Leaving The White House.

Today we spent the day finishing up the last bit of moving.

I dropped Lottie off at school, and we began a solid day of packing/moving.

I cleaned the house, scrubbed the floors, rolled up the rugs, 

and we moved the last of the boxes out of the house and into the truck.  

We're spreading our stuff between two storage units and a friend's garage.

Toward the end of the packing, I gave up trying to be organized while packing.

 I threw kitchen towels in boxes with books, and I have a box

just for any stragglers (pens, mail, things I found under the couch,

clothes left in the dryer, and socks I found).

We also dropped Angus off at a boarding place for a WHOLE MONTH!

It was a sad goodbye, but I am relieved he'll be taken care of while

we transition.

While at the pet boarding place, 

Gigs bartered a deal with the lady in charge and

sold Fern for $100.00.  

It was an answer to prayers, as sad as it was.

We found a place for the scorpions, cockroaches, lizards, beetles, Angus, 

and we sold Lottie's bird but had yet to find a place for Fern.

I felt lots of guilt about making my kids give up the comforts of a life they

were happy in.  I feel like I am doing that a lot.

 I do admit that I wonder when the Lord will "stretch forth his hand"

as it frequently says in the scriptures, and save us.

I know someday we will look back at these times with gratitude and

with lessons learned, but right now, it's hard to see the future.

I know that is why we need the Savior and His peace.

It was a loooong day of moving, and we had a hotel for the evening since

all the beds were packed up.

I dropped Nicholas and Lottie off at the hotel, put Gigs in charge

of making sure they both had a shower and went to bed.

I made Lottie lunch for school the next day

with the last food we had in the house.

We stored it in the hotel mini-fridge.

Then, Ollie, Christian, and I worked until 2:00 in the morning making

 trips to the storage unit, lifting boxes, and packing.

We had the final load all ready to go and discovered the storage unit gate was 

locked, so we turned around and parked it at The White House for the night.

We got to the hotel and collapsed in bed.

I set my alarm for 6:30 am to get Lottie to school and finish

the last load the next day.

Lucky for us, Claire is calling us tomorrow instead of today.

It would have been really overwhelming to talk to her today

while moving.

Send Lindsay!.

 

Today Christian and I picked up Lindsay at the airport.

She came with a smile and a playlist of 

upbeat music to play while we packed.

A few days ago, Lindsay and I were talking on the phone, and she said to me,

"I'm coming to help you move."

Of course, I was like, "No, I'm fine (sobbing). I can do this."

"Stephanie, I can come. I want to come.  

I will help you get everything packed up.

It will go so much faster, plus a plane ride by myself sounds lovely."

Everything she said was true, and the spirit told me

to let her help me. We will all be in positions as the helper or

 the one who needs help. And no one wants to be the one

who needs help, especially me, 

 because I feel like I've lived a lot of my life as the one needing the help.

Our family is doing so good. We're close, happy, and healthy,

but our plans are not what we had hoped and prayed for them to be.

Our dreams are not yet realized, and the direction we thought we were going in

has taken a different path.

The faith part comes in when I realize that

that doesn't mean it's a wrong path; it just means we are being rerouted

to the way the Lord wants us to be on.

Sometimes it doesn't make sense.

 Linda Reeves gives a wonderful talk where she describes a time 

in her life when she was confused and worried about a situation.

 "I am ashamed to say that I pulled away from my Heavenly Father. 

For days I quit praying; I quit planning; I cried. 

I finally came to the realization that I could not do this alone.

For the first time in many days, I knelt down and poured out my

 heart to my Father in Heaven, 

pleading for forgiveness for turning away from Him,

 telling Him all of my deepest feelings, and finally crying out 

that if this was what He really wanted me to do, I would do it.

 I knew He must have a plan for our lives.

As I continued on my knees to pour out my heart, the sweetest, 

most peaceful, loving feeling came over me. 

It was as if a blanket of love was flowing over me. 

It was as if I could feel Heavenly Father saying, 

"That was all I needed to know."

I am amazed Lindsay took the time out of her life back in Arizona to rescue me.

She's the best friend I will ever have and has been by my side for FIFTEEN years!

We got to The White House and hit the ground running (packing).

She's very efficient and fast, and we laugh a lot.

She constantly tells me that good things will come my way.

She tells me to hang in there and that the Lord knows what He is doing

with our family because sometimes I wonder why things are hard.

That's why I love her so much.

Today we packed up most of the bedrooms, dining room, 

and even started in the kitchen.

Lindsay and I agreed working in the kitchen is fun because we like 

to pretend that we work at Anthropologie, wrapping up cute plates and goblets.

If only!

A few times during the day, we stopped to sit on the floor to talk and compress. 

We found a stash of candy that Claire was keeping under her bed

and we ate that, too.

Christian made a customized box for all of Lottie's dollhouses.

It was very impressive.

In the evening, I made a big pot of beans and 

we made burritos and ate standing up

since our chairs were packed away.

The sky got dark, and before it started to rain and blow, we took a walk

around the neighborhood, enjoying the glow of the magical fireflies.

Man, I am going to miss this house!

I think we stayed up until 2:00 a.m. working, thanks to Lindsay's

excellent playlists and a few stiff Dr. Peppers!

Remember the Scorpion?

 Last March when our family went to Arizona for Spring Break Gigs

 caught himself five scorpions in the Jones's backyard and smuggled

them on the plane back to the humid world of North Carolina.

One morning Gigs brought the scorpion habitat he carefully constructed

downstairs to be cleaned out.  

During that process, one of the scorpions managed to escape into the house!

Christian almost stepped on him while in the laundry room then

we all watched as he swiftly snuck himself under the washer.

I hadn't seen him after that and assumed he'd die with the nearly 40 degree 

chilly Spring North Carolina weather.

Today as we lifted the TV console up to be taken to the storage unit, 

Gigs who was apparently not really 

helping us shrieked, let go of the furniture, and ran to his backpack

and pulled out a little Tupperware.

 Then he ran back and trapped something on the ground.

His face was bright and he was smiling from ear to ear, but he also very quiet, too.

After taking the furniture to the car we came back inside

 and asked Gigs what he had caught.

It was that scorpion that had escaped months before!!  

Still alive and living among us in perfect harmony!

Questions rattled around in my mind.

What was he eating all these days?

Have I almost stepped on him?

Was he wandering around the house or huddled under the console the whole time?

Gigs scooped him up and put him back in his habitat then later we

dropped them off along with his cockroach collection

to some very angelic friends who will take good care of these

critters while we live in transition.

Moving from The White House Day 2.

 

Moving is always challenging.  

And I should know because I've done it a few times

 and by now, you'd think I'd be good at it.  

Well, I'm not, especially since I'm not sure where the heck we are going to!

Today we packed up most of the furniture in the house.

The hardest part for me while moving is maintaining balance 

and normality during the whirlwind of change.

So I made tacos tonight for dinner with paper plates and refried beans

from a can, and it tasted super good.

Of course, we still have a fridge full of cold drinks and anything

tastes good with a cold one.

We put in a full day today, and my feet hurt.

I took photos of us moving.

It was a very pleasant summer evening with the moon bright.

Gigs and Lottie have been watching a lot of movies lately.

Attitude is Free

 Last month when the Arizona Burn Center highlighted our story

 I received a box of cool shirts for my family from a local Arizona company, 

called Attitude is Free. 

They are one of the sponsors who are supporting the Mt. Kilimanjaro hike that 

Christian and I are doing this next summer with fellow burn survivors.

Anyway, I wear these shirts almost every day when I exercise.

 and today, I decided to take a few photos of that happening 

so I could never forget that one time I was in

 good shape and very, very grateful for my body.

Later that day, I got a package in the mail from my mom, and along

with some BYU chocolate cinnamon bears she sent me

me a copy of a December 1984 article in the Ensign

written by a friend of my mom's.

For the story, my mom and I were sketched singing Christmas songs 

to an old lady in a rest home.

I don't remember doing it, but I remember the 

little red dress I wore.  I loved that dress.

We're Back!

One evening I got a text from my cousin and

 stake president, Chris Bingham who asked if our family 

would be interested in going to the 

temple to serve with our kids in the baptistry.

I rubbed my eyes...did he just ask if we wanted to 

GO TO THE TEMPLE!  UMMM....YES!

This is a very big deal because it's been over a year since we've been 

able to serve in the temple with our kids.

We dropped everything to go. 

This was such a blessing to our family especially as we are facing

major changes and challenges.  The temple promises peace and guidance.

Along with a few other families, our family was among the first to

 attend the baptistry since it had been shut down last March.

Since Oliver is 16 he was able to baptize me, Christian, and Gigs for 

about 20 of our own family ancestor names.

It was a very emotional, beautiful moment for me as his mother.

I was so proud of him.  He is such a good boy who makes good choices,

 honors, and cares deeply for the Priesthood power he holds.

 In that holy space watching him serve,

I was given a tender vision and saw him a little older

as a missionary serving, loving, and teaching 

others about the Savior of the world.

And even though he won't take one decent normal picture with me,

I still love him so much!  He's the cutest!

Sister Time.

Since Lottie lost both her sisters in March, she decided to make 

a little interactive sister scrapbook.  

The first few pages of the book are full of her colorful drawings, 

fun questionnaires, memories, and stickers. 

Her plan is to pass the book on

to Jane in Arizona, who would fill a few pages, too, and then send it to 

Claire, in New Hampshire (hopefully, she'd have a few minutes on P-day to join in),

 then Claire would then send it back to Lottie in North Carolina

and they'd start all over again.

There is a pretty cute "all about me" section in the front where Lottie introduces herself

and writes her favorite color, animal, treat, game, book, 

and favorite Spiderman actor (Tom Holland).

She even researched some sister-themed things, like

an incredible mountain in Alberta, Canada, called The Three Sister Peaks.

They are known individually as Big Sister (Claire), Middle Sister (Jane),

 and Little Sister (Lottie).

Then she found this perfect drawing of a tall brown-haired girl (Claire)

with two smaller redhead girls (Jane & Lottie).  

She also picked some dainty little flowers unique to North Carolina

and pressed them in the book.

Lottie has been diligent in creating this cute creative sister book

and works on it on quiet Sunday afternoons, 

after school and in the evenings when we're all just

lounging around the house.  

When Lottie was little, she used to watch Disney's Elena of Avalor.

One morning she was watching an episode where Elena and her

 sister sing a song together called "Sister Time." 

It's super catchy and annoying, and cute, and we've been singing it ever since.

It's now turned into a joke between the girls, and

they sing it all the time when they're together.

Sometimes when we're driving in the car, I'll play it loud

and even though they "hate" it, they know every word.

Love my girls.

Elder Scott.

 I was having a particularly hard day.  I'm having a lot of those lately.

 I woke up upset and super overwhelmed.  

I think the for sale sign on our front lawn messes with my head. 

 Everything in my life is threatened...again.  

I've been here before, and it's so uncomfortable, frustrating, and hard.

I have to admit, I am so tired of teaching school.  

I hate sitting down all morning and afternoon to monitor Zooms and teach Gigs.  

Some days are better than others, but lately, my patience level has been nil.

Christian had a wonderful conversation with the BYU MBA program.  

They chose BovIQ to be the capstone project to work on- meaning they 

are going to study the business and then get investors.  

He was so excited about the conversations he was having with the students.  

About 30 of the best MBA kids.  

I am excited for him, too.  I love when his eyes get really big when 

he is talking to me with excitement and promise.

I pray every day that things will work out and that we get our big break.  

Christian gave me a nice big hug and told me to hold on.  

When I break down, I wonder if my lack of faith makes it harder for him. 

I'm feeling depressed, and he seems to be doing pretty good.  

I admire his faith and relationship with the Lord.  It's so inspiring.

(We FINALLY got a new oven. It's been like 3 months)

He went back into our bedroom/office and started to work while 

I held it together, getting Lottie on a 30-minute late Zoom start.  

I pushed myself through school with Gigs, but I was super grumpy.

I told myself I needed to change something.  I decided to look up a

 talk that was referenced in our recent Sunday school lesson. 

 It was a talk by Elder Richard G. Scott.

 " How to Obtain Revelation and Inspiration for Your Personal Life"  

I knew I needed the help that was in this talk.

I was right.  I did need it, and I loved it. It breathed new air into my soul

 and softened my hardened heart.

I felt inspired to only tell the Lord in my nightly prayer the things

 I was grateful for instead of asking and pleading like I usually did.

"Why does the Lord want us to pray to Him and to ask?

 Because that is how revelation is received."

So, before bed, I knelt down and prayed to thank HIM. 

 The first thing that popped into my head that I was grateful for

 was the big table that Christian had made us.  

We can all sit down together to study,

 to eat, to laugh, to create, and to celebrate on. 

So many wonderful things have happened at the table.  I am so thankful for it.  

It reminded me of my role as a mother, I love being a mom.

  I love teaching, cleaning, loving, and nurturing.  

It feels hard lately, but it's still my role.

After that, hundreds of things I was grateful for came into my head.  

It felt so good to thank and show gratitude instead 

of my frustration and desperation.

I climbed into bed with tears in my eyes and asked 

Christian to help me feel faith and peace.

He reminded me of the time when we first started hanging out. 

The first day he came over to my house was in August of 2000,

 I was on the trampoline studying the recent conference talks. (April 2000)  

He reminded me of that hot afternoon when I lay under the

 oak tree underlining the prophet's words.  

He told me he specifically remembered me 

studying a talk by Elder Richard G. Scott. 

 He told me the whole talk was practically yellow from my highlighter. 

 The talk was called "The Sanctity of Womanhood."

"Then let us encourage every woman who questions her value

 to turn to her Heavenly Father and His glorified Son for

 a supernal confirmation of her immense individual worth.

 I testify that as each woman seeks it in faith and obedience, 

the Savior will continually prompt her through the Holy Ghost. 

That guidance will lead her to fulfillment, peace, and a consuming joy 

through magnifying her divinely appointed, sacred womanhood."

I started to cry and told him I remembered that day vividly. 

 I also told him about my experience earlier in the day 

when I had just printed out another earlier in the day by Elder Scott. 

 I don't think that was an accident.  

I think God wanted us to make that connection and remember 

He is in the little things.  

He hasn't given up on our family, on me.