* It was Labor Day so dad had a 3 day weekend! Yay!! We decided we'd better get a jump start on some of the yard work that needed to be done (edging, weeding, and trimming trees). We worked as a family for a few hours and had it looking awesome (that's the beauty of a smaller yard - the work gets done quickly!) Ben also recruited his friends to come over and help :)
* Tuesday, we went to the Dollar Movie Theater to see the new Live Action Alladin and... we loved it! In fact, we have plans to go see it again next week with McKendra for another $1!
* Thursday, mom and dad did their weekly date to the Temple! Afterwards, we took this picture in front of some the beautiful flowers that are on the grounds.
* Friday was the kid's first day of their new co-op! It's through Tech Trep and it's actually a "drop-off" option and so the kids packed and lunch and went from 10-2:30. They each do 3 classes (1 hour and 15 minutes long each) as well as a lunch. Nathan's enrolled in: Hands On History, Tae Kwondo and his last class is Games. Aubrie and Lexi are in the same classes: Art, Movie Magic and Theater. When I picked them up afterwards, they all had huge smiles on their faces and they all said "That was AMAZING!" Everyone liked their classes and said their teachers were so nice and they're excited to go back!
After picking them up from Co-op (it typically goes until 2:30pm but we picked them up at 2pm) since dad was ready to head down to start tailgating for the BSU game!! Their section was an "orange out" so everyone dressed in their oranges (another side note: the girls didn't have any good fitting orange BSU shirts, so while they were in the co-op, I hit the DI and picked up some shirts for $3! That's what's so nice about being back in Boise - cheap BSU gear at the thrift stores! haha) Anyway, Seth, Dad and the girls headed down for the first home game of the 2019 season! It was against Marshall University and we ended up winning with a score of 14-7. We were happy for another win!
Spiritually Speaking...
Lots of thoughts have been on my mind lately about how GOOD Heavenly Father has been to us. Dad and I were discussing ALL of the amazing, beautiful and miraculous things that have occurred this year - Each one alone, being big and wonderful! But then when you put them all together into the span of 8 months - it's evidence of a loving Heavenly Father who has always been there waiting to bless His children. This post is a little bit harder for me to write because I don't want it to sound prideful and like "hey, look at us! We're being blessed beyond measure! God must really love us!" It's actually more of a faith building experience where we've made some goals (individual, family and personal ones) to bring our lives more into alignment with God's will for us. It's like that "Mormon Message" video that shows a person going through life holding up an umbrella - but how that umbrella is actually preventing the blessings of Heaven to be able to reach them and get soaked in. Heavenly Father is always pouring out blessings to his children, and it is up to us (through our actions) whether or not we receive those blessings. We must remove the umbrella (or whatever obstacles are obstructing our path to God) to let the rain of blessings fall upon us.
I'm so grateful for the power of prayer, of Revelation, for finding answers to my questions in the scriptures, for having two Temples so close to us, for family goals that bring us closer to Heaven, for children who aren't rebellious and who genuinely love the Lord and the gospel of Jesus Christ and make good choices and for a wonderful, loving, righteous husband who has those same goals that we can work on together!
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We feel super grateful for the VA disability determination that came in this week! It has been a long time coming! We've been (anxiously) waiting for it and praying it would arrive before our closing date later this month so we could waive the VA Funding Fee on our home loan (a $12,200 savings!)... We're still in disbelief as dad was rated at 90% disabled. I'm sad that he became so affected (and afflicted!) by his time serving our country but feel blessed that the raters were sympathetic to our case and awarded him what he deserves! Over the past several months, that has been our prayer - that the raters would be sympathetic towards him, open to what he was claiming and be given a fair award (since we had heard many stories how the VA doesn't fully award what is rightly due) and our prayers have been heard! This will continue to be a financial blessing for the rest of our lives!
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Dad is an addict. A soda addict. Specifically a Coke Zero addict. There's obviously an issue when one is drinking 3-4 liters a day! He knows it and he hates it! He has given up soda so many times throughout our married life (sometimes for a few weeks and sometimes a few years!) but it somehow always tends to slip back into his life. Last week, he decided enough was enough and poured the rest of his Coke down the drain! He then looked at me and sincerely asked "What's going to make this time be different?" I was immediately impressed to say "You've never had a blessing before. Let's have August and Seth give you a blessing that you can overcome this weakness and temptation." The next day (September 1st) was a Sunday and August and McKendra came over. While they were here, August and Seth gave dad a blessing of healing and of overcoming this addiction. I secretly peaked during the blessing and could hardly turn away from the sight of my two worthy adult sons giving their dad a blessing! It was beautiful and my heart was warmed. It's been 8 days and not a lick of soda has touched dad's lips! He's been miserable with headaches, irritability and other withdrawal symptoms but we're all praying for him and he know that with God, nothing is impossible!!
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