April 2022

 Here's what we were up to during the month of APRIL!

* First of all it started with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Carlson! They flew in on March 30th and were with us until April 13th. They came in for Seth's graduation from BYUI (more on that later). As always, the time went by too quickly (and sadly, this time was hindered by sickness from both Grandma and Mom - boo!) Kathryn, Leo and Ezra also arrived and were with us for a week (yay!) and we also had Joseph and Sarah for the weekend as they stopped in on their way up to visit Kat. It was fun to have a full house again!

We fit  A LOT into those 2 weeks - General Conference, Celebrated Henry's 2nd Birthday, Celebrated Seth's graduation, shopped for Easter and birthdays, Rugby games, Thrift store shopping, August and McKendra's front yard overhaul - this included weeding, pulling up all of the old bark, digging out huge roots (Joseph), leveling the yard, re-doing the sprinkler drip line, shopping for plants/flowers, planting those plants and laying down new landscape fabric (wow! I'm tired just re-reading all that we did!), and of course we were able to get some nice visiting time in!

I usually realize (as grandma and grandpa are getting ready to leave) that taking pictures didn't take a priority and the result is typically just a final "goodbye" photo - but not this time! I was very intentional and took photos of all the things we did - yay!

* Seth GRADUATED and now has his BA of Psychology!! Wowie! He's worked so hard and been so diligent in his studies and we're all just so proud of him! He has plans to continue on with eh Graduate School and is studying out where he would like to apply to. He wasn't too interested in "Walking the Stage" and so we just had a party celebration at the house with family! Dad smoked some amazing burgers to kick of the celebratory BBQ and Aubrie made an awesome 2 tiered buttercream cake for dessert.

* EASTER: We had a really nice Easter. The Bunny found us and we had a beautiful "Come and See" Sacrament Meeting at church where Aubrie was one of the speakers (She spoke on her testimony of the Resurrection). Then we had the treat of having Easter Dinner over at August and McKendras. Dad smoked a ham and McKendra made the yummy food! Grandma and Grandpa Vogt were able to join with us and we enjoyed being together as a family. We also took lots of pictures after church. Ben hadn't felt good that day so he was up in bed for the pictures.

* Rugby has been going strong! April 6th was the girls' first game and they were so excited that Grandma, grandpa, Kathryn and the boys were all able to attend! Sadly, Aubrie's had some injuries that she'd been recovering from so didn't get to play for the first 2 weeks but we all enjoyed cheering Lexi (and John!) on. Rocky Mountain has enough girls for 2 full teams and so does Eagle so each week we play 4 matches and each team plays twice (against each of the opponents teams). It's been great fun and the girls have thoroughly enjoyed themselves! Aubrie's received "Man of the Match" for the past 2 weeks and she's thrilled that she's healed up for playing! This years team is made up of some really great girls and they are all friends and get along nicely. Each week they pick a new "team captain" and Lexi had the privilege of being it at one of the matches. Also, there's a professional photographer that has been taking pictures of some of the matches and puts them up for us (which is so wonderful!) so we've got some great pictures of the girls! Aubrie is #8 and Lexi is #5 in the following photos.

* Aubrie and Lexi turn FOURTEEN! They've had 4 days of celebrations! It kicked off on Thursday when Ben and Seth took them out to a birthday dinner at Izzumi's (a Japanese place) followed by meeting up with August and Merrana for their first concert - The Mystery Skulls. Then on Friday (their actual birthday) they were awakened in bed with Crumbl Cookies! then after Physical Therapy appointments (for Aubrie and Nathan) we were off to the MALL! We don't go to the mall very often so walking around and looking at the shops is a novelty to the girls. We spent most of our time in Claire's and Bath and Body Works and after they each got some things that caught their eye, we were off to lunch at The Olive Garden (yum!) We didn't know you got a free dessert on your birthday so each girl picked the Chocolate Lasagna (which had to be brought home in a box since they were stuffed!). After spending the day with mom, they traded her in for some friends and they all went to The Village where they shopped, ate ice cream and had lots of fun. Once they were back at home, they finally indulged in their chocolate lasagna and we stuck a candle in each of them and sang to them. On Saturday, they had their whole Rugby team over for a birthday party. They hung out, squealed like teenage girls, went to the park, ate pizza, cake, ice cream and had fun watching the girls open their presents. Sunday was a requested birthday dinner of lasagna and garlic bread and everyone sharing memories of the girls. 

* I touched on last month how Nathan got injured during a Rugby match and ended up tearing his ACL! Surgery happened on Wednesday, April 20th. Nathan was suuuuper worried about going under anesthesia. He was given a blessing by dad and Seth the night before and we just kept relying on that blessing and the promises that were given. We got checked in at 9:45am and he was taken back for the surgery just after 1pm. The surgery went really well and once they got in, no repair to the meniscus needed to be made (yay!!). They did a hamstring transplant (where they took a portion of his hamstring to make the new ACL). The first few days were pretty rough! Mom slept down on the couch next to Nathan to keep the medication going every 3 hours and to keep the ice being put on his knee and to ensure it was being elevated constantly. The pain medication made him feel really sick so we called the surgeon to get some anti-nausea medication prescribed and let me tell you - that was a game changer! Days 3 and 4 were probably the worst but then we started coming out on the other side. He started Physical Therapy on day 6 (and will go 2x a week for several months). On Day 8 he had a follow up with the Orthopedics and they said everything was looking great! In fact, they said he could start putting weight on and at that moment, something switched for Nathan and he was WALKING (unassisted!) by the end of that day! What!? We recognize the Lords hand in his quick recovery! He's off of the couch and back up in his bed (after 2 weeks on the couch) and he's just doing great!

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SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING...

* Like I just mentioned above, we know the Lord has had a huge part in Nathan's healing! Family has been praying and fasting and we know those prayers have been heard. Also the blessings he's been given throughout this month have been amazing! We're so grateful for the watchful hand Heavenly Father has shown forth. One night (probably on day 2) it was particularly rough and he was just crying in pain and couldn't get comfortable and everything just hurt so badly (in fact Nathan declared "It would be better if my leg was just amputated!!"). He knew that God could help and so asked Ben and Seth (it was the middle of the night at this point and the brothers were awake - and dad was upstairs asleep) and his brothers were able to give him a blessing (which stated that he'd fall asleep quickly and not be in too much pain). He immediately calmed down and was asleep not too much later. That was amazing!

* It has been a pretty rough month (if not longer!) for Ben and getting on the right medication. He was having emergency meetings with the Psychiatrist multiple times a week (no exaggeration!) and we were going through sooo many different medications (side note: I wish they would only prescribe a weeks worth of the medication to see if works as now I have month supply of many pills and have spent way more money than needed - oh well...)  Anyway, this last combination has seemed to have been the best (so far) and he's been able to be on it for 2+ weeks (however, he thinks he needs a dosage change and we're hoping that might help in keeping him feeling well). His mind has been his worst enemy and both his Psychiatrist and his Therapist say he needs to distract his mind so he's been trying to do that with TV and video games (he hasn't been a big "gamer" - only playing a few hours a week in the past but his brothers and friends have rallied behind him (of which all of them are huge into gaming) and they play online together on Ben's days off) which seems to have been helping.  

He's also been struggling with following through on calendared commitments (thankfully, this hasn't transcribed to his work - which he still likes!) but anything else that is scheduled and he's expected to be there at a specific time (therapy appointments, Personal Trainer appointments, Church and even dates with Natalie) have been difficult to make and he's needed lots of extra support in getting there/following through.  He says when something like that is on the horizon, he just shuts down and starts feeling physically sick. Apparently he's been struggling with this for a while now but it seems to be getting worse. He's reached out to his Therapist and this is what they'll be focusing on - so that's good. I just feel so sad for him and wish there was something more we could do to help him. 

GENERAL CONFERENCE

It was really special to have grandma and grandpa Carlson, Kathryn, Leo and Ezra here to bask in the light of the gospel and all of the wonderful talks that were given! As has been my new "tradition" I took notes int he form of questions to be asked during my personal scripture study. Here are some of those questions:

* What can I do to help those in distress?

* What outward action can I demonstrate that would show my hope in the gospel to others?

* What spiritual experiences have I had that has shaped y spiritual destiny?

* How am I doing in keeping my baptismal covenants?

* Is there something I can do to be a "better giver" to the church?

* Where am I on the Covenant Path?

* How can I invite the Holy Ghost to be more powerful in my life?

* How can I strengthen my testimony in a "personal Jesus"?

* How can I love more generously?

* How can I better keep the Sabbath day holy?

* What does God expect of me?

* Do I allow my afflictions to bring me closer to Christ and grow in my faith?

* How can I make our home a better refuge from the storms of life?

* What can I do to bring a smile to Heavenly  Fathers face?

* Is there something I'm fearing?

* What special mission have I been saved for?

* What am I willing to give up for the Lord? What do I need to give up?

* How can I make Family History "more alive"?

* What is my Divine Mission?

* How can I be a better neighbor?

* Am I being intentional with my life (spiritual, emotional, physical)?

* Have I missed something from the Prophet or other leaders that I need to revisit/implement?

* What matters most that I need to give priority to?

* How do I strengthen my anchor in Jesus Christ?

* What can I do/prioritize to strengthen my home and family?

* What in my heart needs to be healed?

* Is there anyone I need to forgive? or ask forgiveness of?

* How might I share my love of Jesus Christ on social media?

* How can I "Love, Share and Invite" those that are in my life?

* What can I do to prepare for the 2nd Coming?

* What am I doing to be more self reliant?

* How can I support the efforts in relieving suffering?

* How can I discover the Joy in daily repentance?

* What can I do to put off the natural man?

* What conflict is weighing me down?

* How can I help my children qualify for their eternal destiny?