Flat tire

Yesterday I picked Ben and Kristen up from school and headed to the Dr Office for Ben.  Sarah and Angela had stayed home with Mike and its a good thing they did.  At the Dr Office it was confirmed that Ben had an ear infection.  After we left we stopped at Salvation Army  to drop stuff off that we no longer needed/want and then started heading towards home.  My plan was to drop off the prescription for Ben, go home get dinner made(and eaten) and then go pick up the precriptions.  Well, my plan was totally changed.  We had passed Roach Feed and Seed(a smaller version of IFA or such stores) and shortly after that I hear some rattling noise in the back.  I turned down the music and aske Ben and Kristen about the noise.  By that point we had stopped at a stop light and the noise stopped too.  When the light changed, we turned the corner and the noise started again so I pulled right into a parking lot.  Sure enough our rear passenger tire was flat.  To make a long story short, me, my mother-in-law, a gentleman from the subway we were in front of, And father-in-law couldn't get the spare tire to lower.  My mother-in-law took the kids and I to Walmart since they were the only tire center open.  The service guy said that they would fix it and it would be ready for us in the morning.  Both my mother in law and I told him that we needed it that night.  He was very kind and helped us get the tire taken care(well get a new tire anyways).  He told me that as he was trying to air the tire that as fast as he was putting the air in it was coming out just as fast.  He said that there was a gash in tire that was about 1/2 inch wide about an inch long like I had hit something.  He aske how long the tire tire had been sitting to look the way it did.  We told him only an hour and he was shocked.  He said that it looked like it had been sitting for days. 

Well as we were waiting for the new tire I couldn't help but have the thought that we had truly been watched out for and protected.  With the size of the gash I'm kinda suprised it wasn't a blowout.  I'm grateful for being able to recognize what was going on as fast as I did.  I'm grateful for my mother and father in law that came to help me.  Grateful that things weren't worse than what they were.  Grateful Ben and Kristen did as well as they did considering it took 3 hours for the whole ordeal.

Side Note:  Mike didn't have the carseats for the younger girls or he would have come and helped.

Teaching Moments

Yesterday was a busy day.  Mike and I took the kids to watch the Pinewood Derby the cub scouts did at the church(though I think they played more than they watched).  After that I took the kids with me so that Mike could go do a couple errands he needed/wanted to do.  The kids and I went to Kroger and got the groceries we needed there.  As I was putting the two carts back in the cart return I heard two ladys breifly talking and one said that her truck wasn't starting.  The other lady got in her car and left.  I asked if the one lady needed a jump.  She said "You think that's what it needs?"   I said that it very well could be all that is needed. The lady then asked if I had jumper cables.  I said yes.  Shen then asked if I knew how to use them.  I said yes(thank you dad). So I back out of my spot drive up so I can turn around and parked in the spot right next to the lady, got the jumper cables out and popped the hood.  She pointed to where her battery was and asked if the cable were long enough.  They were with a little extra to spare.  I got the cables hooked up and let it sit for a minute and her truck started right up.  As I was rolling up the cables she asked if I had change for a 20 and that she would get me 5 bucks for the help.  I told her I didn't have change but that she didn't need to worry about the money.  I was just glad I could help.  It took all of maybe 10 min to help her out.  I could have very well just blown it off and not helped.  I'm grateful for my parents teaching me to serve no matter how big or small the service is.  I'm grateful to my dad for teaching us kids how to use jumper cables(and to add/check car fluids, change a tire etc).   I was also able to use this as a teaching moment for the kids.  Yes we can talk about service all we want in FHE and Church and what not, but sometimes its nice for them to actually see it. 

I had a teaching moment with this too.  While I was getting the suburban turned around Ben had asked if he could get out and help with the jumper cables.  I didn't really answer him and he had stayed in the car.  I wish I would have let him get out so I could show him how the cables are hooked up and everything.  Yes he is six(almost 7) but it's never too early to let them watch up close and learn.  I'm gratefull for the Teaching/learning moment from yesterday and grateful that I am able to learn from this and do better with each new day.

As a funny little side note.  The shirt that this lady was wearing had a picture of the tablets with the 10 commandments on them.  Then the caption said "God gave us the 10 commandments.  Not 10 suggestions."  Such a great reminder.

If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.

Today marks 4 weeks since we had the deadly tornados here in the Dallas area.   Yesterday I decided to take the kids to go see some of the destruction that was caused by the ef4 tornado that hit close to us.  The closest hit spot to us was about 5 miles away.  The first response the kids had when they saw the apartments that were hit were "Wow!" and "Oh my goodness!". 

To go back real fast to Dec. 26th(the evening of the tornados).  I get the Code Red alerts(somthing that the DFW area does with texting/calling with flood/tornado/any kind of weather warnings and such) on my phone.  I heard my phone indicate that I had a text so I checked it out and it said that there was a tornado warning in our area.  I just let everyone know so they had somewhat of a heads up.  I then went to Ben's room and turned on the radio. The kids were all in the living room watching a show from netflix.  As I was listening to the radio, Ben comes in and is on the verge of tears and says "I don't want to live here.  I want to move somewhere where there aren't tornados.  I want to live in the desert."   I love the fact that he didn't want to be hurt or anything.  I was able to sit down with Ben on his bed and explain to him that Yes-there was a tornado warning but did that mean the tornado was right there right then?  No.  I told him that that is why I had turned on the radio so I could listen to what was going on, where the tornado was, what it was doing, what the anticipated path was(at the time the first tornado was down in Ovilla area).  With being able to explain to Ben what I was doing and why I was doing it, and being able to do in in a calm manner, helped Ben to calm down.  Yes he was still nervous and a little scared but he was doing better.    After about 15 min give or take, I went and changed the channel on the TV(kids kept watching netflix on the computer--thanks HDMI cords) so that I could watch the news and see things.  After about 5-10 min they said a tornado had touched down in Sunnyvale.  So I went and told Mike so he knew(he was in the bathroom).  His comment was "So it's basically here?"  I replied "More or less".   I come back out and tell the kids to get their flashlights that they had just gotten for Christmas and to get them to the hall bathroom.  Ben asked if he could take his tablet too.  I told him yes.  Shortly after having them do that the Tornado sirens started going off.  So I had all the kids get to the Bathroom.  I pulled Angela's toddler mattress near the door of the bathroom and all of us (with the exception of Mike who was still in the other bathroom) were in our hallway bathroom.  Shortly after we got in there the power went out.  The kids were all grateful I had had them get their flashlights.  Mike had finally come in to where we were.  As I was sitting on the toilet hold Angela I took her flashlight and started making the shadows(dog, duck, bird) on the wall.  The favor was the dog.  I made it so it barked and panted kind of thing and it got Angela laughing, which in turn helped the other kids especially.  I'm sure some of the thoughts they had(especially Ben) were "Wait, there's a tornado in the area, we're in the bathroom yet mom isn't acting scared or nervous but making shadow puppets on the wall and making Angela laugh.  What?"  After about 20 min of no power it came back on and we were able to watch the news and knew that the tornado had passed.  I was able to briefly talk with the kids on why it was important to be prepared, and that is why I had done the things I had done.

Back to yesterday as we drove past the apartments that were damaged(I-30 and George Bush) and then again a small neighborhood, I was able to go over again why it was important to be prepared and that I did what I did so that we were prepared.  And Ben brought it up to the fact that the tornado could have change directions.  I was able to go over that with them that had the tornado in fact changed directions and come closer to us we had a plan, we were ready, so that we would have had a good chance of surviving had it happened. 

Was I scared?  No. I had an understanding of what tornados could do.  I knew what to do if it did come our way.  I had turned on the news so I knew when/how to do things and get things in motion.  I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for the peace he brings.  I love the quote "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear."  And I saw that that night.

Missing Denzel

1. Shortly before dinner our upstairs neighbor had their music to the point we could here it.  It got me thinking of Denzel and how he liked to play his music loud especially when working on his car.  Which in turn got me thinking of what it's going to be like when Ben  is a teenager.  I got thinking of how I wish that Denzel was still here so that when I am raising a teenage boy that I would be able to call Denzel and ask him for insights and stuff.  Haha.  I know Denzel will still have his brotherly as well as uncle insights and inputs that he's had the past 3 1/2 years but sometimes it's just not the same as being able to call him up and say "hey I miss you! What are you up to?  How do I do this? ". Yes I would love to have 4 years ago back and being able to talk to him on the phone. But I am grateful for the atonement and for all that it provides.  For the opportunities it allows for Denzel to still "show up" and be his loving brother and uncle self (teaching Angela to cracking eggs - at least he taught Angela to throw them away after cracking them).  He will sometimes 'use me' as a mouth piece to help him get a message across that might not otherwise be heard.  Yes it coming up on four years since Denzel passed away but grateful for all the other things I've been taught.

How Firm a Foundation

1. How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say than to you he hath said,
Who unto the Savior, who unto the Savior,
Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?

 

3. Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

When Denzel died, the week leading up to his funeral just the very first phrase was going through my mind.  How firm a foundation.  I didn't know why it kept repeating but it did.  At the viewing one particular friend came through the line  I told him that I wasn't ready to be the "oldest" (granted Denzel will always be the oldest, but I wasn't ready to step into the shoes of having the younger sibling call me for advise or things like that).  The first couple weeks after the funeral the phrase "I'll strengthen the help thee and cause thee to stand" kept going through my mind.  Slowly over the few years since Denzel died, I've come to learn what Heavenly Father was trying to teach me. 

How Firm a Foundation.  Yes I felt like I had to be that firm foundation for my family.  That I couldn't waver.  They needed me.  I had to be there whether phiscally or over the phone when they needed to call.  Someone they could lean against.  But then who was I suppose to lean against?  Who was my firm foundation.  I learned that like my family needed a firm foundation and someone to lean against, so did I.  Our Savior is that foundation.  He is that rock to lean against. I can't help to think of Footprints in the Sand poem.  Christ was definately carrying me and helping me. 

I'll Strength Thee Help Thee and Cause thee to Stand.  Christ has definately strengthened me and helped me in so many ways.  He as carried me many times but has also helped me to stand to push through the bad times.   To understand things. 

I am grateful for the lessons that I learned.  Grateful that Denzel still takes time to be an Uncle and teach my kids things like breaking eggs, or going out in shorts and a sweatshirt, or little things like that even though he's not here.  Grateful for Heavenly Father and the lessons he teaches whether I realize it here and know or it takes time to sink in and me realize what I've learned.

Blessings

So many things to say.  About a month ago I was texting with my mom about how I've been able to work on my food storage yet stay within my bi-weekly food money.  I try to stay at 200-250 for food/diapers/things we need kind of thing.  I have noticed that little by little Heavenly Father has allowed me to find sales and find ways to increase my food storage.  I've started shopping at the spanish stores(El Rancho, El Rio Grande, Fiesta).  I've been able to increase the amount of jars of Chicken I have.  I just recently did a batch of Salsa(13 Jars).  But, that's not the only thing I've been able to stock up on.  I have a stash(well like 6 bags) of brown sugar, I have 7 4lb bags of white sugar 6-7 bags of flour, Lots of Spaghetti, etc.  All because of being taught how to shop.  Get some of the big stuff and the little stuff  'A Little at a Time'.  I can now understand the advise from the appostles when they said don't go into debt for food storage.  Little by little it can be done.  I am proud to say that with most of our food storage/pantry items will get us through at least 3 months if something happened.  And it's an amazing feeling that I'm getting there for my family of 6.

Ben and Kristen were chosen by their teachers at school to participate in a field trip to the Hella Shrine Temple.  From my understading their teachers chose them because they felt that Ben and Kristen might not get lots of things for Christmas.  They had a sheet that was sent home asking for things they needed/wanted.  I filled it out and sent it back.  The day came and they went on their field trip.  I was expecting maybe 1 or 2 items but nothing really more than about 25-30 bucks worth of toys or things.  I picked them up and Oh My Goodness.  Ben had a little Minion, a starwars sleeping bag, starwars hoodie, a hoodie t-shirt, ball and glove and Kristen a Doc Mcstuffins Dr set, Doc McStuffins doodle set, soocor ball, Doc McStuffins Movie, a couple books to help with her writing.  I may never understand why, but grateful that their teachers felt that Ben and Kristen deserved this when I felt we were just fine with what we were getting them for Christmas.   I am learning that its ok to let others help whether I think it's needed or not.  I'm learning that as I let others help me that I'm allowing Heavenly Father to bless them. I am truly gratefull for the blessings we have been given.

Denzel

There are times that I so wish I could put my feelings down on paper or just in writing.  Yesterday marked 3 years since Denzel passed away.   I wanted to write something to express how I was feeling but I couldn't think of anything and kept thinking that what everybody else was saying said how I felt so much better.  I had to ask why.  Why couldn't I think of anything to say/write.    Denzel was an amazing part of my life.  Of course we fought and disagreed like all siblings do. But he was the best big brother anyone could have asked for.  He watched out for me.  Took care of guys who were treating me like crap or wouldn't leave me alone or whatever.  He let me crash at his place while attending an EMS confrence.  We'd talk on the phone.  He always got his two cents worth in whether you wanted it or not.  3 years later, he's still doing that.  But its more of a 'Hey I'm still here. I'm still watching out for you.' kind of thing.   The other day my mom posted a silly video of her, Amelia, and Natalee in the pioneer trek clothes.  Erika posted that they needed to do it again when she and Dal were down the next time.  I texted her saying how funny it would be if it was all four women and Dal doing the video.  As we were texted back and forth briefly, I just have the image of Denzel sitting there laughing his head off and thinking "This is so something Denzel would come up as something fun to do."  I told Erika that I had to be the voice for Denzel on somthing, lol.  It truely is wonderful what we are allowed to see, feel, or hear from our loved ones that have passed on.  And it definately comes when we need it NOT when we necesarilly want it.