March

In Our Family This Month...

* Our Sweet Benny Boy turned 22! He brings such a fun dynamic to our family and is always looking out for his siblings and involving them all in his life! He's a great brother (both big and little!) and it was fun to celebrate him! He had Matt and Issiak over and we went through several scrapbooks and blog books reminiscing on memories of Ben! Mom made a special Keto chocolate chip cookie and Aubrie made some sugar free brownies and Ben felt spoiled!

 

* Another birthday that we got to celebrate this month was HENRY'S 4th Birthday! Crazy to think that he is already 4! I remember the day that he was born was the very beginning of the Covid shut-down! He was born on a Wednesday and that was the first Virtual Youth Activity we held over Zoom (little did we know it would be 2 years before we'd be somewhat "back to normal"... Anyway, Henry's favorite color is BLACK and so there were black balloons and black plates and he got a black dragon (with a sticky tongue that walks!) August and McKendra ordered pizza and made a Volcano cake that was adorable! Great Grandma and Grandpa Vogt came and McKendra's mom and sister were also in town for the celebration. I was bummed when I realized (after we had all gone home) that we didn't get a full group shot but did get these of Henry blowing out his candles - What a cutie!

* Rugby is in full force for everyone! Dad is still coaching the High School Girls Team. The Girls are playing on both HS teams - D1 and D2, Nathan is on the Boys High School Team and Mom is doing the pictures at all of the games and designing all of the Game Day Announcements, the Game Day Results and everything in between! We kicked off the season on March 4th at the Jamboree where each team played several games and then we've had weekly games ever since! Both teams practice at the Middle School from 4-6pm each night and games are (typically) on Friday and Saturdays. Everyone is doing absolutely fantastic and ALL 3 kids have been awarded the "Man of the Match" (Aubrie has gotten it twice) so far this season! 

The girls team will be playing in the Nationals Tournament in Wisconsin (in May) and so they've been fundraising like maniacs for that! They each have to come up with $1,100 (or pay the difference out of pocket). I designed up "Sponsorship Calendars" for each girl on the team and that has the potential of raising $500 (where someone can "sponsor" them for a day or multiple days - i.e. if they choose to sponsor on March 14th, they'd pay $14 or $8 for March 8th, etc...). Lexi was the first girl on the team to get hers filled out (within like a day!) and won a Dutch Bros gift card. Then they've been doing a second fundraiser of raffling off an AR gun (tickets are $10/each). This has been a HUGE success and as of today - Lexi has raised the remaining $600 and Aubrie only needs to raise about $150 and they are both fully funded for the trip to Nationals!

So far this season, both of the Girls' teams are undefeated within their division (yay! with several HUGE blowouts - score of like 96-12 and 116-5). The boys team has won half of their games and they are doing great - especially Nathan! He has made it a goal to become a Starter (which he has now already earned within the first 2 weeks of the regular season!) and he's hoping to be a Team Captain next year. The Jenks have joined our team (they're another homeschooling family that used to be in our ward back in Boise) and they have a couple of really nice long-range zoom lenses that they so generously let me borrow each week at the matches. This has led me to be able to get some really sweet shots of the kids! Here are a few of my favorites from the games this month - along with each of them when they got Man of the Match!

   

* I've been dealing with varicose veins and Veinous Insufficiency for quite some time and had a surgery this month to correct these issues. First up, was having the VenaSeal procedure where Dr Box inserted a catheter at my ankle all the way up to my groin and then delivered a specially formulated medical adhesive to seal the diseased superficial vein (and rerouting blood to my nearby healthy vein). Inserting the catheter was only to take 2 minutes (literally!) but my veins were so twisty and folded over on themselves that they couldn't get it all the way up (but not without trying their hardest! This part actually was quite uncomfortable as they were pushing on my veins from the inside with a metal rod trying to get the to lay straight! After 20+ minutes they went as far as they could and then had to made a SECOND catheter insertion sight to finish going up the leg). After that was done, the VenaSeal portion of the procedure was quick and painless. The second part was a doozy! I had a Micro-phlebectomy done to remove my varicose veins. For this, Dr Box numbed my leg with all sorts of shots and pumped my leg with an IV full of numbing fluid. He then made 15 small incisions and then used a medical grade crochet hook (that's what they called it and that's exactly what it looked like!) that was inserted into each of those slits to hook the vein and pull it out! Eeeks! There were so many slits that the pain medication was leaking out of them and so about 1/3 into the procedure I could FEEL IT and so then they gave me some more shots and numbing medicine and they were able to finish the procedure. Thankfully for most of it I couldn't feel sharp pain - just TONS of pressure and yanking (which of course was quite uncomfortable!). Recovery wasn't too bad and I just had to keep my leg elevated and I wore compression socks since that made my leg feel more comfortable and "held together"... No stitches are required for this procedure (just steri-strips and a big 'ol bandage wrapping my leg from my toes to my thigh). Nathan was playing a Rugby Match that afternoon and I thought I'd be up for it so I went! Am I crazy or what!? Probably but oh well... I sat in a chair and elevated my leg propped up on another chair. The field was a bit of a walk and by the end, my leg was aching and so dad had to carry me back to the car (glad he's so strong!) The next morning I went to the girls' Rugby match and did the same (with propping my leg up while watching/taking photos) and all went well! I was actually really pleased at how well I've recovered and how it really didn't slow me down! 

Spiritually Speaking...

This is taken from my scripture journal after studying the Come Follow Me manual for the day...

March 15, 2024

2Nephi 28: 27-30

Line upon Line

Imagine looking up a long stairway that represents your spiritual knowledge and understanding.

If the top of the stairway represents God’s knowledge, where do you think your current level of knowledge is? Originally, I felt I would be down around the bottom third of the steps - but as I have pondered on this, I would think I have grown further than that throughout my life! Obviously, I’m not anywhere close to the top that represents God's knowledge, but I would say I’m more than halfway up the stairs – maybe like 65%. I feel I do have a good base foundation of spiritual knowledge and the gospel. Additionally, if I am over halfway through my life, I would help that I am at least halfway through the journey of gaining more spiritual knowledge.

What are ways God helps us increase our spiritual knowledge and understanding over time? For me (and I think for all of us) He gives us trials and challenges that make us turn to him and seek for answers. It is during this seeking and active pursuit of turning to the Lord, that our spiritual knowledge and understanding increases. The scriptures even tell us this is why we are given challenges throughout our life. I know this is very true for me as I reflect on my life and the experiences I have had. It is when I am suffering and need comfort and guidance that I am more diligent and dedicated to my spiritual studies.

What would happen to someone who doesn’t take the next step because they feel content with the knowledge they already have? I am imagining a staircase with different landings spaced throughout it (like the stairs in my own home). When we’re not taking the next step, because we feel content, I am visualizing being on a landing and not making any progress and growing in my knowledge. One might be inching and scooting around on that little landing in all directions, but not gaining any height! You can only be there so long before you look up and realize there’s so much more to know and you don’t feel content any longer and want to do the work necessary to make the next steps to get closer to the top and have more light knowledge.

Red 2 Nephi 28:26–30, and ponder how the stairway analogy helps you understand the truths Nephi taught about the Lord.

30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

I think this verse and the analogy of the staircase go very well together! As we take a step closer to God, He sees our efforts and rewards us with increased knowledge. We can’t just go from the bottom to the top in one big step -  we have to go step-by-step, or line up line, precept upon precept, making smaller, sustainable actions. Same with receiving personal revelation - we can’t just go from A-to-Z, from the beginning of an experience (or trial) and expect to be given the end result. BUT He does give us just the next step to get us to where he wants us to be, and as we show our faith and follow those inspirations and revelations, more will be given to us, and we can keep growing and gaining in our knowledge of all things.

Likening the Scriptures:

I have often said that I just wish I knew the end results (referring to when I am in a trial or a challenge or hard point in life) and if Heavenly Father would just tell me gore things will eventually end/turn out then I would have all of the patients and faith to get there. However, as I have been sitting here (thinking on this verse of “line upon line” and about the whole analogy of the staircase in regards to our current situation of not having a regular paycheck for 15 months and going through all of our savings and struggling financially , etc) I look back to 15 months ago, and all of the counsel given in blessings and personal revelation that we have received between then and now and I am realizing that Heavenly Father has been so generous and gracious to me in my desire to know the end!  Multiple Priesthood blessings and countless feelings have been placed in my heart and thoughts put into my mind while in the Temple that have assured me that in the end our situation will be more amazing than I could ever even imagine! Granted, He has not given me exact knowledge and said “On April 3, 2024   you will be employed with Akuma and sign a generous contract, 5 years later you will be living in England in an amazing location and be making $XXX and be able to make life easier for others.”

But here IS what I know about the ending of this challenging time:

• I have always felt that in the end, we will end up with employment with Akuma

• It’s not going to look how we want in the beginning, but it will!

• In fact, we can’t even imagine how wonderful it will look and how our life will be!

• John is going to love his work, will be happy and retire in this occupation

• Twice now, I have had the feeling that we will be leaving the Treasure Valley within the next five years. Honestly, I think we will eventually move to Europe (specifically the England area) while John continues to work for Akuma. Side note: this is very weird for me to even put into writing, since we do not even have a signed contract with Akuma at this point - HaHa … but as I’ve prayed and prayed, this is what has been impressed upon my heart).

• God has big plans for us!

Now do I wish I knew exact dates to look forward to each of these things? Of course I do! However, these are just feelings and impressions about the final step of this journey - but I still need to do the smaller step-by-step actions to get to this final ending. I have to have faith that these answers are truly from Heavenly Father, and that they truly will come to pass. What a beautiful thing to know the ending, but I still need to keep working daily for more knowledge on how to make it to that ending. And as I continue to grow in my spiritual knowledge, He will give me what I need to make it step-by-step - not only in the ending of this temporal trial, but also my spiritual journey to gain more light and knowledge!