemed fitting that above my Grandpa's grave the wild yellow rose bush was in bloom as it was one of his favorite flowers. 

 

 It is sad that my girls will never know them but they will have a constant reminder in my mom and day and myself of who they were.

Lori and my aunt Julie posed behind the grave blowing my mom a kiss. 

As I left Leamington I honked my horn twice as is my family tradition.  Once for my Grandpa and once for my Grandma.

On Monday, the actual memorial day, B and I decided it was time to tackle our new garden.  We got our rototiller back from the shop and I set out to till the garden.  I started up the rototiller and started pushing.  I shoved and cursed and shoved some more.  I had done about one row and yelled to B who was weeding near by that I remembered this cursed thing pulling itself what was wrong.  She shrugged and said I don't know what to tell you.  After I had come around the bend and was full on pushing with all my might B asked if it was now working on its own and I snapped back "Does it look like I am not straining to push this &*$# tiller" as sweat poured down my face and I continued shouting that I am going to call someone to come and till this *$#% garden in the future"...it was at this point that B walked up to me and said "maybe if you try holding that handle up it will work"  I sheepishly looked and sure enough there was a lower handle and upon lifting it the tiller purred forward on it's own accord.  Lesson learned...what lesson I don't know but lesson learned all the same.  To be fair B had her meltdown later and loudly declared "It is probably because I'm PMSing" only to turn around and see our neighbor working in her garden not 20 feet away and I was there to calm her fears and laugh at her awkwardness as a good husband should.  

On a completely separate note...cross your fingers for me this week.  I have two final interviews for two jobs that I would love.  One at the University of Utah School of Nursing and one for Google.  I am extremely nervous but strongly feel that one if not both of these positions will pan out for me.  It is amazing that the Lord can offer such peace and surety after so much confusion and doubt.  I am moving forth with the faith that I now posses that the Lord is opening up windows and throwing open the doors.  I know we are blessed because of my parents service in Serbia and how grateful I am for them.  We recently had Stake Conference and had several speakers talk about the need for Senior Missionaries and how missionary work is moving forward at a fast pace.  Elder Holland in a recent statement about missionary work stated that "God is hastening His work" and you can feel it.  You can feel that the battle is looming and the Lord is calling his laborers to the vineyard this one last time as stated in Jacob 5:62 "Wherefore, let us go and labor with our might this one last time for behold the end draweth nigh, and this is the last time that I shall prune my vineyard".  I can't tell you how proud I am of my parents and their decision to follow the Lords call and serve a mission.  I am one lucky son!

When have you felt the spirit directly answering your prayers?

It's funny how the Lord tends to work in our lives in quiet but remarkable ways that shape our true selves little by little until we turn around and we have completely transformed from the person we once were without even noticing it. 

I posed the above question to B a few weeks ago for our question series and then kind of forgot about it and never took the time to write my answer.  I have thought about it from time to time with vague memories coming into mind of when I have felt the Lord acting on my behalf and answering my questions sometimes speaking directly to my mind and guiding my hands. 

I thought of a time in New York that I had to go and pick up my cousin in a car about 1/2 hour away and had only been to her school once.  I prayed and said I'm leaving it up to you because I have no idea where I am going and really felt the spirit guiding me as I switched between highways and drove directly there shocking myself beyond belief and my cousin had to literally give me directions home because I had no idea how I had gotten there.

I thought of the time when I felt very strongly that I should sell my condo and move home out of the blue and put it on the market only to lose my job two weeks later but had my condo sold and didn't have to worry about a house payment.

I thought of my family having a 'secret' fast on my behalf that I would find a woman to marry and on that very day I invited B with me to a family function shocking my family and later myself that this beautiful woman would be my wife.

The point I have realized is that the Lord's hand is acting on my behalf on a daily basis if I take the time to look with new eyes.  Just yesterday I had the girls in the car, Sophie not having taken a nap and wanting her to fall asleep, I was going to go for a short drive while B helped our sister in law Kaylene with a project.  As I got to the top of the circle I went to turn right when a very clear feeling came over me and I didn't so much as hear the words but felt the words "Go and drive through the condos your parents want to buy, one has become available today".  I'm happy to say I didn't hesitate and turned left figuring why not, even though I had driven through them only two days before.  As I drove through the development sure enough there was a new sign and again I didn't hesitate because of the prompting and called the Realtor who after some convincing let B and I see the property right then before he showed it to five other people he had previously scheduled. 

As a back story, we have been looking at these for quite some time and they have been selling within the hour of them going on the market and they don't come up all that often so we were wanting first dibs.  My mom had become concerned that they wouldn't find a place and even commented to my dad a few days earlier that she was worried about this and hoped the Lord would take care of them.  Well, he did.

I called my parents and woke them up to help us decide as we walked through the town home.  Describing to them what was good and what needed replacing.  Then we asked the realtor how to move forward with a full price cash offer.  Within a few hours we had our offer accepted and have a great place for my parents to come home to that we all feel is their home and all because the Lord answered a prayer!

Sophie's New Room

Sophie in her BIG GIRL bed!

As promised...here are some photos of Sophie's new room.  It is the first room in our house to be mostly complete.  I say mostly because we still want to change knobs on the dresser and closet but other then that we feel good about it.  Here are some before's...we have painted in these photos but nothing else.  The room had good bones.

We put two beds in the room because when Molly get's older we will move her in and Sophie and Molly will share the room.  The dresser is one that I used as a child so it is fun to see it being passed along.

  The curio cabinet was one that we inherited from my Grandma Norma (my mom's mom). 

Here a few detail shots from inside the cabinet.

Sophie's Aunt Becki painted this portrait for her and we LOVE IT!

The flowers were made by my Grandma Norma as well

Busy Weekend!

This past weekend turned out to be very productive.  B and I woke up early on Saturday to go garage selling expecting it to be such a good day because it was beautiful and it turned into a bust.  We go every weekend and although it may sound a little white trash we look forward to it every week and can't wait for the season to start.  We have found some pretty great stuff at super good prices too and often walk around our house and say Garage Sale, Garage Sale etc.  Part of what we enjoy so much is the fact that we go as a family with my mom and Becki and now B and the girls and it gives us a chance to catch up and spend quality time together.  Our girls know the drill and for the most part chill in the car knowing that they usually get some book or toy by the end of the day.

Sophie helping Wayne fix the rototiller.

It appeared that the Lord knew that we had a lot to do and got us home early to work on it.  Both B and I were motivated and the girls were pretty cooperative which was wonderful.  Sophie and I set out to work on getting the rototiller up and going and fixed the flat tire but it continued to leak fuel.  We got our neighbor to come over and take a look at it and did all he could but couldn't get it working.  You could tell that Sophie misses her grandpa because she followed Wayne around like a lost puppy and even helped him unscrew caps and other parts. 

I took the rototiller in to have it repaired and learned a valuable lesson, one which I already knew but always is a good reminder.  I learned that my dad is a rock star and is loved by so many people.  As I checked in at the service desk the woman behind the counter asked if I was related to my dad.  I told her that he was serving a mission and all about their experiences.  She went on to ask if I was still going to throw our 4th of July party and have the camp out with the movie outside, etc.  It made me smile inside that here was this woman that my dad probably never thought as someone who he influenced and she not only remembered him but remembered details about his life and family.  I want to grow up to be just like him!

Sophie is a natural!

After the bust with the rototiller I ended up mowing the lawn and Sophie again wanted to be right there with me and grabbed her lawnmower and walked with me as we worked.  B worked with Molly in cleaning up the garage which presently looks like we are on an episode of Hoarders.  We managed to put up some cabinets and got to unpack like 15 boxes and put things in their actual homes which felt wonderful.  I painted the other bed in Sophie's room and cut the plywood base etc.  We then hung up art and finally finished one room in our house from top to bottom and feel great about it.  I will post some photos tomorrow.

 On Sunday it was our turn to host the Seelos Fast Sunday gathering and we decided to have hot dogs and hamburgers to herald in spring.  It was nice to have the whole family together and Becki and I commented that we feel like the blessing given to my mom before she left on her mission that her family would grow closer together is being fulfilled.  I feel like we have gotten rid of the drama and see each other for who we are...people with their own challenges and trying to do their best and we are working to help each other fight the battles rather than become one of the challenges.  I truly have one of the best families. 

Seelos Fast Sunday Dinner in the back yard.

Braxton and Tyler practicing their ball skills.

What you don't see is they just missed catching a ball!

This gathering screams TROUBLE IS BREWING!

Sophie and Molly found a new friend!

Penny thought this was a real dog and kept barking at it!

New Step!

The biggest moment of this past week was the closing on our little house in Bountiful.  B and I went over on Monday night to finish cleaning and then knelt down to say a quiet prayer of gratitude for this little house that saw us both take new steps in our lives.  It saw me go from being alone to married and becoming a dad to two beautiful girls.  I was holding it all together rather well I thought until we locked up and I walked to the gate to go to the driveway and turned to see the yard I had worked so hard on and transformed over the past five years.  I lost it and B and I just stood there crying, our hearts full  with gratitude for the past we shared here and for the future we have to build together.  Luckily we have a wonderful new family moving into our little house and will build their own memories.

 

This past Sunday we went down to the Ranch in Mapleton for Joel's Mission Farewell.  He is leaving to serve in Sacramento California this next week.  Joel did a wonderful job and gave an honest assessment of the importance of gaining your own testimony.  It brought me back to when I was his age and trying to figure out what I believed to be true and taking those tentative steps away from relying on others testimonies to find your own.  He will be so much stronger for it as I know that without my own testimony I would not be who I am today. It was fun to spend time with the family and spend a lazy afternoon on the ranch. 

B and the girls feeding the horses.

Sophie taking time to smell the flowers!

Molly has slowly started walking this week.  Nothing huge but she has started preferring to walk over crawling and has taken her first steps...see video below.  I also included a video of her doing what we call Blink! Blink! which is when she opens and closes her hands while reaching up to the sky.  She does this when she gets excited or when she wants to be held and we love it. 

 

 

Other than that we are settling into Oak Hollow and won't know what to do with only one house to take care of.  I set out to rotatill the garden and realized the tank won't hold fuel which is AWESOME!  I swear that thing needs to be in the shop more then in the field.  B fertilized our yard and didn't quite get it spread evenly as you can see by the obvious stripes...we are still learning this whole process so give us time.  The girls have settled in as well and Sophie is loving having the yard to play in and even on chilly days wants to be in the sun.