Life is But a Dream, July 24 Pioneer Day

We revere our dear pioneer ancestors, and all our countrymen who fought valiantly in World War I and II and all the other wars we've had.  We love our beloved United States of America.

I've always had a deep love of ancestors, most of whom I conisider pioneer ancestors.  I've always had a longing to know who they were, what they were like.  And so, I've been led and blessed to slowly learn about them throughout my married life.  How I love them!

Derek and Breanna came from the end of the semester, on Wednesday night and stayed with us Thursday, Friday and until Saturday morning.  She sleeps in his old room and he sleeps upstairs on a blow up mattress.

Thursday and Friday, Blaine had taken off of work to be with his brother, Terry and his wife Maryann, who had come from Safford, AZ.   So, Thursday they spent the day together, and then we went hiking when I got off of work at 3.  We took them to Devil's Staircase, but only hiked about 1.5 hours in and then turned around. It was gorgeous, but I was surprised how dry the forest has gotten since our hike a month ago, for the marriage proposal.  It was just the three couples - Terry and Maryann, Derek and Breanna and Blaine and I, because Carl had 4H, Elizabeth had been at Corner Drug working, and Nikole didn't want to go.

The hike was beautiful.  I love summer here.

Friday, I had invited and planned a big boating trip to Palisades. I had one hang up.  I was supposed to go to Boise to present a report to the Intermountain APIC Board on my trip to Charlotte, NC.  But they let me do it by Webinar from our hospital.  But it had to be from 1 to 2 pm.  So, that ruined my boat plans.  They decided to go around 10, so by the time I would have gotten there, I would have to turn around and leave by 11 to get home by 12 to be at the hospital by 12:30, etc.

So, I had packed the yummy lunch, and coolers and had to send them all off at 10. Todd came up, too - so Blaine, Derek, Breanna, Terry, Maryann, Nikole and Todd had a wonderful day together at Palisades.

I still was blessed to finally get through to my Webinar hook up by 2, instead of 1, then we prepared a yummy meal of roast beef dip sandwiches - with the roast beef in the hollowed out french bread, with green peppers, mushrooms, and onions, with cheese and also cantaloupe, watermelon and honeydew melon.  The family loved it.

We went up and visited with Terry and Maryann at Blaine's mom's.

Terry and Derek, Breanna, and Nikole all left Saturday morning.  Terry and M for Arizona, Nikole for a date with Dillan Isaac - he picked her up in Layton, at Breanna's - they went to an amusement type place - Boondocks, or something, out to eat, to the Salt Lake Temple and then long boarding - very fun, good date.  Derek was taking Breanna back home to stay for 5 weeks til their sealing.

Marcums are good and welcoming to Derek.  He's been blessed, just this week-end.  Hal is the man who hired him to help with his business. Hal is Bryant Marcum's friend.  Derek had been working about 5 hours per week during the semester.  Derek had told Hal he would like to do more work.  Hal said he'd get back to him.  Well, Hal's secretary called Derek Friday evening, like from 6 to 8 pm, and wanted him to do a bunch of work on a big project over the week-end.  They need it done by Monday morning!  So, we see the Lord hears our prayers, but sometimes the answer is not convenient, but we are grateful.

Derek had to work a lot the whole weekend with this new assignment, but it will help him have money.

My Dad has his kidney doctor visit on Tuesday.  I predict that they will tell him his GFR number is 15 or less, and that's it's time to choose which type of dialysis he wants, time to sign up to get the fistula in his arm, and to have the social worker come to their home and set up his dialysis center.  So sad, but necessary.

Their 50th anniversary party is coming right up.  Sweet Kortny finished the souvenir book - spending about 50 hours working on it.

Brandon and Heather work their hinders off in Cincinnati and Kentucky, in their ward.  There are only about six families that have enough money to support themselves!  So, Brandon and Heather get used a lot.  They were asked to put on a ward party on Saturday.  They had to use their own money, and do all the work.  There is no committee, or people to help.  You do it all and go pick ward members up, because they have no car and no way to get there. The Bishopric helps you.

Elizabeth is headed to a long XC Camp with Mr. Gleichman.  They start in the morning at 8 - Monday morning, then go all week til Saturday evening.  They sleep in the woods.  It's a rigorous camp, costs $200.  I think it will be well worth it, but they have a ton to learn and do in the great outdoors.

My plans to use the Mexican ladies in Layton, for the wedding lunch, had to change.  Their bid is $15/plate, and children are $10/plate.  We can do Cafe Rio for $10 plate and get our own water and dessert.

I loved church today - President and Sister McKellar spoke, which is a treat itself.  They spoke of Patriotism.  President Pehrson taught the lesson on Korihor and the wicked times we are living in are like the Book of Mormon times.  RS was great, Sister/Mrs. Christensen taught about Opposition in All Things.

I love my family!

July 17, 2016 Derek's Proposal, more details

July 17, 2016

I’m continuing on my thoughts from July 10.  So, the biggest tender mercy is that Derek and Breanna are engaged to be married September 2!

We are blessed that our children are close to us, emotionally.  Derek shared all of their dating life with us.  I had once mentioned that a hike to the Wind Caves would make a romantic proposal.   Heather had also mentioned that the hike to Packsaddle Lake would be romantic.  We had thought of packing a canoe into Packsaddle and having lights float out on the water, etc.

In the end, he decided to do the hike to the Wind Caves.  He wanted a book made, with pictures of their dating life, with a last page that said, “Then Derek got down on one knee and asked Breanna to marry him!”

I like Shutterfly.  I’ve used it a lot to make digital scrap books.  So, I uploaded their dating pictures to Shutterfly, then Heather and I, mostly Heather were able to work on it or make it when I went to Cincinnati.  That was special, so Heather could feel part of it.

Breanna’s ring was interesting.  Nikole had gotten her graduation opal ring at Jensen Jeweler in Rexburg.  They told us about a big sale that would be the very next week on loose diamonds.  We had found out earlier that all BYU-I students get 50% off, but this sale would make it even more on sale. 

Derek took Breanna to look for rings there.  She found a few she liked, but Derek felt there was one she really liked best.  He went back later to get it, and to buy it on the day of the sale.  The ring they had was a size 7, and Breanna needed a tiny size 4.  My finger is a 4.5, and I never heard of anyone with a smaller size.  So, Derek  had to order the size 4 to be made from scratch, because you can’t downsize more than a size or 2, or the ring falls apart.  So, he had to get the size 7 on the sale day, propose to Breanna the very next day with it, she had to wear it with a “spacer” for about two weeks, until her very own correct size beautiful round diamond with tiny diamonds all around it arrived.  So, it was  a tender mercy to get such a wonderful ring at such a better price than we would have had.

The proposal itself was supreme.  Derek invited her family and ours – which we had given him the idea, and Brandon had invited us – to hike to the Wind Caves.  Breanna is still suffering from her illness from her mission, so she has not hiked in years.  The Wind Caves hike is fairly challenging, if you haven’t hiked lately.  We became slightly concerned that she would make it to the top.   Her dad said he would carry her, if she needed him to  : )  She did make it though. 

We had fun talking with Breanna’s family all the way up and down.  Jordan, her cousin, was hiding up at the waterfall.  We did not even see him until Derek had Breanna under the lower waterfall, and the rest of us were back, at the side, watching.  We could suddenly see his camera bag sitting on a big rock, then up popped the Droid – the camera that flies, and it zoomed up by Derek and Breanna and up the waterfall and under the waterfall.

Another tender mercy was that the ring box had a video camera in it, so when Derek bent down, and pulled the ring box out, he pressed a button and when he opened the box, it recorded Breanna’s reaction and her expression, etc. – Technology is fun.  We had never heard of anyone doing that.

The whole event was just devine.  We felt Heaven near that whole day and evening, especially on the hike.  I felt my deceased Grandma and Grandpas with us and Breanna’s must have been here, too.    I really believe Heaven cheers for us when something this special happens.

We have been honored to have Derek and Breanna continue to court and date.  They had most of  the wedding plans done when they became engaged.

They had their announcement pictures taken, they are going to get their wedding pictures taken on August 17 – they invited us to watch that “First Look” in Utah at the Ogden Temple. 

I have been working with Breanna to arrange a wedding dinner/lunch at the take center by where she lives, and to arrange the open house here in Driggs at Grandma Rip’s, outside.  I found several tender mercies along the way.

We’ve got the grooms men’s gray vests, coral ties and a suit for Derek ordered thourgh Lori Schies’s friend by Layton.

We have leanred that the groom’s family pays as much as the bride’s.  Especially if you put on an open house or reception in his home town.  So, we had his clothing, his groomsmen, ties for all men in the party, the honeymoon, the hotel for the night of their sealing, the night after in Florida, the cruise, the wedding lunch, and the open house.  A wedding is fun, and great, but also a lot of work.

They are sweet and wonderful.  Our home and family has enjoyed the Spirit in great abundance these last many weeks.

Heather went to Nauvoo this week-end, and had her court trial last Wednesday with the crooked boss from Provo.

June 4, 2016 Packsaddle Lake with the Engaged and Nikole stretches and grows

July 10, 2016

Derek is engaged, Lizzie’s hurt wrist

Forgive if any of this is repeat.  I’m trying to remember back a long time, without looking at the blog I post to first.

I haven’t written in my journal for quite some time.  My life hurries on really quickly, and I can’t seem to make time for all the important things, like recording my life.  I feel my family sees so many tender mercies, that I just need to record them.

The highlight of this entry will be that our Derek is engaged to Breanna Marcum!

I’ll come back to that exciting event.

My children got out of school on June 3.  My parents, Christian and Jennifer and Macey, Breanna and Derek came up to support Nikole.  It was a fabulous night for Nikole.  She looked so beautiful.  She received so many gifts from our ward family.  We do live in such a good place, where people really do care and love and support each other. 

She was not going to write thank you notes.  But later on, she did write little letters to every person that gave her something, so I was pleased and proud that she took time to do that.  I feel that gratitude is important.

Nikole had reported that she felt happy over many things in her life.  She’s had a change in her major for college.  She went from dental hygiene to education for a short bit, and now to Bio Statistics.  She actually met with an advisor from that department last week, so she is on track.  She’s thrilled about that. She’s happy she has a grad plan, that she signed up for her classes the first day new freshmen could, she has almost a semester of credits already from AP classes from high school, she is excited for college now – for a long while she didn’t want to leave home, she is happy over her summer job working for a woman that owns a condo.  So, many tender mercies in Nikole’s life.  One male friend left on his mission for somewhere Porguese-speaking two weeks ago.

On June 4, we were all ready to take our boat out on Palisades.  Derek and Breanna were dating, though we knew they wanted to marry each other, and they had made lots of plans already.  Blaine went out to start the boat the morning we were to go, and it wouldn’t start.  He had charged the battery up, gotten gas in it, but hadn’t checked the battery.  The fix it place in town couldn’t fix it that day, so then we decided to go to  Packsaddle Lake.  Breanna was and is a joy in our home.  She was so grateful and pleasant.  I went off the swing for the first time that day.  Breanna did, too.  One of my favorite memories of that weekend was that when Breanna’s hair gets wet, she still looks beautiful.  After just a few minutes of being out of the water, her hair starts having a little curl around her face and on the ends.  Oh, it’s so cute!  Wouldn’t we all love to have natural hair like that?