Getting to Know Us

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Getting to Know Us

I do have a real name.
And a real family who also have names.
I just sometimes forget that we need to introduce ourselves.
It only takes a few people saying, “hey, oh sweet basil!” When we are out and about to remind me🤣
So hiiiiii! We love love love meeting you and what better chance than right here, right now!
So!


Cade is from all over but we claim #SouthCarolina since that was the last place he lived. He works as an administrator in #healthcare and loves the #gym#sushi and #traveling with all of us.

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Better Than We Found Them

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Better Than We Found Them

What if our purpose is merely to leave people and places better than we found them…❤️

I once found myself doing a few simple tasks that should have been a basic part of life but instead began to ignite embers of resentment in my heart.

I had just spent some time inside of our home fixing a few things and then moved on outside to tackle a real mess of a weed situation.

With each yank of a wretched tendril another seemed to appear before my eyes. Medusa’s never ending snakes seemed to be the ground with which I was working and suddenly the nastiness of her was in my heart. I found myself thinking, “could we ever live somewhere that starts out beautiful instead of always a place that needs to be rescued?!”

And then “she” appeared before my eyes.

I pictured the previous home we’d been in.

 

Rescuing Our Home

I imagined her old and depleted. Her feelings of being forgotten hung with every worn wall and broken hinge.

I felt her ache and depression; unneeded, unwanted, empty and ugly.

And then I saw us.

My little family happily working with small children running here and there as we gently began to love her.

Moving walls and brightening her shadows.

Lifting smudges and beautifying her surroundings with a few more plants here and a little weeding there.

Suddenly she was awakening. She began to straighten herself up when we were around, standing a little taller and almost giving in to a smile and giddiness as the children laughed and played.

Soon enough the gray shadows of nothingness were replaced with confidence and purpose.

There she was, loving us as we were loving her.

She had purpose once again and all because a little family showed her that she still had life left to live and something wonderful to become and offer.

Leave People and Places Better Than You Found Them

My heart completely softened as the sentence rang through my mind and heart with such clarity as the sun breaking forth through the morning haze:

What if your purpose is merely to ❤️Leave people and places better than you found them.❤️

What if that’s what it means to keep your covenants?

What if that’s your noble duty on earth?

People and places… better than you found them. ❤️

READ: Better Than We Found Them

Best Donut Shops – Davis and Weber County, Utah

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Best Donut Shops – Davis and Weber County, Utah

Our family is living in a new city so what better way to become acquainted than to find the absolute best donut shops in town! If you’re looking for the best donuts in Davis County or Weber County Utah, look no further!

a photo of several different donuts sitting on a white table top from various donut shops. Each group of donuts is labeled with a little tag with the name of the donut shop on it.

 

 

Here’s where we went…

Lee’s – there are several location throughout norther Utah, but we went to the one in Ogden, UT

Bowman’s – Kaysville, UT

Tasty’s – Kaysville, UT

Dick’s – Centerville, UT

Banbury Cross – Centerville, UT

Parson’s Bakery – Bountiful, UT

Mountain Donuts – South Ogden, UT

Okay, so this post might have to be ongoing and evolving as we learn of new donut places but here are our findings so far:

 

Best Overall for Classi

Trusting in the Lord

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Trusting in the Lord

“Mom, What am I going to do?”
Our 16 year old daughter called stranded, alone, and thousands of miles from home.

The day we found a place to rent up north and were trying to desperately, quickly snatch up and sign a contract so we would be able to move just 4 days later was turning into chaos.

The entire time she’d been gone on her humanitarian trip I’d felt like she’d left us with this incredible gift but little did I know that she’d been given something ahead of time that would prove to be life-changing for her and her resilience in life.

Trust in the Lord

We took an absolutely amazing trip to the mountains and on one particular evening we were caught off guard by this incredible glow of the most spectacular display of light. The next day we drove home and walked through 5 more homes trying so hard to find a place to buy as time was winding down to leave the home we’d sold.

Sometime that evening Peyton texted me before heading off to a friend’s house,

“Mom, you should read sister @bonniehcordon talk on Trusting the Lord, it seems important.”

I did.
And it was.
The next night I had Peyton share it with the family along with an invitation to adopt the 3 areas mentioned to increase our trust:
1. Have meaningful prayers
2. Study the scriptures
3. Serve others

We decided to do each one every single day for the summer as a way to show the Lord that we trust Him to lead us to where we are to go.

I thought it would help us focus and actively participate in “waiting” on a blessing.
And it did.

But I didn’t know that it was to teach her to be ready to face a trial all on her own at 16.

 

Delayed

Peyton served for 2 weeks on a humanitarian trip and continued our 3 areas of focus. The day she was to return I woke up frustrated that we hadn’t found a home, a prayer I’d begged for an answer to so that she wouldn’t return home to the mess of life.

You all know how that went down and I was aware that even though it was the last hour, which it often is, that the blessing was granted. Not the way we wanted but it felt guided and right.

And then my phone started going off.
Delay afte

The Move – Part 3

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The Move – Part 3

Friday night I went to bed worried and a bit defeated but still trying so hard to hold onto a thread of hope. I’d called, texted, emailed everything and everyone I could find. What in the world was going on that people wouldn’t even return our calls and texts about homes?! It was frustrating.

Yesterday morning Cade woke up and looked online one more time.

And two homes were newly available.

I drove like a mad woman, shocked that they had agreed to let me walk through.

And now, we are moving to Farmington.

I’m so grateful.

The Miracle Comes

I guess it really is true that you go until you have nothing left to give and then the miracle comes.

We move in just a couple of days and need to figure out schools, doctors etc. so it’s going to be a week to get through. But it’s also going to be the beginning of a story yet to be written and how exciting is that?!

I still have a summer of miracles to tell you all about. Miracles, I’m learning are often not in the ask, the real miracles are in the people and moments along the way. But yesterday, that was a miracle for sure and I’ll never deny that while it’s not the plan we’d set out for, it’s certainly going to end up even better for the people we find there.

Waiting

Someone, gosh maybe EVERYONE saw me do it.

I cried a broken cry on the freeway as out loud I said:

“Where are you?!”

I was driving home from having found a house that we could rent until we find a more permanent forever, but I didn’t experience the feels like you would have expected.

It didn’t feel miraculous.

Though I’m certain it was.

I didn’t feel that acknowledgment of peaceful or right though it is.

Instead, it felt empty.

We’d prayed, fasted, hoped and acted all summer in faith that we were to move north.

We paused buying a home when nothing felt right and turned our attention to renting. I will be honest, that’s hard for me. I like to be settled and to be home but I could see that there might be a better story in “waiting” – the motto of my life
Out of all the homes we contacted about renting, I’d guess only 2% even responded to texts, phone calls and emails.

The Sunbeams that Barely Reach Us

It was BEYOND frustrating.

So where was God?

We were doing everything “right” and we felt hope and devotion to the miracle, so where was it and where was He?!

The homes on Saturday are lovely homes. The one we will move to is literally the only one that responded, was available and the nicest people own it.

So was it a miracle?

Sometimes we want to have the sun not only rise but completely envelop us in its light AND its warmth. But often its far away and we miss the streams that, like in this photo, barely reach to us as a reminder that it’s there, it’s coming, but not yet.
I think wh

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