TRUE LOVE

(My amazingly talented sister Kimberly made this print of my grandpa. Yes, I wanted a copy too but there were only a few and they were all spoken for. I am only a little bitter.)

I usually don't share personal or sacred experiences on this blog but I felt this one should be shared.

I love my Grandparents. They both passed away two years ago.

 

Last night I had a dream about my Grandma and Grandpa Craven. I was sitting on a couch up in the attic of my unfinished house. My family had come into town to help me finish a few projects on the house. They were all there. Grandpa was sitting on a couch next to me. I had my arm around him. I kept touching his head and his shoulders. I kept thinking to myself, he is real. He is really sitting here. I am with my grandpa. He is here with me. My grandma walked past talking to one of my sisters. I kept touching him and I could feel him with my hands. It didn’t feel like a dream. Grandpa reached down into a box and said, “Lisa, I came to teach you what real love is.” He pulled out a card grandma had sent him on one of their anniversaries. He began to read it to me and explain the meaning of every word. Most of the words of the card were printed but Grandma had added a few of her own words in between the lines. There was a funny line on the back of the card, which said something about our most important conversations were through the bathroom door. I wanted to read it again but grandpa steered my mind to the front of the card. I remember reading the word inspiration. I don’t remember any more details. I was woken from my dream because I was so thirsty. I consciously made the decision to wake up. My throat was so dry. I thought I could return to my dream but I couldn’t. I regret waking up.

All day I have had the most beautiful feeling my soul. I have had a desire to be better and love my family more deeply. My grandparents had such a beautiful relationship. I admire them and I am so grateful for their example of devotion to one another and to their family. I know they are still with us. I know death is not the end but another beginning.



AND THEY WERE GONE.....

I am jumping ahead and then I will go back and fill in.

I am so not blogging well.

Life.

When we were in St. George I talked to my parents.

They said they would come back and finish my bathroom on Thursday.

This was just this past Thursday.

My brother Michael and nephew Colton came too.

I thought Chris was leaving on Thursday.

I was coming back from my trip to St. George on Thursday.

I would hurry and clean the house and wash some bedding and make room for my new guests.

 

When I got here Chris said he was staying till Sunday.

Chris is amazing, he is Nate's best friend from infancy, he has been so sweet and helpful and beyond generous with his time.

I knew we were going to be a little tight.

We made it work.

My family in our bedroom.

Chris in James and Madison's room.

Mom and Dad in Sierra's room.

Mike and Colt on the couch.

Tight but workable.

 

Chris and Nate worked on framing up our new windows.

Dad and Mike finished up the bathroom.

Mom and I hung out. We made bread, watched shows on Netflix, made dinners together, played with James, and enjoyed Colton.

Chris left Saturday night. I think he was set on escaping the zoo.

Poor guy.

My family left after church on Sunday.

Dad left this note on the bathroom mirror.

Sierra wouldn't clean it off until I took a picture.

 

I guess you could call this my twelve week pregnant picture too.

I am mourning the fact that my doctor retired.

James's delivery was by far my best delivery ever.

I can't get up the guts to find a new OBGYN.

I really need to do that this week.



HAGIN' OUT

 We are so glad we got to go see our cousins and just hang out.

Sierra and Madison and maybe their mother wish we could just move to St. George and live on the same block. We have only been to St. George once since moving to Grand Junction and it was a whirlwind trip. It was nice to just relax and visit.

Michelle feed us delicious food. Everything tasted good because I didn't have to cook it.

I didn't see my kids the whole time I was there. They were too busy playing with their cousins. I can't do the trip to St. George often, six hours each way is a long trip, but I hope to do it again so they can have more cousin time.

CHILDERN's MUSEUM ST. GEORGE

 Michelle and I took the kids to the Children's Museum. They had a blast.

James was the most fun to watch.

He loved this farm truck.

He wouldn't get of it.

He yelled at every kid that came near it.

I had to make him share.

Then it was massive melt down.
He did enjoy grocery shopping and fixing a car with his cousin Tyler but his favorite was this truck.

 

SWIMMING

My girls love to swim.

They loved the fact that Aunt Michelle has a neighborhood pool across the street from her home.

They swam all day for two days.

I was so afraid they would get sunburned.

But, they didn't.

Must have their daddy's skin.

We played Marco Polo and Madison even got brave and jumped into the pool a few times... as long as she was wearing her cousin's floaties.





COWGIRLS

Sierra was beyond excited when her Uncle Neil invited her to go horse back riding with him and his girls.

She has been talking non-stop about the day she will own her own horse.

She is beyond excited about the possibility.

I told her maybe when she is twelve.

We have a lot to do before we can buy a horse.

Time will tell....

She wants to be cowgirl like her cousins.

 



CLARA JANE

 This summer has been crazy.

By crazy I mean CRAZY.

First Tamara and Kimberly came to visit.

Then Chris, Nate's best friend.

Then my parents.

Then a trip to Orem.

Then my father-in-law came to visit.

Between all this I have been hauling trash, cleaning, shoveling dead mice and mice poop, pulling more trash and hauling trash out of the crawl space.

On top of all this I am 11 weeks pregnant with our fourth child.

First trimester and I am feeling nasty.

When Nate announced Chris was coming back I just wanted to run away.

Please don't get me wrong, I am so grateful for all the help we have had on our little home.

There is no way, NO WAY, we could be we are without all the help we have received.

We still have a long way to go.

We are grateful for any help anyone is willing to give.

I just needed a week without thinking about the house or company.

I took off to St. George for a week, so my kids could play with there cousins a little more

(They showed up in Orem the day before we had to leave.

My children were begging to see them again.)

And I could have a little break.

Nate encouraged me to go.

He could see I wasn't handling things well.

I have been promising for along time we would make a trip down there.

We haven't been there for four years.

Six hours later we were in St. George with these cutie patooties.

 

I love this CLARA JANE and her cute brother LEO.

She kept saying, "Bubbee is so beautiful, he is beatuifuller than me."

"I love my Bubbee!"

 

They have a special bond.

It was so cute to watch.

May James have as cute a relationship with this little one growing inside me.

GRANDPA

I think in-laws make a huge difference in marriage.

I am blessed to have some of the best in-laws a girl could ask for.

Dad, my father-in-law, came to stay with us for a week and help us on our house.

We felt so blessed to have him spend time with us.

He introduced us to California Chrome and the Belmont, a horse race.

We cheered California Chrome on.

We were sad he lost.

He watched over the hedge with Sierra and Madison and laughed with them.

We popped popcorn.

He ate meals with us around our kitchen table.

It was a treat to have him.

We had some nice talks.

It was the first time he got to see our little Amish Paradise.

I think he liked it.

We were sad to see him go.

 

Thanks for everything Dad.



LITTLE MISS DOLITTLE

 She is the chicken whispherer.

The way she has with animals is amazing.

All animals.

She is my Little Ms. Dolittle.

When we came back from Utah we left the chicken house open so the chickens could free range.

Nate had an impossible time gathering them back into their house.

He finally called and said, "I give up."

I brought Sierra out in her pajamas to collect the chickens.

(We still aren't living in our home, AKA the amish paradise. We had to drive out there.)

She had them all back in their chicken house in five seconds.

The geese are getting so big.

She can grab one.

It will squawk and stretch its wings.

Its wing span is longer than her arm span.

She will place it in her lap and begin stroking it from head to tail.

It will lay there completely subdued by her.

Watching makes me giggle and sit in awe all at the same time.

HAPPINESS

 My babies and my nieces and nephews are so stinking adorable.

Look at Madison and Tessie.

I love watching those two hold hands.

They had so much fun playing in the sprinkler and jumping on the trampoline together.

This boy always has a knot on his head. Poor little guy.

He is still my favorite thing.

I can't get enough of his cuteness.



 I love seeing these cousins so close.

I always want them to be close.

 

CHOCOLATE WARS

I feel so lucky to have some of the most amazing women to ever live be my sister.

I love them all so much.

We love spending time together.

Emily coordinated our yearly tradition of baking together.

A few years ago we had a Cupcake War. See video below! #beyondcute

This year Emily decided we would have a chocolate war.

It was SO GOOD.

Until I ate too much and then it wasn't.

Jennifer made Nuttella Peanut Butter cookies.

I made Flourless Chocolate Cake.

Karalee made peanut butter cheesecake dipped in chocolate.

Emily made Mint Brownies with Thin Mints in the batter.

Kimberly made coconut macaroons dipped in chocolate and topped with raspberries.

Tamara made amazing chocolate biscuits in raspberry sauce.

 

Kimberly and Tamara tied.
I think Tamara won.
Sorry Kimberly, yours was amazing but those biscuits and raspberry sauce were amazing.

 



 



 

 

 

SISTERS

 These two are the best sisters.

LYDIA AND WALNUTS

 

 Grandma's backyard is loaded with fun especially when there is a cousin to play with.

I am always impressed with how much Sierra loves her little cousins.

She plays with them for hours.

She offers to hold them.

She is willing to read to them.

One day, she built towers for Lydia and let her destroy them.

She is such a good older cousin.

I am grateful for my little sisters who have always been kind to Sierra and loved her.

I know she enjoys following there example.

I know that is why she is so kind to her little cousins.

PROVO TEMPLE

 I love going home because I usually get the opportunity to go to the temple.

The nearest temple to us is the Utah, Monticello temple.

It takes three and a half hours to get there and I have to get a baby sister.

It is just easier to go the four hours to my parents house and have my parents watch my kids.

They are so sweet an always willing to watch them so I can go.

 

This trip I had the opportunity to go and support one of Nate's cousin Rachel who is going to be leaving on a mission soon.

She will be serving in Peru.

I learned another of Nate's cousins, Elizabeth, is going to be going on her mission to Thailand.

Wow.

It was fun to see all of Nate's family that I don't get to see often

It was such a wonderful experience.

I love being in the temple.

 

I always wanted to be a nun growing up.

I guess I admired the way they devoted there lives to their worship of their Father-in-Heaven.

Being in the temple gives me time to deeply reflect and worship my creator and feel that sense of devotion.

I love the temple. 

 

I don't know if you can see it but there was a beautiful rainbow above the temple as I walked in.