Monday, February 23, 2015
Wrestling - Joshua
Even though it's been a few years, I still find my heart beat racing and feel myself cheering at the video. Crazy!
http://youtu.be/R0wj1t110bA
Sunday, February 22, 2015
The Saga of the Christmas Tree
Here's to you Mrs. Erickson...
So Mom requested, (yes, a while ago, as you can tell by the title), to know about the Christmas tree adventure. An undertaking which Sienna tried hard to discourage. But determination on my part won out, unable to be swayed by a three year old.
The challenge: Get a Christmas tree from the woods, cut it down, load it on top of the car, and bring along two small children. I may be invincible on my own, but add children to the mix and my defenses weaken.
It was December 2nd or 3rd, I believe, and after not getting a tree the weekend after Thanksgiving or Monday night for FHE, I realized I needed to take action into my own hands. The nights were cold and with it getting dark early, it was best to go get the tree in the middle of the day. And that being the time when the men folk work, (aka Glen) I was left to get the tree by myself.
I was a little apprehensive as we (me, Sienna, and Liam) started off. But as I said earlier, I was determined, so thus it began.
I loaded up the kids, the straps, snacks, (you always gotta bring those) and we were off. The lucky thing is, that where we live, we are only a 10 minute or so drive from the national forest. So that is the easy part. Just a leisurely drive up the mountain.
I wanted to find a tree close to the road and make sure I wasn't on private land. Two important criteria. Close to the road so it was a bit easier to drag out. And the other, of course, is a given.
As I was driving, I kept asking Sienna what she thought of this tree or that tree as we drove. She would pick the small trees, closer to her size, which probably wouldn't have been a bad idea.
After driving for a bit, we spotted one, and pulled over to have a look. Liam had fallen asleep by this time, so Sienna and I decided to get out and see what we thought of the tree. (Don't worry, it was close to the road) But to get to the tree, we had to go down in a little valley where there was a flowing creek and then up the other side where you could see the tree clearly from the car. This took us a bit longer that expected because crossing water with a little one always takes longer, and then climbing up to the tree, we met with some rock like shale that kept sliding under foot. We finally made it though, only to discover that the beautiful tree we saw was much to large. This always seems to be the case when choosing Christmas trees, with the sky as your ceiling. At this point, Sienna suggested another smaller tree. It was possibly only a foot taller than me, so I said no. It would have probably have been a wise choice.
Heading back to the car a bit defeated, my standards for the perfect tree slackened a bit. Almost any tree would do. And then there it was! A beautiful tree. It had a funny branch part growing out. But I convinced myself that this only added character. I asked Sienna what she thought of this one. She wanted to get back to the car and give up the excursion. I agreed we should get back to the car. So we'll take it.
It was a good thing I brought the bone saw. Yes, the one for the elk and deer. Superb teeth for the tree too. Cutting with one of those is a cinch. We had the tree down in less time than it takes to say "Yippy Ay Yeah." Well, almost. And then we proceeded to drag it back to the truck. (Car and truck are used interchangeably. Car when you're driving in it. Truck when you're getting ready to load it) With a little crazy maneuvering, we had the tree across the creek and back up the hill.
Now for loading it. This is where another person would have come in handy. Preferably a person over 3.
So after trying to lift the tree over my head like Hercules or maybe the Grinch when his heart was three sizes too big, I gave up that feat. I problem solved to get on top the the Tahoe (yea, call it that too) instead and drag the tree up trunk side first. And that is how you get a Christmas tree on top of a vehicle. I was pretty proud and Sienna was too as you can see by the smile on her face in the following pictures. Liam was just happy to get out of his car seat.
I then strapped the tree down (I think my strapping abilities could use a little work, since we had to pull over and readjust) and we headed home.
We felt like Champions. (yes, I quoted the little engine that could "I think I can, I think I can" for Sienna) We did it! Next Stop, climb Pikes Peak. Well, someday. But we were pretty happy.
Super excited Sienna here.
"What's going on?"
We had to put hooks in the wall, with fishing line to get it to stay up.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Sunday, February 8, 2015
True Grit
So... I recently read a life sketch on Henry Waldermer Erickson and Sarah Besty Sarah Crook. It was such a inspiring read. The link is found here.
https://familysearch.org/photos/stories/7653864
Besty stood out to me as such an example she being the mother of 15 and 13 living children and she labored and delivered twins by herself. Do you want to read it yet? She had True dedication to family. She really knew how to cook. But more importantly she really knew how to work.
So... Lately I have been thinking a lot about work and have had an experience that taught me that the Lord is my super power... as long as I'm willing to work, and keep the commandments, he will bless me.
Ben and I have decided to live her for at least two more years, including the year we have spent here that would be three. And to be a little redundant that is a long time for us. So a with more permanent mind set, I decided to look for a different place to live. I came across a house that was the same in rent cost, We have been living in a four plex, so a house with a yard is something that I dream about. Plus I thought it would be nice to have something more updated, and, of course, a third bedroom. The first or second time I looked on craigslist I found a house listed for the same cost of rent that we had been living at. Out of curiosity I called and took a look. After a day of thinking about it and wishing I lived in it, I had Ben take a look. He liked and we both felt good about it. We decided to move. MOVE after 14 moves ( now 15) you think I would be done. At times during the process I wondered if I was going crazy to inflict another move on myself.
Ben was going to help me after work each night and our goal was to get the whole house moved over in a week. The houses were only about five minutes apart, so with our handy dandy truck, we could load and unload until we were done right?
Here is where my lesson of work started taking effect. We got the keys at about two pm on Monday. We moved one small load over that night. and I clean some of the new house. The next day I did three loads. I broke down bunk beds, the table, blankets and what not. It all had to go right, and it wasn't moving itself. When Ben go home we loaded the queen bed and the couch. By the time we were done we were able to sleep in the new house. On Tuesday night it snowed. So it was really soggy the next day. I was only able to get one load that day. The end was far out of sight. I was starting to feel overwhelmed. At the same time I was feeling grateful. I had done so much the day before. My kids had been patient and helpful. Eli was my doorman and door guard. He made sure that Anna didn't escape out the front door every time I took something out, What I am most amazed at was with each burst of effort it seems like everything just started to fall into place. After a slow Wednesday, I began to be aware that I was not doing this by myself. I had not got all that done the day before by myself. I was receiving divine strength.
On Wednesday Ben got home late and we were both tired so we didn't get another load. In the past, I only have had to load one truck up and take one load across a state, or so, and unload. This back and forth, a little at a time, was not something I was used. (I was tempted to call you Mary and get a few tips) By Thursday I was ready to see the end. I was anxious to try harder to get more done. It was a warm day so the snow had melted and it was not so soggy. A bit slippery, but at least the loads were not getting wet. I knew there was people that would help me, but aside from feeling a bit tired I was doing okay. So I put my shoulder to the wheel. I wanted to see how much I could apply myself before I called in the backup, (Visiting teachers, friends and so forth). Thursday I was able to get two loads. It was really motivational to get the turck loaded and unloaded before picking up Lydia from school. On the second load the kids slept in the Truck for an hour while loaded. ( A tender mercy). On Thursday night Ben got home at eight. To clarify, Ben wakes up at 5:00 gets out the door at 5:15 works from 5:30 to about 6:30 and then repeats. He commutes an hour and a half each way. Each day of this crazy moving week he had been climbing pulls and running a crew as a temp foreman. He, to say the least, was exhausted. I knew at least we would have the weekend but I was prepping myself to take on the move because he would be tired. Well all that prepping wasn't in vain because on Thursday night he got called out on storm damage to Cody, Wyoming. There are 2000 people out of power and a huge transmission power line down. They had to gather equipment and poles and crews together to head out. He stayed up all night and called me the next morning at 9 to tell me they were just leaving town to go to Cody. He worked a 23 hour shift on only two hours of sleep in a 36 hour period. Talk about hard work... Just a little brag moment for my husband.
Friday.. two more loads... All that little junk at the end. Ben's still gone. Friday night I call for the backup. I needed muscle. Brothers, and Chrystal, I was thinking of you. I told Ben I wouldn't lift anything too heavy. So I called my home teacher and a the young men's president came with some of the young men.. Amori, who is living in Casper, also came and helped. She helped me clean. A friend watch my kids in the morning and Amori watched them at night while I cleaned the carpets. I got everything done around five.It was so nice to have all the help I did from people who were in the right place at the right time. Phew !
This week was one of those super human weeks where the impossible somehow happened. It was blessings from the windows of heaven. One of those experience that I am feeling that there is not room enough to receive.
Pros about our new house
Awesome natural light.
Washer and dryer set that is new.
An extra freezer
A big back yard (Anna walks around it like she owns the place.)
A counter with barstools.
Updated --like bran new
Three bedrooms
A great deck
built in microwave
lots of cupboard space and counter space
;
https://familysearch.org/photos/stories/7653864
Besty stood out to me as such an example she being the mother of 15 and 13 living children and she labored and delivered twins by herself. Do you want to read it yet? She had True dedication to family. She really knew how to cook. But more importantly she really knew how to work.
So... Lately I have been thinking a lot about work and have had an experience that taught me that the Lord is my super power... as long as I'm willing to work, and keep the commandments, he will bless me.
Ben and I have decided to live her for at least two more years, including the year we have spent here that would be three. And to be a little redundant that is a long time for us. So a with more permanent mind set, I decided to look for a different place to live. I came across a house that was the same in rent cost, We have been living in a four plex, so a house with a yard is something that I dream about. Plus I thought it would be nice to have something more updated, and, of course, a third bedroom. The first or second time I looked on craigslist I found a house listed for the same cost of rent that we had been living at. Out of curiosity I called and took a look. After a day of thinking about it and wishing I lived in it, I had Ben take a look. He liked and we both felt good about it. We decided to move. MOVE after 14 moves ( now 15) you think I would be done. At times during the process I wondered if I was going crazy to inflict another move on myself.
Ben was going to help me after work each night and our goal was to get the whole house moved over in a week. The houses were only about five minutes apart, so with our handy dandy truck, we could load and unload until we were done right?
Here is where my lesson of work started taking effect. We got the keys at about two pm on Monday. We moved one small load over that night. and I clean some of the new house. The next day I did three loads. I broke down bunk beds, the table, blankets and what not. It all had to go right, and it wasn't moving itself. When Ben go home we loaded the queen bed and the couch. By the time we were done we were able to sleep in the new house. On Tuesday night it snowed. So it was really soggy the next day. I was only able to get one load that day. The end was far out of sight. I was starting to feel overwhelmed. At the same time I was feeling grateful. I had done so much the day before. My kids had been patient and helpful. Eli was my doorman and door guard. He made sure that Anna didn't escape out the front door every time I took something out, What I am most amazed at was with each burst of effort it seems like everything just started to fall into place. After a slow Wednesday, I began to be aware that I was not doing this by myself. I had not got all that done the day before by myself. I was receiving divine strength.
On Wednesday Ben got home late and we were both tired so we didn't get another load. In the past, I only have had to load one truck up and take one load across a state, or so, and unload. This back and forth, a little at a time, was not something I was used. (I was tempted to call you Mary and get a few tips) By Thursday I was ready to see the end. I was anxious to try harder to get more done. It was a warm day so the snow had melted and it was not so soggy. A bit slippery, but at least the loads were not getting wet. I knew there was people that would help me, but aside from feeling a bit tired I was doing okay. So I put my shoulder to the wheel. I wanted to see how much I could apply myself before I called in the backup, (Visiting teachers, friends and so forth). Thursday I was able to get two loads. It was really motivational to get the turck loaded and unloaded before picking up Lydia from school. On the second load the kids slept in the Truck for an hour while loaded. ( A tender mercy). On Thursday night Ben got home at eight. To clarify, Ben wakes up at 5:00 gets out the door at 5:15 works from 5:30 to about 6:30 and then repeats. He commutes an hour and a half each way. Each day of this crazy moving week he had been climbing pulls and running a crew as a temp foreman. He, to say the least, was exhausted. I knew at least we would have the weekend but I was prepping myself to take on the move because he would be tired. Well all that prepping wasn't in vain because on Thursday night he got called out on storm damage to Cody, Wyoming. There are 2000 people out of power and a huge transmission power line down. They had to gather equipment and poles and crews together to head out. He stayed up all night and called me the next morning at 9 to tell me they were just leaving town to go to Cody. He worked a 23 hour shift on only two hours of sleep in a 36 hour period. Talk about hard work... Just a little brag moment for my husband.
Friday.. two more loads... All that little junk at the end. Ben's still gone. Friday night I call for the backup. I needed muscle. Brothers, and Chrystal, I was thinking of you. I told Ben I wouldn't lift anything too heavy. So I called my home teacher and a the young men's president came with some of the young men.. Amori, who is living in Casper, also came and helped. She helped me clean. A friend watch my kids in the morning and Amori watched them at night while I cleaned the carpets. I got everything done around five.It was so nice to have all the help I did from people who were in the right place at the right time. Phew !
This week was one of those super human weeks where the impossible somehow happened. It was blessings from the windows of heaven. One of those experience that I am feeling that there is not room enough to receive.
Pros about our new house
Awesome natural light.
Washer and dryer set that is new.
An extra freezer
A big back yard (Anna walks around it like she owns the place.)
A counter with barstools.
Updated --like bran new
Three bedrooms
A great deck
built in microwave
lots of cupboard space and counter space
;
Monday, February 2, 2015
Why are there adds on the blog?
I thought this thing was private. If not. Please everyone be aware of names, places and info. Thanks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)