einstein and avocado

i seem to have a continual script running through my mind the last couple of weeks.
between endless hours at work, managing tasks at home, the urge to be creative, the endless to-do list that continually compounds....  and all the other minor thoughts that run through my mind....
i'm having trouble balancing everything.
last week was especially challenging for me.

marriage is a wonderful blessing.
simply put -- there is always someone on your team.
unfortunately i feel as though it was one of the weeks where we were looking out for ourselves and didn't team up to take on the world.
it happens.
maybe in my exhaustion and selfishness i wasn't aware of something that mitch was dealing with,
or i was simply focused on myself and needed all the attention on me.
for whatever the case... it was a challenge.
and those seem to be the times that a good cry and a verbal vomit are a necessity.



on a completely different note --
i picked up my pigs on monday.
they are a york and hampshire cross.
boy and girl - einstein and avocado.
14 weeks old and rather shy so far.
these darling little pigs smell like old people and salty play dough.
i adore avocado's speckled bum and her timid way.
einstein is quite the little man.

a few things i've learned about pigs --
1) they are not soft like dogs or calves....
2) they are a solid animal... not one meant to be snuggled
3) so far they are not in love with human interaction.... {which will make it easier to raise for dinner}
4) again - they smell like old people and salty play dough and their poops look like my doggy poops.
5) they absolutely love tomatoes.

once again i'm grateful for a grandpa who is allowing me to try on the farm girl boots.
i'm loving every minute of it {so far}

national tragedy and dreams for the future

last week was a challenging week for the nation.

monday there was a double bombing at the boston marathon near the finish line.
3 lives were lost with numerous injured.
it's a tragedy. i don't understand how people come up with such evil thoughts and act upon them.

wednesday in texas there was a fertilizer plant that exploded.
they are still searching for survivors and sifting through the rubble.

friday they finally tracked down the suspects in the monday bombings.
boston city had been on lock down,
law enforcement searched each home in the area....

my heart breaks for everyone who had been effected

but there are evenings i prefer to turn the tv off and focus on my world, my family and my home.
there is plenty of evil in the world if we look
there is also an abundance of good and many blessing if we search for that too.

with all that is happening in the world,
the more i want our own homestead in the middle of nowhere.
life will consist of sun up to sun down
taking care of our needs.

thursday i went with my momma to pick up some probiotics for mitchel
and i was talking to her about my dreams for the future, living in the middle of nowhere...
she said we'd need to live semi close to town so our {future} kids could attend school and have friends.
i responded... eh. they can tend to the livestock and play on the farm.
then i said - you'll probably laugh... but i'd consider homeschooling

for all the years i swore i'd never follow in my own upbringing....
i've swallowed another round of nevers
chickens, orchids, canning, homesteading....
i want all of it

a walking miracle x10

Here is the recent posts from Lexi on Ben's condition.

It has been a challenging few weeks but the miracles and blessings are apparent.

The outpouring of love for Ben is amazing

but witnessing the miracle of his recovery is humbling. 

Our Heavenly Father has big plans for my cousin.

Monday Night, April 1st: Today Ben has still made small improvements! The doctor said his chest x-ray showed less infection in his lungs, so that is very encouraging. When he was on lower levels of sedation, he was able to nod his head in response to questions. They continue to rotate Ben on the Rotoprone bed to increase his oxygen levels. Thank you once again for all your prayers and support. We feel them, and I know Ben does too.

Tuesday, April 2nd: Ben was able to be on his back most of the day today which is the most he has been able to do so far. They decreased the amount of oxygen they give to him, and his oxygen levels were able to maintain, even while on his back. He had lost a little more blood today, which is coming from a sore in his stomach. While he is making many small improvements, there is still a long road ahead and so much unknown. Every day is literally a miracle, and everything is still very critical. Again, please continue to pray for him, his lungs, and his whole recovery. 

Also a reminder that if you would like to send Ben a note or card or something, you can email me or send it to us, and we will let Ben know how much we all love him. Thank you for your support!

Wednesday, April 3rd: After six days on the rotoprone bed, Ben has "graduated" to a normal bed. This is really big news because the bed was so crucial for him for those few days. They decreased his sedation levels so that he was nodding and shaking his head to our questions. They started some physical therapy to keep his muscles and joints moving. We are so grateful for even such small improvements. Ben needs prayers of comfort and strength at this time to keep going strong. And as always, continue to pray for his lungs to heal, and the bleeding in his stomach to stop. Thank you all so so much for your support!

Thursday, April 4th: They have continued to decrease the oxygen they are giving Ben, and his oxygen levels have been stable, so they possibly may take out the ventilator in the next couple of days. His stomach still has some bleeding, but his lungs seem to improve a little everyday. Thank you to everyone who has made and sent cards already! We have hung them up in his room, which gives it a much homier and loving feel.

We have exciting news---They took Ben off the ventilator today and he is holding his 02 sats with nasal oxygen. He is blown away that today is April 5th. He has vague remembrances of March 27th and something from last eve. He still has the stomach issue. If you want to pray for that to heal, we would appreciate it. I want to say THANK YOU to all of you, for your love, concern, prayers, fasting and the other ways you are serving and blessing our family at this stressful time. It is a bit boggling to realize that SO many people care. Thank you! May Heavenly Father bless all of you.

I was able to talk to Ben Thursday night on the phone. 

I happened to be standing next to my grandpa at the time he called

Luckily grandpa shared the phone with me 

and hearing Ben's voice was one of the best moments ever!  

Sunday night, April 7th: We apologize greatly for our lack of posts the past few days. I know several of you check this every day. Ben is awake! We have literally been spending every free moment with him. They took one of his chest tubes out yesterday. If his x-rays look good in the morning, they will take out the second one tomorrow. Ben has been doing great with physical therapy. Yesterday he stood up in the morning with PT, then was able to take a few steps around his room in the afternoon. Today he walked down to the end of the hallway and back, and then this afternoon he walked all the way around the ICU. The doctor is very impressed with his improvement. Ben is even joking around with us, and seems to be in good spirits. He is very humbled and grateful for all the many prayers and love that have been sent his way. We are so grateful to have him with us still. Don't let anyone tell you that miracles don't happen.

Monday night, April 8th: We are so impressed with Ben's improvements every day. His last chest tube was removed today. If all looks well in the morning, they will move Ben to a different (and less intense) unit. He's still really tired, has a persistent little cough, and doesn't have as big of an appetite as the doctor's would like. But he is in good spirits and has a lot of motivation to get out of the hospital and walk at graduation! Thank you all for the prayers, love, and cards!

Tuesday night, April 9th: Ben has been moved out of the ICU and into the PCU (Progressive Care Unit). He even was able to walk the whole way there with the physical therapists. He has gotten rid of all his tubes except one IV and some oxygen. And now for the news that many of you have been waiting for: Ben can have visitors! Ben enjoys having visitors, however we don't want to wear him out at this time. He is still very weak and trying to recover from such a huge ordeal. So as you go, please be sensitive to his needs. He will be spending a lot of time working with the physical therapists and the nurses. Quiet hours begin at 9pm, so try to wrap up the visit before then. Also, Ben's immune system is very suppressed at this time, so if you have any kind of a cold, please wait to visit him until either you or Ben is doing better. Don't forget to always use the hand sanitizer outside the door. Thank you all so much for supporting us and Ben at this time. Ben has been very appreciative of all the love and concern from everyone.

Wednesday night, April 10th: It's hard to believe it has been two weeks literally to the very hour since we almost lost Ben. We have all been through so much. It is so incredible to see the huge progress he has made. Tonight he got out of bed by himself and walked around the room without assistance. He is off all of his tubes and only has to use the oxygen occasionally. This is truly a miracle. We have seen so much of the Lord's guiding hand in all of this. Some of the nurses have come back to talk to us about how they "accidentally" put a three-way pick line instead of a two-way that Wednesday day, which is exactly what Ben needed when things started to go downhill that night. They would not have had time to put in a new pick line when his condition worsened so rapidly. There are so many other little things similar to that which all came together at just the right time in order to save Ben's life and help him get to the stage he is now. We thank our Savior, and we thank you for your faith and prayers.

Prayers, Family and Hope

My cousin was admitted to the hospital  last tuesday 

(after coughing up blood all night)

it's been a roller coaster of a week

we almost lost him wednesday night

below are the updates from Lexi (his sister in law)

we are grateful for the hospital staff who are tending to him,

the prayers that have been given on his behave,

for the opportunity we have to spend time with family during this time

For those of you that don't know, Ben has been diagnosed with Wegener's disease, which is an autoimmune disease that mainly attacks the lungs and kidneys. Thankfully it hasn't attacked his kidneys yet, so they are going to put him on dialysis to prevent that. However his body has attacked his lungs with full force. He was on an oxygen mask until last night when his oxygen levels kept dropping. They had to quickly go through his side to put a tube in his lungs to drain some fluid out. They also sedated and intubated him to help bring more oxygen to his lungs. They have put him in a prone bed, which is a bed that rotates, hoping to move the liquid around in his lungs to create more room for oxygen to come in. That, along with putting him on nitric oxide, seems to have brought his levels back up to nearly where they should be. As far as today, they are doing a plasma exchange, hoping to take out some of the bad antibodies and put in good ones that won't attack his lungs. They will also try to ween him off nitric oxide. He is in critical condition and needs all the prayers we can give him.


Ben has been pretty stable all day today. The respiratory therapist is still very concerned about his lungs. There really hasn't been much change. Please continue to pray for him, and especially for his lungs to heal. Ben's sister Nora and her husband Josh drove down from Moscow, Idaho to be with us and Ben. Thank you so much for your love and prayers! Again, we feel your love, and we know Ben does too.


Thank you so so much everyone for your prayers, love, and support. It is nice to know Ben has so many supporters and cheerleaders! As far as an update, he has started some chemotherapy. The nurses have said each day will be a rollercoaster from here on out. He will make some progression and also take some steps back. He will remain on the rotoprone bed for the next several days. He's still not in the clear yet, so please keep praying. Also know that he cannot have any visitors. To be thoughtful of the hospital staff, we ask that you either call one of us, or just keep checking this page for updates. Again, thank you so much. We feel your love.

On Tuesday March 26 Ben was admitted to the hospital. For several weeks he had a cold that would not get better and then he had some joint swelling and pain all over his body. He has been diagnosed with a very rare autoimmune disorder called Wegener's disease. His own antibodies have been attacking his lungs and caused severe swelling of the blood vessels in his lungs. He is in critical condition as they have him on a ventilator to assist him in breathing. They have begun treatments on him to stop the antibodies from attacking his body. It is going to take some time and the doctors tell us he will have lots of ups and downs during the next several days. Please join us as we unite together to support Ben during this time. Thank you all so much! Ben really can feel all your love and prayers.--- Ben's Family

Saturday night, March 30: Today Ben stayed pretty stable throughout the day. It is still going to take several days for them to see if the treatments are effective. It is still very serious for Ben. Everyday for the next little while will be a rollercoaster for us and him. The nurse said that Ben is the most critical patient in the hospital currently. Please please continue to fast and pray for Ben.

Sunday night, March 31: Ben's family has been feeling more hopeful and optimistic for his recovery. He is making very small baby steps in the right direction. There is positive indication that the treatments are beginning to work. They will be doing more testing this week. We thank all of those who fasted for Ben today and the past few days. His family really appreciates that and has felt encouraged from those prayers. 

Many of you have asked what you can do to help. We think it would be a great thing for Ben to wake up to a huge pile of notes and letters encouraging him. He won't wake up for several more days or even weeks, but when he does he will know how much we love him! So if you would like to send Ben a card or letter, we will be collecting them by hand, email, or you can send them to us. If you would like our address, please contact me.

thanks for the memories 2012

2012 was quite the year for us. i had high expectations and gratefully the year did not disappoint. it really was my year.

january started out a bit rough.... mitch and i stayed home and rung in the new year playing games and spending time together. cezar injured his leg somehow new years eve and wouldn't use it. actually he could barely walk. a trip to the vet on monday showed no serious injury and seems to have sprained it somehow.  the jetta died on us at the car show mid january and we got lucky with an incredible deal on the Z. i also found out that i had mono on top of being hypothyroid.

february things started to swing upwards for me. i was still feeling the effects of mono and was learning how to deal with my health limits. we celebrated valentines and i managed to surprise mitch with a car full of ballons and a few gift cards to the car wash and his favorite smoothie place. work was showing all the signs of spring. which is undoubtedly my favorite time of year there. grandma holdaway was struggling with her health and we thought we were going to lose her. i was able to extend myself and help out at the house with her and grow to love her in a whole new capacity. i also started practicing yoga and it brought a new balance and happiness to my life.

march. all my spring shipments started arriving. i was feeling a bit better health wise. i located some darling baby silkie chicks which started my desire to have chickens. mitch and i finally conquered our main wall and painted over the not so lovely nutmeg color.

april i tackled more than i could handle. i was busy in the greenhouse trying to keep on top of everything. amy texted me to see if i'd be interested in helping her out again with the boys. i absolutely wanted to do so and figured out a way to squeeze her into my schedule. mitch was hesitant and i felt like i could be superwoman...... i quickly realized that 50+ hour weeks weren't going to be in my favor and that the garden center needed my full attention. not to mention i felt like i was taking way too many steps backwards in my health.

may. the busiest month of the year for me. april showers bring may flowers... and mother's day brings out all our customers. i managed to get my garden started and spent as much time with the boys as i could.

june. we celebrated mitch's birthday. spent time with friends and family. i was finally feeling on top of the world health wise {as much a possible} i was started to enjoy the first of my garden harvest. we squeezed a few hikes in with the boys. abby had my take her and russell's engagement photos too.

july was a busy month for us. we started out celebrating my birthday and having an adventure down in zion's subway. nanna joined us on our vacation along with mom and dad dayley and ashley and brendon. abby and russell got married on the 14th. plus we survived all the smoke in the air from the many many wildfires.

august i was thrilled with being able to harvest lots of goodies from my garden. we added a few new toys to the household - mitch got his fourwheeler and i in turn got a camera upgrade :) we attended the salt lake city farmers market. i got to being the 'photographer' for my cousins wedding. plus we managed to fit in a boating trip with joe and his girlfriend. on top of everything... i seemed to be the only employee that was able to work that month. everyone one had vacations and previous engagements.

september we celebrated cezar's 2nd birthday. made a day trip to idaho to surprise grandpa hatch for his 80th birthday and visit my grandpa taylor. harvest season was in full swing and i finally got to taste the joy of digging in the garden for the potato harvest. it's like a treasure hunt. finally manged to get back into the swing of yard work. the summer heat had taken it's toll on me and the yard. plus we had a overnight camp trip to the dunes with joe and alyson. it was quite the adventure sleeping under the stars, joe burning his hand on the camp ring and a fox sneaking into camp. it was the perfect little getaway.

october came and so did pumpkinland. the 2nd busiest season for me. {a double dose of birth control} our theme was alice in pumpkinland which was by far the most favorite from all the years. we also made an unexpected trip to idaho to be with family with grandma dayleys passing. we were grateful we made it in time to say goodbye. mitch was also studying for his 66 license exam. gratefully he passed even with all the current challenges. we also celebrated our 3rd anniversary. worked on conquering my fears of snakes and scary movies and haunted houses.... i'm better than i was. and we also traded in the Z for a hybrid. the Z was allergic to snow and we are old people now and enjoy the comfort of a full sized car ;)

november brought new changes to work. sanna left and i became the manager. there was a lot of clean up from pumpkinland to be done and getting ready for the holiday season. yay poinsettias. we went shooting with abby, russell and nanna. i got to try out my new gun. and it was a perfect way to dispose of some excess pumpkins. and of course we celebrated thanksgiving with the people we love the most.

and last but not least december. we had beautiful weather for most of the month. i managed to plant garlic around the 7th. i also got to take abby and russell's christmas photos/we are having a baby pictures. after 3 years of marriage we finally made it to temple square with the dayley family. enjoyed a wonderful dinner and mom dayley said we should offically adopt nanna into the family since she is always joining in on our fun. plus i am tickled to say that we had the best poinsettias sells in the past many many years. at least in the 10 years i've been working. it feels good to see so few at the end of the holiday. we also enjoyed a very wonderful and blessed christmas with each other and our families. and i've finished the year out with the week off and enjoying time with the boys!

2012 had some ups and downs and some health challenges. but i'm so blessed and have truly felt like i have come into my own self. i have to declare that it is the best year yet!! i am sure that 2013 will be filled with it's own challenges and good moments but 2012 has been very good to me. i may just be a tiny bit sad to say good bye to it. thanks for all the memories this year... and here's to the next. may you be just as wonderful and fulfilling!

an unthinkable tragedy

yesterday the unthinkable happened.
a shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut
innocent children were robbed of their life by a horrible man.
our world is a scary place
and having constant access via media about everything bad happening in this world....
sometimes you need to turn everything off and remember the good.

after work last night i came home and did a few chores.
i was tempted to sit down at the computer and spend some me time catching up on everything
however i quickly changed my mind and decided to enjoy the quiet and safety of my home.
mitchel was still at work, the dishes were checked off the to do list....
i pulled out my lug of fresh walnuts waiting to be cracked and shelled
turned on some christmas music and enjoyed some time with my boys
no matter how rotten and evil the world may be, there are still many things to be grateful for.

last night i enjoyed kissing on my boys and snuggling up to mitchel for a little while.

i can't even imagine what the families are going through with the loss of their children....
my heart goes out to them and my prayers are with them.

i'm beyond grateful for my little family and the safety we are blessed with and the comfort of each other.
i pray i will never face such tragedy.

the next morning

yesterday was election day. i voted for the second time.
unfortunately the man i voted for didn't win. instead our current president, obama was re-elected.
i pray for america in the coming days, weeks and years that we can see beneficial change.
it's a challenging time for our country.

i do look forward to all the political ads and bashing to subside
hopefully sooner than later.
its crazy how torn our nation is when it comes to political parties.
wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all come together and work on making america a better place.....

one snake at a time

yesterday i got the fabulous job of redoing everything i did on saturday.
the joys of my job.
so i spent the majority of my time re-tying and bundling corn stalks along the fence line.
i didn't think it was too bad
gratefully i was in a calm happy mood, nothing is going to upset me kind of mood.
{thank you yoga}
i finished around the play ground and headed back towards the animals.
i noticed that the pile of cornstalks had dwindled and what was left was tucked up nicely next to wood pile
do you know what lives in wood piles?
i do. so i looked at the pile of corn stalks and figured i might as well continue with my job....
i kicked at it hoping to scare away anything i might unfortunately pick up.
nothing moved so i pulled that pile out in the middle of the road
i continued on with fixing everything
as i was finishing up i was back down toward the peacock pen and figured i'd use the stalks down there
so i walked back up to were my water bottle and twine was
and there in the road was a snake.
i looked at it and thought about killing it {it's my go to urge with them lately}
then i realized my heart hadn't started to race and that my mind was thinking everything through.
usually my body goes into fight or flight mode when i come across a snake.
this time nothing happened.
i watched as it made it's way under the fence and i then walked past it,
got my things
and walked past it again.
my heart still hadn't raced.
i was so surprised by it all
taking advantage of my calm state.... i finished up with the corn stalks and walked inside.

i don't know if i've successfully conquered my fear of snakes
but i'm taking it one snake at a time
and of course super proud of myself.



on another note. i woke up to a rain fall morning.
having the windows open, listening to the rain and curling up in bed to stay warm....
i'd have to say that is a pretty awesome way to start the day.

an unwelcome visitor

I went to bed last night hoping I'd be up for yoga. But once morning came around I knew wouldn't be making it. My body was absolutely run down and exhausted. I'm still really sore in my quads from our Subway adventure and have a lingering cold. After a quick trip outside for the boys, I crawled back into bed and fell asleep. Mitch started to stir with the boys around 8:40 and all three of them tried to get me up too. I wasn't having it. Eventually I managed to head downstairs for my morning routine of caffeine and my handful pills. Once the caffeine kicked in, we decided to attempt a little shopping for Abby's wedding on Saturday. We didn't have any luck this go around either. However smoothies for breakfast and a stop for nail polish things seemed to be good.

Back home we curled up for awhile before Mitch headed into work. The morning was overcast but the sun finally decided to come out around noon. I desperately wanted and needed a nap but figured I'd fill a trash bag or two with weeds before the trash got picked up. It was startling how muggy and hot it was outside. I bagged up my withered peas from the heat, weeded out half of the garden and mustered up a little more energy for another bag full of weeds from the front yard. Not even a half hour outside I was dripping like I never have before. My original goal was to avoid the main heat of the day considering it was supposed to be 104. After filling up the rest of the garbage can I called it quits and headed inside for a nap. Laying down with the boys I couldn't quite put my mind to rest.... our overgrown lawn was calling for a mow.

another shot of caffeine and I figured I'd hurry up and check the mowing off my list, shower and make lunch for Mitch by 3:30 and then I'd be able to enjoy a nap. {Mitch has a habit of interrupting my naps if he is working} Putting the mower on the tallest setting I made good progress with our forest.... until I make a second pass next to my perennial bed on the south side of the lawn.... Why in the hell is there a snake in my yard?!! My heart immediately pounds through my chest and I try to keep cool. As I keep eyes on it I weigh out my options. Mitch doesn't come home for another couple hours, I'm not really in the mood to sit here and watch it. I can't leave it and lose sight of it... that would be even worse. Maybe I can leash Jake and he'll get it and mangle it enough I can dispose of it. Perhaps mom is in town and can come to my rescue. Maybe someone in my neighborhood was home and could possibly help.... I would take ANY neighbor at this point.  I mow the rest of the area {like I would vacuum. back and forth} keeping my eyes on this horrible visitor. My first go at it was with Jake. But the little bugger disappeared while I went to leash Jake and bring him out front. Terrified my feet would find it, I kept my distance and called my mom. I asked her if she was in town and she reminded me she was working today. {I already forgot it was Wednesday in my panic} As I'm standing there shaking and trying to maintain some strength, Jake is sniffing the flowers and marking the front yard, Mom says she's the only one at work at the time being. {damn} Gratefully our old Bishop pulled into his driveway at that moment and I quickly called out to him. I asked him if he could come and help me with a snake. I was so grateful at the moment when he walked over. I hung up with mom, reigned Jake in close and explained what happened. He started to look while I took Jake to the back yard and came back with a shovel. Brother Clarine commented that it was going to be a good thing to have. I let him know it was a medium size garden snake but I'm absolutely terrified of them and just needed to have it leave my property. He starts poking around and lifting bricks and nothing.... We chatted up a bit while this was happening. Shovel in hand he even looked through the salvia, lavender and hollyhocks. Unfortunately nothing. He lifted the sprinkler valve box and peaked in.... nothing. he even offered to finish mowing that corner so I wouldn't have to be near it. I thanked him but told him I had managed to do so already. I asked him to double check the valve box. Sure enough the little stinker had curled up in the corner under the valve so he could hardly notice him let along grab him. I ran to the garage to grab my trowel, pruners... anything to help get rid of the thing. After pinning him down and attempting to kill it, he finally managed to catch him and pull him out. I asked him if he'd let me chop his head off in hopes of regaining a peace and courage from it. Brother Clarine was so kind and pinned it down for me and let me do the honors. Afterwards I went to scoop it up with the shovel and take it to the trash {sure glad the garbage truck had yet to come} but he was such a sweetheart and carried it over to his place and dropped it in his trash can. Brother Clarine was my angel today.

Breathing deep and trying to regain myself I called mom to let her know what happened. She was proud of me. I had texted Mitch earlier during it to let him know I found a freaking snake in OUR yard.... It was definitely a big moment for me. I did go back out and finish mowing the front yard, planted my peach tree {almost a month later after bringing it home} and then started on the back yard. As I was thinking about the whole situation I surprisingly got angry. I felt a little bit empowered but I was so pissed that the snake had found its way into my yard and took away the safety and peace of my garden. I don't think I've kissed my fear good bye but I took a GIANT leap in tackling my fear of snakes. Surprisingly enough it happened to be on my own turf. I pray that no more unwelcome visitors slither their way into my yard but I do know that I'll be taking them out with my trusty shovel now. So dear snakes beware!! You are NOT welcome here.

live and let live

it's a hard lesson to learn.
I'm trying more and more to accept everyone and everything for who and what they are.
everyone has their own agency and gets to experience life in their own way.
we all have our own voice of conscience
we don't need everyone playing the roll for us

tonight as I was sitting on my patio enjoying the light breeze and trying to cool down {Jake is a mini furnace}
I watched as the boys were tearing around the back yard burning off the last little bit of energy.
in that moment I was a warm fuzzy happy inside
just an hour earlier I was having a 'holly' moment.
I was exhausted and worn out and ready to crawl into bed and indulge in it....
however since the sun was still out, we hit play and watched another episode of our current show.
as I was basking in my warm fuzzy happy moment
I realized that I experience 80-90% good
and only 10-20% bad
gratefully I've come a long way from were I was last year at this time.

each day brings new light
and each day I take another step
some days are easier than others
some days I make more progress in becoming the woman I am {have the potential to be}

my bad moods don't last as long as they used too
and even though I'm consistently tired
{thank you dear health}
I find that I'm progressively in a better place

I'm only human though...
and heaven only knows how many faults I have
but I see growth inside myself.

you can't judge my choices

without knowing my reasons

-unknown

the angels were looking out for us

today started out like any normal Sunday.
Mitch had to work
I slept in and then got ready for church
and prepped the lesson for sunbeams.
Luckily I ended up over preparing and I survived teaching all by myself.
Mitch beat me home
I made smoothies for lunch
we sat on the back patio enjoying the sun and letting the dogs play for a bit
than I headed upstairs for nap time.
I rolled out of bed at 5,
Mitch headed out side to check on our tri tip steak
I went to look out the office window and saw our siding completely melted.
I knocked on the window and Mitch noticed it about the same time
he waves to have me come down stairs
I attempt to grab my phone to snap a picture but couldn't find it in the blankets on the bed
hurrying outside Mitch asks me to grab the hose.
I soak down the side of the garage as he attempts to turn the grill off.
then pulls the grill out further into the patio.
standing there I couldn't help but start to laugh.
Mitch didn't find it amusing at all.
We are incredibly grateful and lucky that the garage didn't go up in flames.
our delicious tri tip met the garbage
the garage smells like melted siding
and the grill is toast.
we called our home owners insurance
and are hoping they'll cover most of the repairs.
it could have gone from bad to worse in minutes....
the angels were looking out for us today.