Here We Go Again

We woke up, I put on makeup and was ready to cross the boarder to a new land of opportunity.  I was ready for this luck to turn around.   I asked David about the passports, he realized they were in the truck back in Billings, Montana and just like that, my makeup was running down my face and I was done.  Just done.  The Lord was not with me in that moment and he didn't care one bit.  It was all too much and I lost faith.  I was mad, heartbroken, and felt betrayed all stemming from the Almighty Man I trusted would take care of our little family.  But after taking a breather, and instead of lowering myself into a depression, I did what I did now that I know how to see things more clearly.  You see, I learned from my last major experience with depression that you have to look for outside help in those times of need.  You look to those you trust have a level head.  They will be your saviours in those moments.  The moments that have such a lasting impact on you that you believe once again.  And you don't feel guilty about it.  Oh, how I used to feel guilty for ever failing.  For ever not having enough faith.  But now, I look at it as brave.  I hit rock bottom and instead of whallowing, I rose up by taking the hand of a friend who pulled me the rest of the way up.  

She , along with my other friends in this chat Marco Polo group spoke words of reason but also was kind enough to make me feel vindicated in my experiences.  They loved me and cheered me on.  So much so that one of them in particular, I was calling her my cheerleader.  By the time I had come to realizing that I wasn't being picked on, I rose up to find that David was already finding a way to make this process easeier.  The rental company we were using for the truck towing the trailer was going to meet David half way.  David and I were reminded of the good people in this world

And the following day, we made it!

And as soon as we could we tried Poutine.  It did not disappoint!

We would soon learn that Canada was not what we expected and we started to doubt just why we were here.  I can't put in into words how I needed to be in the temple of the Lord.  Through my husband and the temple...it was the only way I could find peace.  And I would need it in the next coming days.

New Day...New Disaster

My title may sound horrible...Ok, it is horrible.  Because today was disastrous in it own sense.  But I can't just let the title of this journal entry be the only thing that defines today.  

We had to stop in Billings, Montana because (sound the drum roll please....) we have to get a new transmission for the truck.  Yep, we are stuck in Billings because we can go no further.  David warned his boss (before we left) that he didn't feel his truck could take the load of this trailer but he was told to do so anyway.  To make it worse, his boss doesn't think they should pay for all of the transmission cost.  To say that David was ticked off is to put it mildly.  But just like my husband always handles things, he handled it mildly on the surface.  I'm so grateful for his lack of showing anger around us.  That doesn't mean he won't fight for the company to pay for this.  Thay absolutely should but until we figure this all out, here we are.

So we entertained the kids with a trampoline park.  The indoor water park turned out to be closed and luckily all the boys love trampoline parks so it worked out nicely while David worked out the work credit card, getting a new work phone, and setting up a rental truck to haul us the rest of the way to Canada.  Unfortunately, we have to leave our truck here while it gets fixed because it will take so long to order the transmission and install it.  So it looks like David will have to make a trip back here later.

Hyrum asked me tonight what I thought tomorrow would be like.  I told him we were bound for some good luck eventually.  Why couldn't it be tomorrow?   He agreed.

And why can't tomorrow bring a change that could change not our only our luck but our lives?

Cry or just let the Lord take care of the rest

Without going into too much detail, the days prior to our leaving Oklahoma City in our van and David's truck, pulling a trailer, were difficult.  It was hard getting the house cleaned, getting our stuff as well as some stuff from the company in this trailer, and things in order.  The day of our move was especially hard.  But like our friends do, people came together to help us get out the door.  We may have had a rough time getting things together but it never fails that the Lord sends us physical earthly angels in our friends.  One of the biggest was our neighbor Candy Roberts who just came and started cleaning.  Didn't even ask her.  I think it is safe to say that she was listening to the Spirit when He told her that her friend and neighbor wasn't handling things well.

But it eventually came time to leave, we said our goodbyes, and were on our way.  If I thought that the hardships were going to be left in Oklahoma City, I was soon reminded of how hard Satan will try those who are trying to listen and do as the Lord asks of them.  Our stay in Oklahoma City, while working on the Lord's temple, was met with a lot of physical and mental anguish for me.  My poor husband had to witness me, time and time again, go from being somewhat ok to an anxious, depressed woman who couldn't quite find herself.  I know I caused more worrying for my poor family than I can ever really know.  I really wanted to leave that behind in Oklahoma.  I still do.

But that doesn't mean Satan didn't want one last round at me and my family.  He really didn't want us to finish what we started in Oklahoma City and let me tell you, He certainly doesn't want us in Canada!

Once we left Oklahoma City, we soon found out that this was going to be a longer trip than expected.  And when I say that, I mean by days!  We can't go over 60-65 miles per hour.  Take Wyoming for instance.  You can drive 80 miles per hour.  Most people drive 5 over that.  Now imagine being at the pace of 60-65 miles per hour...and that is if you are lucky enough to not being going uphill!  I didn't realize how frustrating it feels with going this slow.  So that was one thing.  Then that first night, my phone died.  We did not feel like we had the time to stop and get a new phone and we certainly didn't want to spend the money on it but I had to have a phone!  That night, we only got as far as Wichita, Kansas.  But we soon found out that the rest of the trip would be just like this.  Not getting very far each day.  

The following day would be the kicker of it all.  Kid you not, less than 24 hour after my phone dieing, David's phone did.  The problem with his is that his is a company phone and it was the weekend so off to the store to buy Walkee Talkee's it was for us!  Then David's work credit card stopped working.  Thank goodness we had a credit card for emergencies!  We also bought a DVD player for the truck for Ruger and he broke it in less than 24 hours by pulling out the wires of the back of it. Grrrr....

But we stopped in Colorado for a snow break and I'm so glad we did because I was about to loose it!

-

We got to our hotel, ordered pizza and waited.  And waited.  45 minutes passed and we called them up and found out they never took our order.  Yeah, they took our credit card information and ran it but never took the order!  I don't even know how that is possible without having an order to put that money on but they admitted they did that when we called!  So at 9:30 p.m. we finally had dinner.  I cried, got over it with comforting hugs and reassurances from my husband, and went to bed.  

The next morning was the Sabbath and since we were not going to church, we had our own little lesson.  It was interesting how it worked out.  My Dad had been texting me the night before  reminding me to stay positive and helped me to remember the important things.  But my Mom texted something Sunday morning that I used in my little lesson.  We were talking about the woman who came to Jesus even though those around Him were making sure that others knew she was a sinner.  She did what was right even when it may have seemed incredibly hard to do so.  My mom texted me and I shared with my family, "Dearest Sissy, your Dad told me all that is going on with the trip.  All I could think of while he was telling me is what a wonderful surprise  is awaiting you in Canada.  The adversary is trying his best to get you down.  You and your family so you must be going to have a wonderful experience in Canada.   I truly believe this."

I truly hope I remember this for the rest of the trip.  Because even when we got on the road on Sunday, we ran out of gas at one point.  I could have easily thought, "Are you freaking kidding me?!  When will this stop?!"  But David and I just laughed and we used the other vehicle to drive to the nearest gas station to fill up one of the gas cans that we had in the back of David's truck.  Then we realized that David's truck has to be worked on tomorrow.  So instead of freaking out, the boys and I are heading to an inside water park tomorrow while David gets the truck fixed.  I mean, what else can I do?  I can freak out like I did Saturday and make everything  terrible for everyone around me or I can enjoy the time spend at the water park tomorrow and let the Lord take care of the rest.

And can I end this post with something really positive?  The weather has been amazing!  As I'm writing this, we are in northern Wyoming with snow all around us but not one bit of that snow is on the roads.  I'm so grateful for that.

The Master of Surprises

Friday and Saturday of last week was full of surprises that actually surprised me!  There were only 2 times that I wondered if something was going on but each of those times were easily pushed off as something else.

I was laying in bed late Friday night when my sister, April, and 2 of her daughters (Allie and Layne) pulled up to our house!  Surprise 1!  They live 3 hours away and were going to spend the weekend with us. 

Surprise 2 happened the next day.  My sister and I were supposed to be heading to a Vietnamese restaurant when my parents pulled up!  Dad stayed with David and the kids while April, Mom, and I started to head off for a girls day out.  Which lead to surprise number 3! 

 Toni McPhee was at the Vietnamese restaurant with some beautiful, homemade earnings she had for all of us.  Toni had spent a few years at the church my family goes to in Grove.  But then she moved to the OKC area and just happens to go to the church that I go to!

 We then go home, to what I think is to put our leftovers in the fridge, before spending the rest of our day together just to find a houseful of people there wishing me a happy birthday!

 The funniest part had to be what my kids thought of putting on the cake!

 I was beyond, and still am impressed with the way they decorated and pulled this all together without me knowing.

Mom, April, and I did eventually end up spending the day together.  My myositis was hurting so very bad by the time that we got home, though.  I was so grateful that they did the rest of the meal shopping after they dropped me off at home because I desperately needed a muscles relaxer and my bed.

The next day I woke up with energy, no pain, and ready to say my goodbyes.  It felt good to appreciate my family without the emotions of a hard cry.  I felt like I could really say goodbye.  

This weekend truly meant a lot to me.  I know David, April, and my parents worked hard on putting it together and it won't be forgotten.

Youthful Husband

This is what you get when you have a youthful husband!

And I sure am grateful!

Busy Bees

(Bishop Dean M Davies and David)

The men working for Westland Construction have been working real hard this last month to get things on schedule but most importantly with precision.  I'm proud of my husband and these other men who have put their hearts into this temple.

There have been a few times that I have cleaned in the temple to get ready for certain people to walk through the temple.  On Friday, Bishop Davies from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints came to walk the temple with David and the other men leading this project.  Bishop Davies is a General Authority and of the Presiding Bishopric.  I only worked in the morning and if my body wasn't giving out on me by lunch time, I would have got to meet this great man as well as witnessed a beautiful blessing that was placed on this temple as well as the crew.

Instead of getting mad at my body, I told myself that God was not a respecter of persons and that I should  not be at the temple for only this man.  And honestly, I believe that.  So when David came home and told me about Bishop Davies visit and how wonderful it was, it honestly didn't bother me that I missed it.  But what I did miss was when David said that this man of authority put a blessing on the temple.  That I missed.

But David did what David almost always does.  He followed the Spirit.  And he gave ME a blessing.

I love this man.  And I so appreciate Priesthood blessings.  And I will always cherish it coming from David.  Suddenly, I wasn't disappointed that I missed that blessing from Bishop Davies in the temple after all.  Because my husband is a man of authority as well.

Just a really good reminder that night.

For The Love Of Cousins

We still didn't have a date for our move, at the time, but we knew it was close so we decided to come down the weekend of Allie's birthday.  I knew it would mean a lot to Hyrum, since he is so close to her.

 (Cousin Time)

Saying goodbye was hard.  You know, tears down your face hard.  It always starts with Grandma for me.  From then on, I'm a mess.  On the way home, I noticed that I wasn't the only one crying.

We obviously love our family and will miss them dearly.