Drawing Rainbows In the Rain

A perfect rainy day activity...

"There can be no rainbow without a cloud and a storm."

~John H. Vincent

Lost

Last night at about 9:00, after walking in the house from Young Women's, Erik asked Nicole and I to come sit in the living room. I immediately knew something was wrong. The look on his face, the tone in his voice, the fact that he had asked us to come sit in the living room, all told me that what I was about to hear was going to shake me. You know what I am talking about. The feeling you get when you first hear of terrible news.

I asked him if something bad had happened. He said, not yet. At least he hoped not.

He proceeded to tell us that about thirty minutes earlier, he had received a phone call from my mom. The first words out of her mouth were, "We need your prayers!".

It was my dad's birthday yesterday and all he wanted to do was spend the day fishing. After a leisurely morning and a stop at a restaurant for brunch, they headed up Springville Canyon on their way to Strawberry Reservoir.

My dad loves to take the scenic route. He always has. He has an amazing sense of direction- I have never known him to get lost before. The route that dad had chosen to take was one that he had traveled years before. He wanted to see if he could still figure out how to get to the Reservoir from that particular canyon.

Mom relayed to Erik that she and dad had been driving around since 3:00 p.m. trying to figure out how to get back to a main road. They had an idea where they were, but were not completely sure. They had been driving on bumpy dirt roads for hours. She asked us to pray for them and that they would call when they reached a main road.

We immediately offered a prayer on their behalf. I felt calm. For about thirty minutes- maybe it was only fifteen.

Time crept by at an agonizingly slow pace. We waited for the phone to ring while trying to carry on with the normal evening tasks.

By 10:30, still no call. It was dark and stormy and I was getting very worried. Terrible thoughts were going through my mind as I dialed my parents cell phone numbers for the fifth time in half an hour. Mom's phone went right to voice mail. Dad's would ring, but there was no answer.

I couldn't take it any longer. Sitting next to Erik on our bed I asked him, "How long do we wait before calling for help? They have been driving around for over seven hours! Shouldn't we call someone and just let them know what is going on?" He agreed and we made a phone call to the Wasatch County Sheriff's Department.

Erik gave the dispatcher the last known location my parents knew they had been in, a description of dad's truck, their ages, their cell phone numbers, as well as our contact information. The dispatcher said it was a very large area and it would take awhile before they would be able to give us an update, and that if we heard from my parents we were to let them know.

Several minutes later, our phone rang. It was dad's cell phone. Through a terrible connection, mom told us that they were on a better road and they thought they could find their way from there. Then she told us to "Go to bed!".

I knew she didn't want us to stay up worrying but there was no way that sleep was going to come until I knew they were safe at home again.

After letting the Sheriff know, we waited a few more minutes and tried their cell phone again. This time it was a clear connection and the first thing my mom said was, "You called the Sheriff? You didn't even want to give us a chance to see if we could survive a night lost in the mountains?" Parents.

My relieved mother then shared all the details of their ordeal. During the seven hours of birthday fun, they had been on dirt roads so narrow that dad could not begin to turn his truck around. A cliff on one side and a mountain on the other. Mom described it as 'horrible, just horrible!'.

Is there a point to sharing this story? There is, but it's probably not what you think. It is not a warning to stay on well traveled paths, to bring a map (which they did), or to make sure to always let someone know when you are traveling in the mountains.

My point of sharing is not to embarrass my parents or even to give them a glimpse into what was going on at the other end of the phone line.

My point of sharing is to say how grateful I am that prayers were answered (the prayers of at least 10 people that I know of). My prayer, in addition to asking that my parents find their way safely home, was that my mom not kill my dad. It was his birthday after all and he never even made it to Strawberry to fish.

I am happy to say that that prayer too was answered. In fact, she seemed very proud of him- proud that he had kept his cool and proud that he had found his way out of the mountains.

I am so grateful that this story has a happy ending and excited for my dad who now has a pretty incredible birthday story to share- one that is way better than if he had actually gone fishing and caught a fish.

This story is way better! Don't you agree?

Let's go to the movies!

This weekend we had some fun making movies on Erik's new camcorder. It's fun to see the kids come out of their shell when the 'director' says, "Action!". Grab some popcorn and enjoy! :)

Dreamy Cops



Note: Ian was watching the movie yesterday and said, "Mom, I don't think it's a good idea to make a movie about breaking into someone's house." Point taken. (Although he was the one who came up with the idea. :) )

Cooking with Ian

Last week, I read Ian a bedtime story called, The Pizza That We Made. It's a fascinating read- full of rhyming, tasty words- you should pick it up sometime. (If you are reading on a Kindergarten level that is.)

At the back of the book, a recipe was included to make your very own pizza. Ian begged and begged me to help him make a pizza for lunch, but because the dough has to rise for 45 minutes, we never had enough time to make it. Until today that is!

He read me the instructions....
helped me pour it in the bowl.....stirred it and kneaded it.....let it raise and then.....
he put the sauce on, the freshly grated mozzarella cheese, and lots of pepperoni slices....put it in the oven....waited and waited not so patiently for the timer to beep......
and then proudly sat down to enjoy his slice of pizza. I know he looks a little unsure about eating it in this picture, but I assure you, he ate every last bit! It was actually very good. Nice job buddy!

Together

We hauled the family up Millcreek Canyon last night for FHE. There is something to be said about being in the mountains, hearing the river rushing through the canyon, the birds chirping, the rustling of leaves as the breeze brushes past them. It's spiritual.

We spent time laughing, roasting marshmallows, reading scriptures, telling stories, playing, and talking.

I love being in the mountains. The cell phones stop buzzing, there are no distractions. It's a time to sit and be still. Looking up at the grand mountains that surround us and the beautiful scenery that is before us, humbles me. I am grateful to be here. I am grateful to be surrounded by all this beauty. I am grateful that for a small moment in time, we are together as a family sharing all of this together.

We don't take advantage of these moments enough. But last night we did. And it was wonderful and good.

Clean Fun

I was shopping at WalMart the other day walking down the shaving isle....razors, razors, razors, shaving cream. Shaving cream. It was only $1.12 a can. My mind started spinning. Oh what fun my boys could have with a can of shaving cream.

So I give you, "How to Make Your Children Smile for Just a Little Over $1"

See! Smiling already.
The first thing you must do is set the cans out on the counter for a few days. It drives them crazy. "What is that for?" they ask. "An activity" I tell them. Their eyes begin to shine as they try to figure out what I could possibly mean.

You should have seen their faces when I handed them the cans of shaving cream and told them to "go for it". It was awesome!
It didn't take them too long to get into it either. Before I knew it, balls of shaving cream were being thrown like snowballs across the backyard.
My two boys quickly became little Stay Puff marshmallow men.
It was war for sure!
Now this picture should be on an ad for Barbasol, don't you think? I agree.
The best part of the whole activity for me, I must admit, was the end. I got to spray them off with the hose.

A can of Barbasol, $1.12.

An afternoon of pure, messy fun. Priceless.

Bonus: Your kids will smell really good when all is said and done. :) I just hope we didn't kill the grass.

In the mail

Look what was delivered to my house yesterday! Mmmm....gourmet brownies!

Have you heard of SendOutCards? It's an online card company where you can design your own card (for an individual or as an announcement- like wedding or graduation), then it is printed and mailed directly to anyone you choose. You can even include one of many treats, trinkets or gift cards that you can purchase on their website. The prices are reasonable and they make it so easy! And I love their slogan, "Changing Lives... One Card at a Time". Who doesn't like to get a card or package in the mail?

Check them out!