Jeff

Today was a tough one.  My kids and I attended the funeral for my cousin, Jeff Bodily.  He passed away unexpectedly on August 27th.  Jeff was always one of my favorite people to be around.  He was always happy to see me and would give me big hugs. He loved to joke and help others.  His brown eyes danced when he smiled and when he told stories.  He injured his back quite a few years ago and has had to have multiple surgeries.  Unfortunately, he has lived in constant pain.  It's hard to understand why some people leave this life early, but I'm thankful that he can be free of pain now. His funeral was beautifully done.  I especially liked the thoughts that were shared by and by Jeff's siblings.  There were many tears and laughs shared by all of us there.  One thing that I think I will always remember was that we sang "Popcorn Popping".  There is no denying the comforting spirit that I felt today and I'm so thankful for that.

FHE Hike

It was a beautiful evening that started out with Brandt helping his dad work on his truck.  Buddy has come a long way with his noise sensitivities, but power tools still get to him. It makes me so sad to see him struggle so much with something that he wants to do.  Since it was so nice, I decided that we were going to take advantage of the summer crowd being gone and we headed up the canyon for a quiet family home evening.  I love hiking and don't make nearly enough time for it.  My favorite trail is one up St.Charles canyon that we often went on for our Young Women camp hikes.  It is by the creek and is one of my favorite thinking places.  I love watching and listening to the water as it rushes over the rocks and branches.  It is so much more beautiful because of it's rocky, winding course.  So it is with our lives.  Our trials and choices often prevent us from taking a straight and easy path that we think we should take, but they have the potential to strengthen us and make our lives more beautiful.

Highlights of our hike included Bryce and the kids "hunting" chickens and me jumping and squealing every time one of the silly little things would suddenly take flight and the kids finding and playing with walking sticks.  I loved watching the simple moments unfold as Bryce helped Kylie get across the water and rocks and the kids both following in their dad's footsteps up the trail.  Hopefully they will always try to follow him as he does his best to help them to stay on the right path

Bad things happen.  That's just how it is.  The past week has been full of "bad".  On the 26th Bryce and I went to Pocatello to the Social Security office for our interview to try to get some help with paying for Brandt's counseling through disability services.  We had spent days ahead of time gathering information and the required documents and then Bryce took the day off to go with me.  When we got there we were told that our income exceeded their limits and we didn't even get to do the interview.  Of course, our income isn't really enough to cover his counseling that we are having to cash pay and it definitely doesn't take away his ADHD or Asperger's.  Although it was super frustrating that we went to all that work and traveled up there unnecessarily, it ended up being a really good day for the two of us to spend some time together and talk in a way that we haven't in a really long time.  I was so impressed by Bryce when he took the time to talk to the elderly owner of the small deli shop we had lunch at and again when he was kind and helpful to another older gentleman who was trying to figure out which tool he needed at the hardware store.  I love seeing that side of my husband!

On the 28th, which just happened to be our 16th wedding anniversary, things went from bad to terrible when Bryce was a part of the most traumatic thing he's ever seen.  After work he decided to make a quick trip out to Georgetown to pick up a load of hay for Brother Adamson.  What he found was a crisis as two workers from Blackfoot were passed out in the bottom of a manhole by our property. He ended up being part of the rescue crew and helped get them out of the hole.  The EMTs did CPR and then got them to the hospital where they were both worked on for a few hours.  Unfortunately, they both passed away. Bryce and his dad knew both of them and that made it even harder to see them in such bad shape.


Bryce being a part of this experience was NOT by accident.  It has given him a new perspective on life and it has opened up the lines of communication between us in a spiritual nature in a way that we have never known in our marriage.  It has CHANGED him on a deeper level than anything else ever has.  I know that it is by the power of God that he was there and I believe that Bryce knows that, too.

I am in awe at the many ways my Father in Heaven blesses my family and me and the way that He can turn a trial and a crisis into something miraculous-if we just let Him.