He's Back!

After a looooooooong siege in the hospital with our Scottie boy, he is back home and doing well....except for somewhere along the way he learned to fine tune his whining! He is happy-except when he is whining-and looking good after losing 17 pounds! (What a way to lose weight, Buddy.)

We'll omit all of the gruesome details here in the blog . Just know that we had a close call with Scott, but Heavenly Father decided that we still needed to learn some things from Him. We are so grateful that he is still with us, and grateful for the powerful prayers that were said in his behalf. It has helped us to see just how precious he is to us and to appreciate being with him each and every day. Carl & I truly feel blessed to have him in our lives, and though he presents challenges to us and sacrifices on our part, he brings so much happiness and purpose into our lives. Couldn't love you more, Bud!

We owe a lot of thanks to family and friends for all of their support and caring for Scott and for us during this time. Especially to Michele do we owe so much...her constant care and support of Scott and her concern for our needs, too. She would not leave his side and said many prayers in his behalf. We love you, Michele! And we know that Anna and Jenny also said many prayers in his behalf. We know that you wanted to be here, girls, but we felt of your presence and support.

So, now we go forward with grateful hearts and a determination to enjoy our times together even more and to be thankful for the opportunity we have to be an eternal family.

Got Any Goat Names?

We have a new goat to help Chase out with the weeds! But, we are having a tough time naming him and we need some help.

We've thought of Houdini, because he can get out of the fence we put him in; our neighbor girl thought of Stripes, because he is gray and white striped;

Carl likes initials....so how about GG (Gray Goat)?; we both like Max, for Maxwell Smart. When he grows up he is going to have a long white beard! He likes to bully our little Goober lamb and get his horns underneath him and try and lift him up. Hmmmm. There might be some names for him!

Let us know what you think....do you have another name for us to try? Or do you like one of the ones we thought of? Take a look at ??????????

I guess the next best thing to going on a trip, is having someone make you their trip! Thanks for coming to visit with us, Mom and Linda! They traveled up through Montana--Lolo Pass & Glacier National Park-- ; North & South Dakota,--Mt. Rushmore & Crazy Horse Memorial & a tornado!--; and then across Wyoming to Yellowstone National Park and Jackson Hole and the Tetons; and down to Utah--US!

They saw some beautiful sights and Linda drove many miles---no accidents or troubles except for a tornado lit down 30 miles from them and they were hit with hailstones the size of marbles. We had a great time here, visiting and shopping, eating kabobs & sweet pork burritos, going on a Casper run for Hot Fudge Sundaes (Mom's weakness!) , and playing a good game of Outburst!

It was great to have Michele, Wayne & Olivia over. Olivia finally warmed up to her great grandmother and Linda. Wayne got beat, yet again, by Grandma (better practice up, Wayne!) We got in a few family pictures. Enjoy!

Write in Stone

Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey, they had an argument. One friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but, without saying anything, wrote in the sand: Today my best friend slapped me in the face.

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend save him.

After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: Today my best friend saved my life

The friend who had slapped and saved his bests friend asked him, After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now you write on a stone. Why?

The friend replied: When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand, where winds of forgiveness can erase it away.

But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.

May we learn to write your hurts in the sand and carve our kindnesses in stone.

Scott Is Having a Birthday!

It's Scott's turn this week...he turns 29, can you believe it? Twenty-nine years ago we welcomed this beautiful little boy into our family. Little did we know the journey that we started then. It has been the most challenging and the most joyous journey we could have ever imagined. I can't imagine loving anyone more than I do Scott! He is a precious soul with a celestial future.

Would we change anything if we could make a wish? Some things, of course, but we would never have cancelled the journey.

I would wish for...

Less grief . . . . and more enjoyment of the moment.

Less pain for Scott. . . . and more hugs and kisses.

Less doctor visits. . . . and more visits to McDonalds.

Less responsibilities for his sisters. . . . and more family vacations.

Less irritation with his limitations. . . . and more rejoicing over his strengths.

Less focus on his needs alone. . . . and more focus on the family's needs.

Less frustration. . . . and more patience.

Less taking from others. . . . and more giving.

Scott certainly has shaped all of our lives and the lives of anyone who spends time with him. I think I like the shape we are in. How about you?

HELP! Does anyone have any ideas for what to get him for his birthday? We have bought every Sesame video and book there is. We're ready for something different....but WHAT?????

Advice From a Wildflower

-Show your true colors.

-Delight in Simple Pleasures.

-Celebrate your natural beauty.

-Open up!

-Spread seeds of joy!

-It's OK to be a late bloomer.

-Be wild & wonderful !

Readers are invited to add pictures of their own local, beautiful wildflowers in their comments (if possible) or on their own blogs!

Grandma Hartley's Blog Now Open

You can check out Grandma Hartley's Blog now. I am putting updates on it until her computer is fixed. She would love to read your comments!!