"My" Temple

Many of you, by now have heard that there are two new temples being built in Arizona. One in the Gilbert area, and we are SOOOOO excited that one of them happens to be in the Gila Valley! I guess I kind of always knew that there would be a temple here someday, I just never dreamed it would be this soon. This will be an amazingly HUGE blessing to so many people. As I type this, I am just overwhelmed at the millions of people this will benefit. Not only here in the Gila Valley, but obviously on the other side. People in this valley have been praying for many years for a temple to be built here. Our last 2 Stake Conferences have been amazing, and we have been counseled very strongly, to increase our temple attendance. Elder Costa, from the seventy, even came and gave us the challenge to attend once a week. I know some people here that have taken on that challenge. That's 2 1/2 - 3 hours of driving each way. I have felt more anxious than ever to attend more often. But, of course, I start thinking, how in the world am I going to afford to Mesa all the time with gas being so expensive? And then I come up with all the other excuses that seem to go with attending the temple. I know that the excuses won't go away once the temple is built here, but I certainly won't have as many! I came across this fabulous quote from Elder Packer yesterday, he said, "It is evident that the work relating to temples bothers the adversary the most. It is this work that causes all the bells of hell to ring.” I can't help but think that we are going to make Satan VERY mad here in the Gila Valley!

Now here's the part that my husband will never understand about me. I tend to get attached to different "things". When we have sold different family cars or homes, or have had a dog that I actually hated, die, I don't like the separation from those things. I get comfortable, (again, even if I hated that dog!) and don't like the change. I still madly miss our Mesa home, and have great memories of my all time favorite Isuzu Rodeo that we use to have. And I think that's actually it. It's the memories. Dumb to some, but that's just me. Anyway, as excited as I am to have a new temple here, I can't help but already "miss" the Mesa Temple. For me, that is MY temple. It's been my temple for the last 12 years of my life. I can't imagine calling another temple "mine". I received my own endowments there, and married my best friend there. I have had some incredible experiences there that I will never forget. I know, to a lot of people reading this, it sounds rediculous, but I just wanted to throw that out there. Change is good, but not always easy. I am so thankful for the gospel and the opportunity I have to even go to the temple. I know this will bless the lives of millions, and I can't wait for that!

Great advice

Not all to often do I have great advice, but today, I DO! Check out Rob Brinton's free art giveaway!

http://matageframing.blogspot.com/

Mama goats

I have had many requests for people to see our goats, and why not? You'd think we had a petting zoo by these pictures. Pretty soon our 2 prego's will have little goatlets (actually they're "kids", but "goatlets" sounds better) running around. Cuz, we need more goats. You can never have enough, you know. I'm afraid this is only the beginning....

Our house/yard - in part

This is a front view of our front yard, no landscaping yet! We're so use to having an HOA. Since we don't here, we haven't been in a huge hurry. I know it'll come in time. We have planted some, just no grass yet. We always seem to lack the whole time/money thing. Sound familiar? Anyway, we have more important things to do, like tend to our goats. :-)


This is a view from the back porch. Again, no landscape yet, but it's in the works. We've (Tom) planted a few trees, and the more irrigation we get, the more grass.

Tom's Saturday...

This weekend, Tom replaced our neighbors swamp cooler. He had to build a new stand, and figure out how to get a new one back up on the side of their house. If you ever have a difficult project, and don't know where to start, let me tell ya, Tom is the guy to ask. He is a genious! It turned out to be an all day project, and he still needs a few parts to get it finished. We had some friends from our old ward in Mesa help a bit in the morning, (WE LOVE YOU PATTERSON WARD!!) and then Tom's brothers & brother-in-law came over to actually get the unit up. We are so grateful for those who helped!! This house is one that we actually purchased with our land. There is a cute old couple living in their now, but the house is legally ours. We're so lucky to have good neighbors!

"More Moments" by Lincoln...

For those of you who were fortunate enough to watch General Conference last Sunday, you'll remember President Monson's talk about his wife writing their children a note advising them to not let their dad (Pres. Monson) use the microwave, among other appliances. It was a pretty funny story. Well, Lincoln actually heard that part, and in his prayers that night he said, "...and please bless President Monson that he won't use the microwave...". It was one of those times that as a parent, I was trying so hard not to snicker in the middle of his prayer, because he was so sincere! You add his little lisp and cute voice, and that's Linc for ya!

Down by the river!

Friday night we went down to the river on quads & golf carts (!) and had a little "camp out", without actually camping. Jack & Tom did some fishing, we did the camp fire thing, and everyone was PLENTY dirty! It was so fun!

Yes, it's a REAL owl!

Tom was driving home late one night

from Mesa when an owl hit his windsheild.
So, he brought it home. I mean, who wouldn't? It was blind in at least one eye, probably had brain damage, and was very calm. You should have seen the claws on that thing! It was a wonderful addition to our family until we decided it was time to let the poor thing go. I'm not sure it survived, but it gave us a fun memory.

Alright, so it's a little hard to make out what's going on here. So read this before you watch. This is a dark, shaky video of Jackson getting to High Five the starting line up on the Suns. Jack is on the right side, short kid, purple hat. I know. It doesn't mean as much to anyone else as much as it did us, but it was a fun experience anyway!

And their off! What a sweet Grandma!

Grandma Palmer (a.k.a. Tom's mom) challenged all the grankids to a race once she had recovered from knee surgery. Kemilee is recovering from foot surgery, so the two were a good match. Kemilee pulled through and won (I'm sure Grandma didn't want to break Kem's little heart!), so now Grandma is going to treat Kemliee to ice cream!

GO SUNS!!

Last night Tom, me, Keslee & Jackson went to the Suns/Nuggets game. Jackson was one of the "High Five Kids". He had a great time getting to High Five all the starting Suns players. Lucky kid! The game was one of the best we've been to. So fun!

Lincoln moments

So every family has a black sheep, right? Ours is only 3. Linc is as different from the rest of the kids as can be! It's fun to shake things up a bit. The other night, he was in bed and sneezed 3 or 4 times. He shares a room with Jackson and said, " Jackson, will you please bless me?" No answer from Jack. So he asks again and again, "Jackson, please bless me!" I'm not sure Jack was really understanding what he was asking, so he just didn't say anything. Finally, Linc peaks around the corner to see me and says, "Mom, will you please bless me?" Taking a chance, (not really knowing what he wanted) I said, "Bless you." He got a cute little grin on his face and went and laid down in his bed. He just wanted to make sure he was "Blessed"!

The TV was on and there was a scene of a beach. I said to Linc, "That's what the beach looks like. Would you like to go play at the beach someday?" To my surprise, he said, "No mom. I can't go to the beach because I will break the TV." It was a very matter of fact response. Duh mom!

Keslee & Kemilee had foot surgery in Feb. They have both been real troopers, especially Keslee as she is just now weaning herself off the crutches.

Jackson & Lincoln after church, half way out of their Sunday clothes.
Just a couple of city girls...
City girls, and their homeboy cousins.
Love the expression on their faces!
Kemilee was baptized by her dad in November.

Mary & Joseph. :-)

The kids idea if the "Nativity". I love the half naked shepherd, or Joseph, or...whatever.

Here we are, living in Thatcher, Arizona. We NEVER really thought we'd be here, but apparently we don't always know what's best - without a little help, at least! We've been here almost 1 year, and it has been an adventure - to say the least! Moving from a large city (Mesa, Arizona) to a small town has been an adjustment...really more for me, the mom, than anyone. Tom has dreamed of having land and animals to play with ever since we were married in June of 1994. And now he's got it! We have close to 2 acres and it's been FUN! I'll post some pics of our land and lovely goats soon. (Yes, GOATS! I never thought I'd see the day!) I have learned to love being here. We have given up some things, but gained a lot more in return. Sometimes, I am just amazed at how Heavenly Father works. Obviously, He knows what is best for us, but He goes about helping us to learn and grow in ways that I, personally, wouldn't choose for myself. HOWEVER, if I were to choose how to go about "learning and growing", I'm afraid I never really would learn & grow. Did that make sense? It does to me. He really knows what we need. Sometimes it's just hard to trust Him and have the faith that we need. I just need to remember, that He is NEVER wrong, and He won't lead us astray. So, welcome to our blog! I'm so excited to get this started!