Birthdays, Valentines, Sick Again, and Ice

Two birthdays have come and gone in our family. Grant turned one year old on January 25th. I thought he’d be walking by now since he learned to crawl so early, but he’s pretty content just zipping around on all fours. Grant loves to help us empty the dishwasher when we’re emptying or filling it (any time he sees it open, he crawls to it as fast as he can and starts pulling things out). He also loves the vacuum and will follow it around or plop himself in front of it whenever we vacuum a room. Still, his favorite thing to do is to play catch with me. He especially likes to throw the ball back and forth to me under the couch. He is actually really good at throwing and catching a ball and we think he must be left handed. Grant is a very happy boy and usually gives us no problem going to sleep. He likes to be held much more than any of the girls and we can even rock him before he goes to sleep. Finally, Grant loves food – specifically oatmeal, yogurt, tomatoes, and fruit, but he’ll eat just about anything.






Just before Grant’s birthday, he, Lily, and I got pretty sick. This has been the worst year for sicknesses in our family. I had what I thought was a cold, but it went into my throat and I got very little sleep for almost 2 weeks because I couldn’t stop coughing all night. Lily had the same thing and had a fever to go along with it. She started to come out of the sickness just as Grant and I got into the worst of it. Grant had a fever of over a 103 for three days straight. Even Tylenol wouldn’t bring it down more than a couple degrees. When it would get over 103 he would moan and toss his body around the bed. When he’d eat, he’d throw it up. Those were some really rough nights. Finally, he and I both went to the doctor. I had an ear infection, a sinus infection, and bronchitis. Grant had RSV and Pneumonia. His temperature was 104.5 when the doctors checked it and they had us run to the hospital for X-rays and blood work. After medication we are much better than we were, but the virus part of this sickness has been going on and on. I’ve heard several people say they’ve had it for about 2 months. We are all going on about a month and a half of stuffy/runny noses, coughing, and being tired. I guess we need these difficult times to appreciate when we are feeling well.

The week before Amy’s birthday we went on a date and I took her to JC Penny where she spent an hour trying on pants and eventually getting some new jeans. We were trading off watching kids with the Young’s and we didn’t really know what to do with ourselves once we were done shopping. We got our car washed and then Amy wanted to pick up our kids. I relented and drove back to the Young’s at 8:00pm. Angie answered the door by opening it halfway and whispering “what are you doing here? I just started a movie for the kids!” After some prodding (we are new at this) she coaxed Amy to go see a movie. We rented one and returned to our quiet home to watch it. It was so nice to do something just a little spontaneous and not have to worry about the kids. I know we need to do more of that. With the challenges of scheduling and lack of money, we just haven’t done it enough.

My parents came up and stayed with us for a few days and celebrated Amy’s birthday with us. Since Amy’s birthday is on Valentines, I also planned to have a “Cold Box” done for her garden, but it’s taking me a lot longer than I thought. My dad and I spent some time working on it while he was here. We also were able to talk several nights after the kids were in bed, and watch a few movies. On Valentines/Amy’s birthday, we drove to McCall and enjoyed seeing all the ice sculptures. The official event was a week earlier and the sculptures were beginning to melt, but it was still really incredible and the kids enjoyed it. Since we all packed into our van for the long drive to McCall and back home, it was quite an adventure. We even had a picnic lunch in the van, while we parked at a grocery store. It was funny to see the looks we got from all the ritzy people with a single or no child living in McCall. It reminded me of being a kid and always getting looks like that when our entire family, all six kids, went out together. By the end of the drive, we were all tired and thankful to be home again.

We enjoyed dinner at Angie and Gary’s the next day and celebrated Amy’s birthday a little more. I told Amy I think she is the most loved person I know. For several days people called and brought gifts over. I think the attention she gets from others is an indication of how unselfish and caring she is. Everyone loves my Amy, including me!

Finally, I just want to write a quick note about how I am feeling during the worst economic condition this Country has faced since the Great Depression. For now, I am working and still getting paid, but the future is definitely uncertain and in fact doesn’t look good. This month I have been battling my fears regarding losing my job. I’ve read several inspiring talks by apostles and have pondered the words of scriptures. I’ve concluded that righteousness does not make one exempt from hard and difficult conditions (although sometimes the Lord may step in to help). I’ve determined that the main blessing from living the gospel during difficult times is that it helps us be happy despite the horrible situations we are in. One thing Pres. Faust said is that sometimes the greatest blessings come from the worst challenges. As an example he referred to the greatest blessing ever given coming from the worst suffering ever endured (the atonement). While I am unsure of the future, I hope I can have hope, faith, and an attitude that reflects I know God is in control. I’m sure we all needed these difficult times to test us and cause us to rededicate ourselves to the Lord. I know that a major part of my judgment will be how I responded to the challenges I faced here on earth. I hope I can endure it well.

Christmas, New Years, and Back to Normal

Well, Christmas and New Years have come and gone. Although we were having a much smaller Christmas this year, Amy and I were still really looking forward to it. We had the traditional foods ready, planned to go caroling on Christmas Eve to our neighbors, and planned to go out to the Bevan’s Christmas afternoon. Well, everything didn’t go according to plan. The girls really struggled to be happy and to obey on Christmas Eve and I began wondering whether they were feeling well. We read the Christmas story, skipped caroling, and sent the kids to bed. Amy and I worked on wrapping presents and stuffing stockings and got to bed late that evening. A few hours later the crying began (Grant first, and then the girls). A few hours later, Baily was throwing up. Our Christmas breakfast didn’t work out like we hoped. We tried doing our own turnovers with pie filling and crescent roll dough and it wasn’t the same. By late morning, the girls were feeling well enough to open presents. It was fun to watch their excitement despite the downturn of events. We were most disappointed that we had to cancel our trip to Angie and Gary’s. Over the next week, everyone but me went through the throwing up – although I came very close several nights in a row. It was especially difficult to watch Lily dry heave over and over again, wishing I could help her. It’s a good thing kids bounce back to their normal happy selves when the sickness leaves.



Baily got a jump rope this year and is still working on figuring out how to jump and swing the rope at the right time. I’m sure she’ll get it soon! She also got a watch, which she was excited about. A woman I work with gave us a tutu making kit (including crown and wings) and Bethy danced around like a fairy for several days with everything on. She is so full of passion and is our little drama queen. It’s fun to just be around her. Lily got doll clothes that Amy spent so much time making. They were really cute and I think Lily will enjoy them for several years. Grant got a little wood train and has really enjoyed it. Grandma sent books and a really fun game that the kids love to play. Dawn made a “quillo” for us and Aaron and Sarah sent a game. We really missed our family this year, but overall we were really blessed and enjoyed our time together. I got new shoes from Amy and I gave her some clothes (which she picked out). In between days when we thought we weren’t sick, we went up to see the Bevans. Gary, Nate, and Bryan all got guns for Christmas and we went out above the cycle park and shot clay pigeons and targets. I really had a good time with them and was so glad to get a chance to get away from the city. That night, Nate stayed at the house after we put the kids to bed and Amy, Angie, Gary, and I went to Emmett’s local pool hall and played pool. We ordered lots of onion rings and just had a blast until Nate called and said Lily was throwing up. Once again, despite the sickness, we loved being with the Bevans. I sure am thankful for the relationships I have with my family.










New years, we were still battling sicknesses, but felt well enough to spend the evening with the Dittrichs. They also invited Bishop Ashton and his kids (Addie was down South visiting friends). We enjoyed playing games and talking, but were tired and relieved at 11:00 to go home and go to bed. I know, we aren’t very good partiers when it gets late, but the kids will never know the difference!

Now, life is pretty well back to normal. No one in the family is sick and we are back to our routines of school and work. Sometimes I feel like it’s more relaxing to be at work than to be on vacation. Still, work has really been picking up and I’m enjoying working on a variety of projects right now. Church responsibilities are also keeping me busy. This month we are planning a retreat for all the boys. We are going to the Tripples’ cabin in Cascade and doing a bunch of team building activities. I’m looking forward to it. I really felt like we needed a weekend to be together and get to know each other better. I asked the bishopric to speak on quorum responsibilities and unity and we’ll have a short testimony meeting Friday night. It should be a great experience.

Finding Faith, Caroling, and Preparing for Christmas

Christmas is almost here and I thought I better capture some of the things that have been going on before the holidays put us into a mad rush. On Saturday, a week and a half ago, Amy went with April to Oregon for their annual girls’ chocolate-making-day. While they were gone, Bethy kept complaining about a stomach ache and repeatedly requested a blessing. At first I thought she was being too dramatic and told her to wait and see if it felt better. But after about an hour of lying in bed, I finally put on my shirt and tie and gave her one. About 10 minutes later, she was playing with her sisters and proclaimed, “I’m not sick any more dad!” My first thought was that she hadn’t really been sick, but then I realized that even if she hadn’t, she had shown her trust and child like faith in God by acting on her feelings. Who am I, really, to say that the sickness was not as real as her faith? Amy and I had been searching for our digital camera ever since we left for Utah several weeks before. I had even gone to the store the previous day to compare prices, but realized we couldn’t afford a new one. I had pretty much given up the hope of being able to take pictures of this year’s Christmas. But, when I saw the complete trust that Elizabeth put in the Lord’s abilities I finally humbled myself, kneeled down and asked for help. Knowing that a digital camera is relatively meaningless in relation to the Lord’s grand purposes, I was humbled to find the Camera only ten minutes later in a place both Amy and I had searched thoroughly on multiple occasions. It was another witness to me of the Lord’s love for me and the need to trust him. I know that God doesn’t solve every problem or lay out every correct decision before me. He expects me to use my brain, search my feelings, and recognize the source of all that is good, so that I can learn to become like him. Often, he lets me make a decision on my own because he either trusts me, or knows that the consequences will teach me far more than providing the solution at the outset. I know that he won’t always help me find every lost item, but it sure is comforting to be reminded every so often of his ability and willingness to help me. Maybe the next time I don’t find what I’m looking for, He will provide me the heart to be grateful for what I do have.

Last week ended up very busy. On Monday evening I had a meeting in Meridian and then rushed back to Nampa’s City Council meeting, which went almost to 10pm. I needed approval of the scope of work for the update to the comprehensive plan so that I could request qualifications from planning firms. There has been a lot of interest in providing consulting services for the plan and I’m really looking forward to getting the update moving. Tuesday, Amy and I hired a babysitter and went to the company Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, there were so many people that to me it felt too impersonal. I would rather have had just our department meet at a restaurant or someone’s home, but maybe we’ll try that next year. Wednesday night I had scouts and Thursday night I had the open house for the University District plan I have been working on all year. I really didn’t get an evening with my family until Friday.

The weekend was full of activities as well. We took all the kids to Kelli Dittrich’s birthday party, met up with Angie afterwards so Baily and Bethy could stay with her for the night, baked a ham, went to the Ward Christmas dinner, and spent the evening preparing my lesson for priest’s quorum. Sunday was filled with morning and afternoon meetings, then we travelled to Boise and had our annual Christmas dinner and caroling with Uncle Dave, Aunt Nola, Carolyn, Ed’s family, and the Bevans. It was nice to be together and made me wish our lives were less busy so that we could get together more often. I think we’ll probably go out to see the Bevans on Thursday after we open presents and have breakfast at our place. We sure do have great relatives and we love them so much! For some reason, being at the Bryans this weekend reminded me of being at my grandparents during Christmas time. I hope they are pleased with the family we have become.

We have been so blessed this year. We have felt the spirit of Christmas a little stronger in our family as we have tried to sacrifice a little for others. I hope my children will always remember Christmas as a time to give and not so much a time to get. I am so grateful for my knowledge of the true meaning of Christmas and that Heavenly Father gave us the greatest gift of all - His Son. Merry Christmas!

Dizziness, Car Trouble, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Begins

A couple weeks ago, Amy finally got over some extreme dizziness and headaches she suffered through for over a week. Unfortunately, when it first started we didn’t know what to do. We went to several doctors and then had an MRI done before we learned that they had no idea what the problem was. So, $500 later (yes after insurance! Seems a pretty hefty charge to hear they don’t know what the problem is) we still didn’t know what to do. Amy was sitting in front of me one night and I started rubbing her neck and found some really tight and knotted muscles. It was painful, but Amy allowed me to work on it for a while and by the next morning she was no longer dizzy. We think she slept on her neck wrong plus with her nursing and holding Grant all the time, she must have hurt some nerves as well as muscles. Anyway, she’s doing much better now.

That same week, I took my car into a mechanic to get the oil changed and of course was given a long list of items that needed to be done to the car. $220 later I left with the most critical items done. I’m pretty sure that car is not going to be around too much longer, but it sure has been a good one for us. Needless to say, we are now skimping to make our budget work. Raising a family is always an adventure.

We had a really nice trip down to Utah for Thanksgiving. Tuesday night we stayed at the Ruperts so we wouldn’t have to go all the way in one night. Wednesday morning we travelled to Tooele to help out throughout the day with cooking and getting ready for the meal. Since we had Thanksgiving with Ammon and Liz last year, we told the Olson’s we would spend this year’s Thanksgiving with them. Since most everyone was busy with in-laws on Thursday, we decided to have an Ashby Thanksgiving on Wednesday and have oriental food. It was wonderful and if it were up to me, we’d do an oriental day-before-Thanksgiving meal every year. Ammon, Liz, Dawn, Ray, and the Allens all joined us at Mom and Dad’s and we had a great time eating, talking, and just enjoying being together. One major down-side to the holiday was that we couldn’t find our camera before leaving and still haven’t been able to find it since. I’m hoping everyone who did take pictures will share them.

Thursday we spent the traditional Olson Thanksgiving breakfast at Steph and Pete’s home and then spent the afternoon for the Turkey dinner at Amy’s aunt Kristi’s home in Orem. Afterwards, we returned to the Ferguson’s to collect our stuff and talk for a while and finally, returned back to my parents to get the kids in bed (or at least we tried). Overall, it was a nice holiday and I didn’t eat as much as I usually do since I was thinking about my fitness test the following week. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because, as Gary likes to say, it is unadulterated – no push for all the spending and selfishness until the next morning on Black Friday. This year’s Black Friday resulted in a Walmart employee in a New York being trampled to death by early morning shoppers. Thankfully, Thanksgiving hasn’t become so commercialized and self centered as people have made Christmas. Still, I think there is still so much good about the Christmas season.

Friday morning, Ammon, Travis, Ray, Dad, and I went on our traditional skeet shoot. We drove out South of Stockton and had a great time shooting and talking. That is one of my favorite traditions. On Friday afternoon Amy, Grant, and I went camping with all my high school buddies and their spouses. Ammon came too and it was a lot of fun to revisit our old memories and be reminded about so many things I’d forgotten. We went to White Rocks (Cave-Man-Condos) and it was cold but beautiful. We enjoyed trap shooting again, shooting Ryan’s potato gun, talking into the night, and having an amazing dutch oven dinner and gourmet breakfast. We returned on Saturday to the church where Liz and my mom had made a big batch of fish chowder and we met up with the rest of our family members. Those attending over the weekend included: Ryan and Rose; Derek and Maren & kids; Clayton and Ruth; Matt and Teresa; Stephen and his two kids; Ammon and Liz; Amy and Me & kids; and Camille and Scott Hadzik. An unexpected blessing was that Derek got a bunch of gear that needed small repairs, but that were fairly new, from a place he used to work and we got a couple jackets, kids backpacks, and a couple sleeping bags for only $10 – an early Christmas for us! I really want to do this again soon. It was so good to see everyone again.

We attended Church on Sunday, then headed home so I could finish some home teaching on the last day of the month. Someday I’m going to be better at that, but this time it was because families had to keep postponing. We were very grateful to finally get a good nights rest – unfortunately it had been about 2 weeks since we had slept at least 7 hours in one night and we were getting pretty cranky.

Christmas is in full swing now. We have our tree up and have been listening to Christmas music around the house. We watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” the other day and read “A Christmas Dress for Ellen.” We watched the 1st Presidencies Christmas Devotional and have been consistently reminded of how blessed we are. I did really well on my fitness test this time and Amy passed as well. We think we’ll probably get about $170. I kept chanting to myself during the run “Christmas, Christmas, Christmas…” and it helped me get through with my best time yet. One thing that I really liked from the 1st Presidency message the other day was when Elder Uchtdorf said that he believes the economic crisis the world is in will probably cause a lot of people to cut back on the amount they spend for Christmas and that this is probably a blessing in disguise because it turns us to the true meaning of Christmas. I hope I can always keep in mind what Christmas really means. We are trying this year something a little different to make sure our children know how blessed they are and remind them that Christmas is not meant to be a selfish holiday. They have been so willing to think more of others and it has taught me to be more like them. I am grateful for Christ’s perfect example of humility and gratitude and am glad to be reminded of his humble birth.

I know it’s been a while since I last wrote. Work has definitely picked up and my calling has been extremely busy too. A couple of weeks ago my week went like this: Monday was family home evening, Tuesday I went to the pack meeting and helped organize the younger scouts to go do “scouting for food,” Wednesday night I took the older scouts around on their “scouting for food” routes, Thursday I went with the youth to do baptisms at the temple, Saturday I helped the youth pick up the donated food and drop it off at the church, then watched the primary prepare for their primary program, Sunday was a full day of meetings. It’s not like that every week, but it sure has been busy.

My least favorite holiday is over, but Amy has a way of making Halloween enjoyable. She made us all masks and we dressed up in our “incredibles” outfits. We came to my work and then to the ward trunk-or-treat. The kids had a lot of fun and loved the candy.







A couple weeks ago our family and the Dittrich’s went to Layton and Lisa Anderson’s for a Family Home Evening. They asked us to bring a lantern because we wouldn’t be using electricity. We started off by talking about what we are grateful for and then they talked about the pioneers and how they didn’t have electricity. We made scones on a gas grill (something they didn’t have either) the kids made home-made butter, and Bishop (former) helped the kids make home-made ice cream (rolling the can back and forth to all the giggling girls). They were so good with all the kids and I loved to see Layton on the floor having as much fun as the girls. Shane and I shot buffalo (small wooden targets with a rubber band gun). It was such a fun night and we left being even more grateful for the good people in our life.








This past weekend, the Rupert’s came to visit us. It was so fun to have them up. I spent too many nights, however, up until 2 or 3 in the morning just talking with them. While they were here, we visited the Boise Zoo which just opened up a new exhibit with lions, tigers, a giraffe, and a zebra. The kids loved it and I was impressed with our little zoo. It was a lot of fun. On Monday night, we went out to Celebration Park and roasted hotdogs and enjoyed exploring the banks of the Snake River. The Rupert’s left last night and we look forward to visiting them soon. Next week will be Thanksgiving and I’m really looking forward to seeing my family. I’m also excited to see my friends from High School and we have planned to go camping with the them and their spouses out at Cave-Man Condos.