11 And it came to pass that we did gather together whatsoever things we should carry into the wilderness, and all the remainder of our provisions which the Lord had given unto us; and we did take [food storage] of every kind that we might carry into the wilderness.

  12 And it came to pass that we did take our [U-haul] and depart into the wilderness […] (1 Nephi 16, with personal application modification)

1 And it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness; and we did travel nearly [south]ward from that time forth. And we did travel and awade through much affliction in the wilderness; and our [woman] did bear children in the wilderness.
  2 And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon [ramen etc.] in the wilderness, our [woman] did give plenty of suck for our children, and was strong, yea, even like unto the man; and  [we both] began to bear [our] journeyings without murmurings.
  3 And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.
  4 And we did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even [nine] years in the wilderness.  (1 Nephi 17, with personal application modification)

The memories of our journey to and the first days in Phoenix… Packing the U-haul, the oldsmobile, the little red truck… Driving the winding highway 20 while towing the car behind the U-haul in the middle of the night… Stopping to rest a few miles north of the city… Amazed at the green grass at the apartment complex… Amazed at the size of the apartment complex (672 units!)… The smell of the newly painted apartment… Figuring out where to park the U-haul, unloading it with the EQ president and his son… Their surprise at how much of what we brought was food… Collapsing in the bedroom on a sleeping bag while Duncan ran around… Dining in at Pizza Hut and discovering that even the soda fountain couldn’t mask the yucky taste of the local water.. Sweating while trick-or-treating a couple of days later… Particle board shelves… Duncan playing in the cupboards… Driving to DeVry and acquainting ourselves with the campus… Looking for employment…

We had some who doubted our ability to survive, to thrive in our wilderness, and came to appreciate those who did not let their skepticism–spoken or otherwise–get in the way of encouraging and respecting our choice. (The support we’ve received from family has been awesome–can’t thank you all enough!!!) I believe the Lord led us here and the past nine years have borne that out.

Indeed, we have been greatly blessed in our Arizona wilderness. Our desert rose continues to blossom, growing larger in size, greater in beauty and sweeter as our time rolls on… We may stay on a while longer or go as the Lord directs us to another promised land. No matter what, the joy in our journey is down in our hearts to stay.

Tonight, while discussing how to get a DVD down from our media shelf, I said I would forego the usual grab-a-broom-and-knock-it down method in favor of getting a stepstool.

Emma piped up “you mean the steplatter” at the same time Richard said “it’s really a stepladder”. I rolled my eyes at both of them and started into the kitchen to fetch the height boosting contraption. As I walked away, Emma called out

“I’m sorry, Mommy. I’ll let you keep getting it wrong.”

Progress, we’ve got yer progress here! Good ol’ Ralph (W.E.) would be proud, I’m sure.

Ephraim’s speech therapist is very pleased with the progress he’s making so far. He has some alphabet recognition, expanded word-object association, and walks with her willingly to the room. In past sessions he had to be coaxed or even picked up and carried–this is so much easier! There are letters he cannot make the sounds for yet, (B & P are two examples) but he can name others out of order and without singing. She noted that he is able to sit down at a little table to work with her if there is music playing in the background. Without the music he tends wander around and not pay much attention to her. Ephraim was able to pick out pictures of a cat and monkey for her yesterday at her request and brought over cars and a ball when she asked him to get those specific toys. We’re very excited–such wonderful progress!! This week the emphasis at home is the sign for “more”.

Ephraim is also singing along with “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. He has a toy microphone that will play a few instrumental children’s songs and we’re working with him to expand his repetoire.

Cheanna and Emma Catharine are earning Girl Scout patches left and right  =)  They are having so much fun as Brownies.

Yesterday was also the last day ballet session 1. Elena’s class and Cheanna & Emma’s class had little performances at the end. It’s great to see what they’ve learned and the joy they have in dancing. I’m working with another rec center to form classes for homeschool children during the day. The classes at that center are all free and would be twice a week for an hour at a time. (These have been once a week for 30-40 minutes). The director is also interested in setting up jazz or tap classes if the ballet works out for everyone.

Webelos for Duncan had a sudden schedule change and so we face a time crunch where scout meetings are at the same time as Girl Scouts. One possible solution is changing troops–either for him or for Cheanna & Emma Catharine, we haven’t figured that out yet. We bought the new uniform but I think he looks better in blue  =) 

Anya is rolling around and going through a mighty growth spurt. She does this amazing impression of a bottomless pit. A cute little milk sucking vortex.

Elena adds more sight words every day and has her basic phonics down. She’s better at following directions from Coach Rob at p.e. too!  =)

So that’s the news from the R academy, where the men are good looking, the children are above average and the women are strong and risking lawsuits for copyright infringement. (Please, Mr. Keillor, don’t sue me!)

Warning! Do not click to read the entire post if you are or will be offended by an offer to trade yummy goodies (this is fall product, it’s not cookie time yet) for filthy lucre. You have been warned, any bunched-up breeches are not the fault of the management.

The rest of you may click away!

(more…)

Unless you count mental expectations, that is. While Richard was at W&A we joked about how he never got any of those “weenie bank holidays” off work. Now that he’s employed by the bureaucracy government, those paid WBHs turn into treasured three day weekends. I’ve been looking forward to this one, hoping for a mini-breather in the chaotic vortex.

Enter the 2.5 days off from work this past week and an assignment deadline bumped up to the coming week and you get a .5 day weekend. Ta Da!  Ç’est la vie, ç’est la vie…

I am immensely grateful for his hard work and dedication, how much Richard enjoys his job, and the many benefits his employment brings forth for our family (one of which is flexibilty, allowing him to care for Ephraim this week). Logically I know I shouldn’t covet the hours we could have spent together this weekend. Almost it persuadeth my heart to let go, because it wasn’t mine in the first place. Even so…

My heart yearns to be with him still.

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And we’re breathing sighs of relief from inside the woods.

Richard took Ephraim to the ER this morning after his illness took a turn for the worse. The breathing treatments have helped somewhat but the retractions and stridor remain and the doctors wish to keep him at least overnight. He will be moved sometime this afternoon to another hospital that has established pediatric facilities for continued observation and treatment.   

Prayers and good wishes much appreciated, thank you. Updates will appear at the bottom of this entry as they come.

~Update @ 7:30 pm~ I brought some supplies to Richard, I had to run across the parking lot to Washington so he could follow the ambulance with Ephraim & the paramedics to the other hospital. Richard & Ephraim are settling in for the night, a scene not too different from my time with Anya in Utah, Richard says. I don’t know what’s wrong with Ephraim at this point.

~Update @ 12:30pm Tuesday~ Croup. The season starts October 1, and Ephraim was right on time. In fact he was the third case the hospital pediatrician treated yesterday. If Ephraim does well enough with lunch then Richard can bring him home this afternoon. We’ll have a prescription for steroids if the ibuprofen doses can’t keep the throat swelling in check. Thanks for your love!

~Update @ 3:17pm Tuesday~ Ephraim is home, arriving with a sore throat and a strong aversion to adults giving him anything, even his cup. Elena was the one who finally got him to eat frozen yogurt and once he started eating he stopped moaning and crying. He’s back to playing now, some blocks and cars until I came into the front room to update and he made a beeline for the computers. So glad to have him back and breathing well.