Update

My brother-in-laws grandson woke up. He doesn't realize what happened yet. Thank you for the prayers, and thoughts...hope you are all well. ♥

PLEASE PRAY ♥

Last evening, Wednesday....My brother and sister in law's grandson, age 14 [my son's age], fell from a ladder while fixing a basketball hoop. He was convulsing and vomiting and unconscious. By ambulance he was taken to the hospital.

They have driven to where he lives, and have told me that as of this morning he is still unconscious. Please, take a moment, if you will and pray for him and for his family.

Thank you,
and Thank our Heavenly Father for families. ♥

here we come....here we go...

Here he comes...

there he goes...

[neither of us were really good at
taking the pictures.... :( ... first underwater camera for us!]

...we got back our snorkeling pictures....YEAH....i will
try to post some of the fish we saw
later today.


Our youngest is being
baptized on Saturday.
We are excited and
I will share some photos next week!!!


...by the way...i am DONE
with my Language class....YEAH!!!

i have a paper due, a final,
and some scholarship applications to turn in.
I am also trying to get food
and home ready for Saturday...
while doing all the normal day to day
items with our four children... :)

so...
here i am....here i go.
be back soon :)

Monday Mutterings

Hey friends. I am back, and yes, some fun pictures from my trip. It was fun.

I wish we could have a bloggers conference somewhere, and meet each other, and have some down time together....doesn't that sound fabulous.

Hmmmm. What a blast we would have!!!

So, I am in class....oopsie.....and I am muttering, or mumbling....whatever that Monday's post promised. I am really tired. Finals week.

Are any of you in finals this week or next?

So much to juggle, and try to keep my family happy. AND ME HAPPY.

I am stressing. My boy is being baptized Saturday....9 am. It is pretty exciting, however I don't have much control over the day....I haven't heard if we are to do anything for the program, or if there are other kids being baptized, it just seems strange. Usually I know more by this time. I am barely even getting around to inviting family. And my son wants to have everyone over for breakfast....yikes. That means I have to clean house, and prepare food. Two of my least on the list items right now. We are just getting by....

So, there you have my mumblings....Actually I haven't got much to mumble about.

More to be grateful for than anything else. My stresses are not serious, just the kind of things that cause me personal anxiety, but all is well.

My kids are doing well.

They don't like me much these days, at least the older ones. I feel like an eel. .....

We are safe and fed and together...healthy...

How are you doing?

Daily WOOL: Committed to Make a Stand

Committed to Make a Stand

"So where should each of us make our stand? As we demonstrate our devotion to God by our daily acts of righteousness, He can know where we stand. For all of us this life is a time of sifting and refining.

We all face trials. Individual members in the early days of the Church were tested and refined when they had to decide if they had the faith, … to put their belongings in a wagon or a pioneer handcart and travel across the American plains. Some did not have the faith.

Those who did traveled ‘with faith in every footstep.’

In our time we are going through an increasingly difficult time of refining and testing. The tests are more subtle because the lines between good and evil are being eroded.

Very little seems to be sacred in any of our public communication. In this environment we will need to make sure where we stand all of the time in our commitment to eternal truths and covenants."

- James E. Faust,

"Where Do I Make My Stand?"

Ensign (CR), November 2004, p.18

This was in my email today...

I just felt that it was inspiring for each of us

in our individual lives and trials,

our inner struggles,

the tragedies that we face,

and the sometimes treacherous choices

that bring us weeping on our knees.

I know that I have been there, and recently. This brought me some perspective, and fortitude.

I hope that you find some peace in it as well. Thanks for reading!

I will soon have the time to come by and catch up with you all. I am almost done with my finals.

Thanks for hanging in there with me.

I promise some fun Monday Mumblings,

Tastless Tuesday...yes, I made it up,

Wordless Wednesday/Way Back Whensday......

Tell it Thursday...Thankful Thursday....

Freaky Friday....

A week ahead...and if I can get this homework done I will be right on top of it for you, and come by. Hope you are all well. ♥

The first picture was taken on our way back home, flying over the states.
I was quite happy to be back in the US. I love foreign travel
for the diversity of life, and lovely people to meet and places to
explore, but I knew I was headed home to my kids. YEAH.

I thought the picture went well with Committed to Make a Stand...
why not be committed to SOAR...to fly above the clouds, on your own quest
to be your personal best....just a thought.

The second picture is from our Road Trip,
and visit to Queen Elizabeths Botanical Gardens.

Cayman experienced devistation during Hurricane Ivan.
Much of it was
greatly destroyed,
and many suffered terribly.

Look closely at this tree...it is down, the roots pulled out of the ground.
But somehow a small branch decided to grow strong.
And there it is, a beautiful new life, from one that seemed
to have been taken in tragedy.

I think we all have a little branch in us
that fights to be strong, faithful,
and do it's very best...
a lot can come of our tragedies,
as we strive to just
do our best.

Road Trip: Queen Elizabeths Botanical Gardens

Road Trip....is a "trip" Cayman Style.
And then we add Brian.

First of all, no stop lights,
no stop signs...only stop for pictures...
Second, DRIVE LEFT.
Notice Brian is on the right side of the car.
And from the WRONG side of the car
you drive on the WRONG side of the street.

Brian is ALWAYS looking for trouble,
most of you probably don't know this about him.

We are in the Cayman,
at a resort,
snorkeling and beaches at our fingertips.
He decides we should go history hunting,
meets some real locals,
out in the country...you say...
Rent a car,
a bit of lessons in the parking lot,
unofficial lessons,
smiling hostess saying, you'll be okay...
no worries.

Mind you, this is AFTER taking busses
all over town the day before,

"no bus stops, just walk along,
people will honk and you wave and they will pick you up,
take you anywhere"
No Problem...

Oh...and a bus looks like a FUN BUS,
Scooby Bus style....pile in.
like the one in the picture wizzing past Brian below...
we hadn't figured out the speed limits yet.


Notice the white knuckles [below]...
no problem...
no one told us that you convert to kilometers
so we are driving really slow.

when it says 50...you go 100
no wonder many locals were passing us.

if you have a yellow license plate you are a local
a white license plate you are a tourist...

they really have some things figured out.

Cute little car...

Many butterflies. Very colorful.
They have a butterfly garden in Cayman.
We didn't make it there. But I imagine....ahhhh.

Yikes...snakes. Lots of them.

There is a lot of wreckage from Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
Some of these old trees are down, yet growing...
you can see the roots completely out below.

p

above, Konch [konk] Shell,
these are so beautiful. many many on the island.
people line their walks with them,
along with crushed shells,
which make a sound to walk along,
like a doorbell.

yep, didn't see many doorbells,
no stoplights,
no stopsigns,
just Giveways...
which means to give way to the person coming your way

Brian and I ate some Konch at a small diner
overlooking the ocean
during our road trip.
It is very yummy.

those pictures later...sunset dinner, very nice!

to be continued...

Cayman 2009

We're back!!!

flying over Cuba

The Cayman Airport

Dinner on the Beach at Sunset

Stingray Bay



Sailing to the Reef

watching the sun set from our room

Soaking it all up ♥