McCall Nay Family

BE LIKE A TREE

2011-07-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

THIS TREE....

This tree that represents sorrow for a community of young people...

This tree that is between my house and town...

This tree that I pass everyday...

This tree....

Has taught me so many things.

Unfortunately a young man in our community was involved in a high speed chase with the police and ended up tragically and fatally driving his truck into this tree.

It was not but hours later that the flowers and decorations and heartfelt offerings began covering the tree... it is now MONTHS later and new things continue to show up.

But it was within a few days of the accident occuring that I noticed something that I am still completely fascinated by and that has inspired many lessons in this little heart of mine.

It is something that most professional landscapers and arborists already know. If you look closely at this picture you can see that there is a huge section of bark that was torn from the tree during the wreck. If you look even closer you can see that on the right hand side somebody picked up a section of the bark that was salvageable and attached it back to the tree. WHAT?

As we were driving by I asked KC why anybody would do that... Do they want the place of impact not to look so bad? What is the purpose of putting this bark back? (And after stopping later and looking more closely - it wasn't just placed there it was NAILED to the tree.) KC nonchalantly answered "The bark will reattach itself to the tree to help it heal and then the tree might not die." WHAT? And the wheels in my brain started churning. AMAZING! And it's true... Here's an e-how link I looked up... http://www.ehow.com/how_4549978_heal-tree-bark-damage.html

I cannot begin to explain what lessons this brought to my mind. Oh the SUH-WEET analogies. Here are a few thoughts...

1. When we lose a part of ourselves and are at risk of dying spiritually it is others that can reach down and help put us back together. Allowing others to serve us is sometimes more important than we realize. SOMETIMES HEAVENLY FATHER SAVES US THROUGH THE SERVICE OF OTHERS.

2. SOMETIMES WHAT WE NEED TO SAVE US OR HELP FIX US IS RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSES. It is up to us to know what we need to survive. To be strong. It is up to us to realize when things ARE working. Then, when they stop working, we can pick up the pieces that have fallen out of place and fix things again. A tree knows how to make things work when all the pieces are in the proper place. We should too. We should know and continually strive to make sure we have all the pieces and they are all working correctly. This is how we become strong.

3. When we go through trials in life, whether they are spiritual or temporal IT'S OKAY TO BE A DIFFERENT PERSON when we come out than from when those trials started. This gives you character. This tree will always show the effects of the truck hitting it. And it's okay. It gives it character. Most people like to say your trials make you stronger. They forget to add the word 'eventually' to the end of the sentence. Our trials make us stronger 'EVENTUALLY'. Sometimes our trials weaken us for a looooong time. That's another blog post... BUT- Your trials DO make you unique IMMEDIATELY. And, most likely, you are probably inadvertently drawing attention to yourself and people are learning from you just by watching you. Waiting to see how you respond. If you live or die. If you continue to suffer or gather the strength to get through. You choose if you are a good example or a bad one. But there are always people watching.

4. And my favorite thought when I drive by this tree every day is simply this: "BE LIKE A TREE." Years ago when I was given an assignment at church working with the teenage girls I went to a training meeting and the woman said to us "Be like a tree. Strong and steady but flexible when you need to be." I had heard this before but had never really applied it to my life. During some hard times with teenage girls I'd open up my notes from that training meeting and that quote would always stand out. I have since applied it in many areas of my life. And even though it is frustrating at times when I don't want to be flexible, it works. It works.

This tree has brought many other thoughts to my mind. Some very personal and some a little out there. Maybe someday down the road in a later post I will update you on my tree thoughts but for now this will do.

BE LIKE A TREE!

Summertime Memory Lane - And it came to PASS

2011-06-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

On my mind today:
I haven't seen my sister in a year.
I haven't seen my big brother in 6 months.
I haven't seen my little brother in almost a month.

This feeling overwhelms me every summer because summers used to be ALL about them. I'm not good remembering how things looked or what color the walls were and such. I make my memories with feelings. It's still something I do today. I cannot tell you what Sister So and So wore to church but I remember the feeling of the conversation I had with her. Even if I can't remember what it was about. When things feel heavy, I feel it. When things feel light I feel it. Please don't be upset when I don't notice your make-up or haircut or new car. I'm working on it, really. But if you need someone to just sit with you and feel what you might be feeling I'll be there.

I've been thinking about some of my happy feelings from childhood. There are too many to write about in one post but I wanted to jot this one down.

I 'grew up' in a small town called Dayton, Idaho out in the middle of farmland. Just over the river and a few miles down the hill from the now infamous Napolean Dynamite town, Preston, ID.
Growing up means I spent from age 5 to age 11 there. The previous years were spent in Boise and Pocatello and ages 11 -18 were spent in Nampa. So I guess "growing up" is not the correct phrase. It should read 'I spent my unbelievably wonderful childhood in a small town called Dayton, Idaho'. Yes. That's better.

I've tried to re-create my childhood summers for my children. Even going as far as moving out of a subdivision when they were 1 & 3 and landing in McCall and eventually buying a home in the middle of a giant meadow a couple miles long and surrounded by forest. Okay- it's not the country and they're not at the neighbors a half mile down the road feeding baby calves and getting in trouble in the hay barn, but they DO have free roam. We'll talk about the memories they are making another day but right now I want to focus on some summer memories with my brothers and sister.

One of my favorite memories of summertime with my brothers and sister happened in my room when I had the flu. I know, weird, huh... I had the flu and it was a hot, hot day. It was probably like 85 degrees hahaha!... (which is about the temperature at which my kids feel like they're going to die) and that night a GREAT BIG STORM moved in.

There is no place more beautiful than Cache Valley, UT to watch a lightning storm. My sister and I shared a giant room. We shared a room for 18 years until I moved out. When she comes to visit I still feel like we should kick all the other people out of our lives and share a room for the night.

Our room in Dayton had 2 HUGE windows. When the storm rolled into the Valley at about 10 that night my entire family came to my room to watch the storm. They didn't care that I had the flu. I didn't care that they were all sitting on my bed. It was beautiful. Surrounded by my family in the middle of a storm. With the flashes of light and the BOOOOOOMS! of thunder. Safe and happy in my bed.

"Surrounded by my family in the middle of a storm." is yet another way to say how I feel about them to this day. Storms are raging in all of our lives right now. Spiritual storms. Temporal storms. Big ones. Little ones. In my case, a few life threatening ones. (I'm ALMOST ready to write about that). But even in the middle of my storms when I feel like I can't hear my own thoughts because of the thunderous booms- my family comes to me.

How I wish we were all little again and could jump into my twin sized bed in my giant bedroom and stare out the window on our knees and just watch. And not worry about how long the storm would last and if we were gonna make it out alive... I never had fearful thoughts as a child. I would always be okay. I was always safe. I had my family with me. I was 9 and the world was good.

And now even when they are 2000 miles away (Heather in N. Dakota) or 1000 miles away (Bill in Wyoming) or even just down in the Valley (Mom, Dad, and Jeff in Nampa), I know they are there with me through my storms. Somebody once told me... "In the scriptures it doesn't say 'And it came to STAY'. It always says 'And it came to PASS'." Our storms will pass. They will. And just like 26 years ago in my childhood bedroom - my family will be there. And we are waiting and watching and ON OUR KNEES together (even though we're far apart) waiting for the storms to pass. I will always be okay. I will always be safe. I have my family with me. I am 35 and the world is good.

FALL

2010-10-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

I was contemplating today why I love Fall. The last few weeks as I've driven the kids to school I have found myself singing the Primary song "It's Autumn time... It's Autumn time... The leaves are falling down. It's Autumn time. It's Autumn time. Pretty colors can be found."

Pretty colors are one thing I love about Fall. But I don't just love Fall. I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE Fall.

I feel completely in my element during the Fall. Like it could stay like this forever and I would be happy. I wouldn't miss the days at the lake in the summer and I wouldn't miss the snowman building in the winter and I wouldn't even miss the pretty tulips of Spring (they're my favorite).

I was trying to figure out what it was about Fall that made me feel so comfortable and I think I've figured it out...

It's not only that my husband and I fell in love in the Fall and we were married the next Fall.

It's not only that it's Back to School time and Halloween time. I loooooooooooove Halloween.

It's not just the tremendous amount of good, warm, comfort food that starts flowing and the anticipation for the upcoming Holiday Season.

It's not even the fact that every Fall I am blessed to hear and be taught by our loving Prophets and Apostles....

It's all these and more.

I think of Fall almost as if it's a person. Because it feels like a best friend to me. Really. And this year it's reminding me, like best friends do, that we have a lot in common.

FALL IS FULL OF HOPE AND FAITH.

Fall reminds me that what I am doing is right. That I am preparing for hard times. So that when all of the sudden life goes from the easiness of a lazy summer day to a cold and bitter winter I am ready.

It also reminds me that while things are dying and changing and cold and they feel like they will never be the same again I can find BEAUTY in that.

Change is hard. But sometimes it can be AMAZING to watch. If we are righteously preparing for hard winters and trials it usually brings out the best in us... it is also amazing to notice this in other people.

Think of every person you know as a tree....

When we see somebody who has just been given a new trial in their life we are lucky enough to see them go from their shiny happy green and carefree leaves (lives) to a magnificent shade of reds, oranges, yellows, and golds.

I see this beautiful stage as the prep stage at the beginning of their trial. If that person or tree wants to survive they know they have to focus all their energy on keeping their core healthy. The beautiful colors we find in people come out when they are immersing themselves in the gospel. When they are studying and listening to the Spirit and trying to figure out what to do and how they will survive the winter.

They are proving to all of us that they have FAITH that they can come through the cold hard winters of that trial and eventually be back to a full and healthy green.

This is what Fall is to me. It reminds me that there is hope. And that with Faith we can make it through anything. Even the things that feel like they might kill us.

Of course....My best friend, Fall, usually goes through her winter trials just fine and eventually comes back to life through the warming of the Sun.

For me..... it's just a different Son. But He warms me all the same.

Sundays with Tizzy- The Inbetween Moments

2010-02-07T18:31:00.000-08:00

Tizzy Tizzy Tizzy Tizzy Tizzy-

I love you. I love church. I love Sacrament meeting. I especially love Fast & Testimony meeting. I am proud of you for making it until the last 10 minutes today.

I should probably start keeping track of the comments I get about you every Sunday. Usually from our dear friends sitting behind us who say things like......

"She's just a busy one, isn't she?"
and
"I love how she folds her little arms for the prayer. So cute."
and
"We really don't mind Tessa at all. She's quite entertaining."
and
"She did good today. Almost made it through the whole thing."
and , my personal favorite...
"Your little girl really gives you a run for your money every week doesn't she?"

hahahahahahaha!
I LOVE YOU TIZZY!

Let me share a little more with you about our Sunday routine.
You get up about 6:30AM with Kamron and Bethany. Daddy & I are up wayyyyy earlier. You immediately demand that you watch a movie. Usually on Sundays we don't allow anything before church except for 'church' movies. Today you won. We watched Clifford.

Next we get everyone ready and Kamron and Bethany take turns getting your diaper bag packed (we really need to start doing this Saturday night).... I finally made them a list this morning and taped it inside the cupboard because they kept forgetting things. What's a diaper bag without diapers? Silly kids.

We drive to church and you 'help' me set up the Primary room. This usually means I have a little bit of cleaning up before I go to Sacrament meeting. But it is cute to see you push the big chairs around thinking you're helping.

About 15 minutes before church starts Daddy comes to find us (he's been in meetings since 7:30) and when you see him you run to him and jump in his arms happily yelling "Daddy! Daddy!" I couldn't choreograph this any better. Of course, there are always other people in the church who see this and it just makes your daddy beam with pride and joy.

Then we head to Sacrament meeting. We cannot seem to get on the same page here. I want to listen.....You want to.....

Trace your hand and my hand.

You want to play with the hymnbooks and your board books and kick the pew in front of us and 'sing' when the song is over.
And you haven't quite figured out how to whisper yet.
You also like to climb all over inbetween all of us and sometimes even underneath the bench.

This is exasperating.... and you wear out and I wear out and when you finally get tired enough you get your blanky and binky and monkey and climb on daddy's lap and 'fake cry' until he takes you out. It usually takes about 10 seconds.... and all the while the people around us are silently giggling because they know that cry is fake (it doesn't even SOUND real) and there's nothing we can do about it.... *Sigh*

But that's not ALL that happens in Sacrament meeting. There are the inbetween things that I want to remember too........

Like when you fold your arms very seriously to pray during every prayer.
And when you read your 'Jesus' books and point out the missionaries, and Heavenly Father & Jesus, and the temple and the scriptures.
And when you try to 'share' the hymnbook with me because you are definitely not going to be outsung.
LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

But then there's my favorite... my absolute FAVORITE.

The thing that reminds me every week that you're not just a human baby learning neat things like what missionaries look like and that we should read our scriptures... but that

YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD.

My favorite part of the entire meeting every week is when you listen quietly and intently to me while I explain to you about the priesthood and the "boys" and what is happening during the sacrament. It amazes me that you never get tired of me explaining what's going on.

It begins the moment after they bless the bread to the moment that they sit back down with their families. I whisper what's going on to you step by step while you watch and listen.....

"Oh look. Now the big boys are giving the little boys the trays with the bread."
"Oh look at that. He's giving the bread to the bishop."
"See that. They are covering up the bread & Yep.... there's the water! Now let's get ready for the water prayer."

and so on and so forth until I say...
"Now the boys are done and they get to sit down with their mommies."

I LOVE THIS TIME! I love that you are so aware and happy during such an important event. I love how proud of yourself you are when you finish the bottom of my water cup and you put the cup back in the tray just like the 'big kids'.

It almost makes me feel that you were trained in Heaven. That our big brother, Jesus Christ, sat you down before you came to earth and said 'I know, Tessa. I'll miss you too. But you get to go down to a family who is living the gospel. And that means that every Sunday when you take the sacrament you can remember me! And I'll be thinking about you then too!'

Maybe... just maybe that happened. Wouldn't that be awesome! I bet it did! I have no other explanation for why you sit so reverently during the sacrament and not so much during the rest of the meeting...

Because those boys do sit down. And you do lose interest quite quickly after that.... and Daddy usually takes you out during the last 20 minutes or so. *sigh* I love him for that.

Then I meet you in the foyer and say "Bye bye! Have fun in nursery! mmmmwuh!" And you're excitedly off to nursery where you love your wonderful teachers and friends and never have a problem and I don't have to worry about you for even 1 half of a second during the 2 hours I am running non-stop in Primary with the 'big kids'. For this I am thankful.

After nursery your brother or sister pick you up and bring you to the Primary room where I have accidentally instituted a 'if you're good you'll get a marshmallow' tradition. I keep the extra marshmallows in the Primary closet and we all clean up while you are busy with your "mallow".

By this time you are exhausted and we have a PB&J sandwich waiting in the car because we know that as soon as you eat it you'll fall asleep in the car on the 15 minute drive home and we'll be able to put you straight into bed.

Which we do... and the rest of the day runs like normal - or as normal as life gets with a 2 year old.

I just wanted to let you know that I am grateful for those small, quiet, inbetween moments you give me during what could possibly be the most tiring 3 hours of my week. I love you for that. Someday I hope you have a 2 year old Tizzy just like you.
Love, Mommy

KC

2010-01-24T16:29:00.000-08:00

K.C. - I just realized I hardly ever put the periods after your initials. Weird...

Anyway- right now you are at the Stake Priesthood broadcast and I am missing you. I do that a lot. Which makes me happy. I LOVE missing you.

I especially want to tell you how grateful I am that you took me out last night. I know that the car has been broken down for 1.5 wks. and the parts finally got here and you were planning on fixing it last night and that way we could have both gone to Ward Council and you wouldn't have to work on it on your day off tomorrow and, and, and... there are another million reasons we should not have gone out last night. But I am grateful from the depths of my soul that you recognized the desperation in my eyes when I asked you to go out with me. I needed a friend.

I am grateful that you are my best friend. That even when G.N.O. cannot cure a week of heartache and exhaustion that I can turn to you and know that you will listen until I'm done talking and we don't have to hurry home.

Just recently we were watching some silly show and the couple on it said they didn't feel like they were friends anymore. That they were just 2 married people living together. So sad. As you and I talked about that we realized that we have the opposite situation. We are MORE friends than anything else. We tend to waste time together (we need to work on this- but I'm really not complaining) and sometimes we have to remind ourselves that we are really grown-up people and should probably continue planning for our future. But we also agreed that we'd much rather have it this way than the other.

Because, dear KC, (see- I didn't insert periods there. Weird) while I know I am blessed to have you as a wonderful husband I feel doubly blessed that you are my friend. I feel blessed that we were brought together that way. That we knew each other when we were 10 and managed to not let that goofy time of life get in the way when things became romantic 10 years later.

I hope we will always waste time together. I hope we will always continue to make each other laugh. I hope that our kids will grow up one day and understand that as they look for a husband or wife that they will spend eternity with that they will finally know what we mean when we say "You need to find someone you will never get tired of talking with".

I love you, KC. And I will always 'miss you'. Promise Promise.

Love,
Crystal

THE MAN IN THE GLASS...

2010-01-05T11:02:00.000-08:00

In the past, recently and not so recently, by completely different people I have been told I am
'too happy'
'not compassionate enough'
'looking through life with rose colored glasses'
'too blunt'
and, most recently, have been accused of 'not making enough of an effort' to let somebody know I care about them.

My heart is hurting and I am confused. I am struggling right now and need an outlet to clear my head. So here I am.

As I typed those words those people spoke to me... I realized that those statements about me were from people who don't really know me. Not close friends. Not family. Not people I have spent significant amounts of time with. So maybe those words shouldn't bother me. But they did.

I love words. Even when they hurt me. I evaluate them and try to understand what they mean. Dictionary's have the appropriate approved definitions attached to words, but I have learned that some words IE: compassion, blunt-ness, and happiness, whilst clearly defined in the dictionary, can mean one thing to one person and a completely different thing to another person. Obviously, the definitions of those words for those people are different than mine.

I have never been a person who worries about impressions. I am who I am and have been fortunate that most people I encounter are okay with this too.... as a matter of fact, most people I encounter appreciate my honesty about myself and my opinions. Which is why it throws me off when people don't believe me or don't understand my positive attitude or think I am 'faking' it when I am happy....

OKAY - I have taken a break and I am back. I spent some time with my precious baby girl and she made me feel better. We were going through our naptime routine. I helped her gather her binky and her blanky and her monkey (her 3 keys) and got her a sippy cup and we settled into the chair to read her favorite new story book (about Biscuit the Puppy) from her Uncle Kyle.
And when I laid her down in her bed and she said "night night" and "lubyou momma" I thought:

She doesn't think I am 'too happy'.
She thinks I am compassionate enough.
She likes me to wear my 'rose colored glasses' and see life in the happiest way possible.
She understands my blunt-ness when I am using it to teach her something or get my point across.
AND - she knows that I TRY. I try hard to make the effort to let her know I love her.

I am not perfect. I cannot do everything. I cannot make peoples problems go away. I can only try to help. And try happily. When my trying isn't good enough for the person on the other end or even when they don't believe that I have tried at all, I still have to be happy with my efforts and trust that the Lord will help in the areas I am lacking. And HE does. And for that I am grateful.

I'm sorry about the rambling. Those close to me know this has affected me greatly just recently. Even to the point that I began to judge others. When someone points out your faults some people tend to want to defend themselves by thinking 'they have no idea what I do or what I'm about. I do sooooo much more than this person or that person.' I fell into this trap this time over the last few weeks and of that I am ashamed and repentant. It is not like me to be unhappy and judgmental. I AM happy with the woman in the glass in my life. I am happy with my efforts. I know that I'm trying.

And - I am grateful for my precious 2 year old today who reminded me of this.

Because I love words I'm going to share with you one of my favorite poems given to me by a Young Women Leader (Linda Minor) when I was 16 or so. It is something I have looked at over the years when those self doubts have crept into my mind and I worry about what other people think. I hope you all are happy with the person in the glass.

THE MAN IN THE GLASS

When you get what you want in your struggle for gain,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what THAT man has to say.

For it is not your father or mother or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass.
The fellow whose verdict counts MOST in your life
Is the one staring back in the glass.

Some people might think you're a straight shootin' chum
and call you a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum,
If you can't look him straight in the eye.

He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest,
For he's with you right up to the end.
And you have passed your most valuable test
If the man in the glass is your friend

You may fool the world down the pathway of years,
and get pats on the back as you pass.
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you've cheated the man in the glass.

Righteous Desires: Singing Trees & Sister Dalton

2009-07-02T06:50:00.000-07:00

I cannot begin to tell you what is in my heart this morning. I feel strongly that I need to write this down for my close friends and family to read.

As some of you know, I was recently called into the great Primary organization to serve as the President in our ward. I am so excited to teach and I love the little children of McCall 2nd ward. I have been in that job for approx. 3 weeks. Everything about it has been an amazing spiritual experience for me. I have faith in the fact that The Lord qualifies those whom He calls, for, were it not for Him leading and guiding me through the Spirit EVERY DAY, I would have had a complete breakdown by now. I'm not kidding.

Now- that being said - in order to serve in Primary I had to leave my old calling. This has not been easy for me. I’ve served as the 1st counselor in the Young Women's Presidency for the last 3 years. I know this does not seem like a long time to some but in the life of a teenager 3 years is a looooong time. Heavenly Father knew it would be a hard thing for me to leave these Young Women that I have grown to love and (in some cases) prayed to love (with those prayers being answered above and beyond that which I asked). :o) AND- to top it all off... this was all happening 3 wks. before girls camp!!! Are you kidding me?

But, through the experiences of last night, I have been reminded that Our Heavenly Father knows each and every one of us and the desires of our hearts. And if those desires are righteous and in timing with HIS plan He will do all He can to help those desires become reality.

So - just when I thought my heart would break into 10 million pieces thinking that I would not be able to share in this last amazing spiritual experience with my girls He blessed me with an answer to my prayers. A sweet phone call from the Stake Camp Director (who also happens to be my next door neighbor and a dear, dear friend) assured me that I would still be able to come to girls camp for Wednesday night. Now some of you might wonder what the big deal is. Girls camp is amazing EVERY year. And I know this. I've been to many girls camps over the years. But this one was different. This was an EXTRA SPECIAL girls camp. And Wednesday night was an extra special night for the girls of the Weiser, Idaho Stake.

For, because of the prayers & righteous desires of our great Stake Young Women Leaders and Camp Director, we were blessed last night to sit at the feet of Sister Elaine Dalton, the General Young Women's President. Yes. That's what I said. GENERAL Young Women's President. And yes, at Stake Girls Camp. Not a Regional Conference or an auditorium filled with thousands of girls or even an EFY session. Just our quaint little Stake Girls camp nestled up in the hills of Idaho. Our leaders were inspired to ask her to come and, according to Sister Dalton, she felt impressed and excited to come, even though others around her thought she was crazy. Idaho? Stake Girls Camp? What? I will forever be grateful for those inspired leaders and for Sister Dalton listening and acting on those promptings and impressions that she should come.

We pulled into camp and saw that the girls were already assembled at the pavilion and she was speaking with them. We found out that they had been given the oppportunity to submit written questions to her and her husband was graciously choosing them for her to answer. Just knowing that the girls were being taught directly from her was an amazing feeling.

Later on we were blessed to have her speak to all of us. I was in tears before the meeting began. She spoke to us of her experiences as a teenager and a mother and a grandmother and a wife and a Young Women Leader and The Spirit spoke to us of her great faith in Christ and testified of her love for all of us and the gospel. Our Stake Camp Director, Dana Jones, testified of the value of Virtue in our lives and offered each Young Women a Gold 'Banner', made out of fabric, small enough to fit in a pocket but big enough to hang on a wall. Our Stake Young Women President, Margo Dening, shared her testimony at the request of Sister Dalton and I was moved by her soft and tender spirit and her love of the gospel and of serving with the Young Women. I could relate to all of these women and knew that the girls were feeling that too.

We ended the night with an activity called "Singing Trees". This is an activity that takes place in the dark. We were dismissed ward by ward to walk reverently to a pre-designated spot in the tree line using flashlights for guidance. Our ward was the 2nd of 10 wards in our Stake to be dismissed. We had the opportunity to watch the others wards as they helped their fellow sisters to find their places in the dark. When all the wards were in their separate spots all flashlights were turned off and the world around us fell silent (not an easy task for 100+ girls ages 12-18).

I was sitting there enjoying the silence and the feeling of friendship and love for the dear sisters I was sitting with and then a group of flashlights came on in the distance and sweet, soft voices filled the air. One ward started to sing as the rest of us sat in the soft and quiet dark and listened. They finished. Their lights went off and it fell silent again. It was our turn. Our lights shone and our voices filled the darkness while those around us sat in the trees in silence and darkness and listened, and most importantly, FELT. Felt the Spirit testifying that we were where we needed to be, doing what we needed to be doing, and that while we might feel alone at times in a world of darkness there ARE others out there. We might not be able to see them but they ARE there. The songs continued through all the different groups. I heard "Nearer, My God, to Thee" & "Where Love Is", & "Abide With Me, Tis Even tide", & "Our Savior's Love" & ohmygoodness... I can't name them all. Our Stake Leaders were the last small group and they sang "I Am a Child of God".

And then something amazing happened. ALL the flashlights came on, and ALL the voices, including Bro. & Sister Dalton, sang TOGETHER in the darkness. It was our camp song, written by our Stake Camp Director, entitled "In The Arms of His Love". Based partly on D&C 6:20 where it says "Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love".

We had been instructed that after the song finished we could walk reverently back to our ward campsites for the night. The Spirit was strong. And even with all the silliness of teenage girls stumbling in the dark the atmosphere was still one of reverence. Our ward’s singing spot was at the bottom of the tree line, in front of some of the other wards so we were some of the first ones to walk across the spacious field towards the ward camps. I turned around about halfway across the field and was touched again by the Spirit. I was watching tiny lights coming out of the woods. Each being held by a Virtuous Young Woman or their Leader. It reminded me of the scripture in Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." I turned to a few of the girls and leaders and said "you should turn around and look". They did. I hoped they felt what I felt. Watching the lights coming out of the darkness was as touching to me as listening to the praises being sung 5 minutes before. It reminded me of the Janice Kapp Perry song (from my days as a teenager) that says "Just one little light in the darkness shining through the night... can grow to a blaze of glory setting the world alight.”

We ended the night a few minutes later with a Ward Family Prayer around the campfire and I felt peace. A peace that I didn’t realize I was longing for. I had closure. I knew at that moment that “my” girls would all be okay. I silently handed them back to the Lord knowing that He would take care of them & that they were being watched over by angels on this earth and angels in Heaven. And when I finally got home at 2AM I thanked my Heavenly Father for many many things- for my testimony, and my love of the gospel and the Young Women & the Primary Children but most specifically, last night, for giving me one last spiritual experience with my girls by answering the righteous desires of my heart with Singing Trees & Sister Dalton.

Beth's First Softball Season - 2nd Place Champs!

2009-06-30T13:23:00.001-07:00

I have just a second and wanted to post about how proud I am of my Bethany. She is terrified of sports. Not of the playing.... but of the yelling coaches. LOL! We go to Kamron's practices and games of every sport and all she see is adults yelling at children. LOL! She seriously hates it. I've tried to explain to her that the coaches have to yell while the kids are making noise and dribbling & running down the court or.... they have to yell because those darn football helmets get in the way... But regardless of the reasons... She does not like it.

We figured softball was a more mellow sport.... and it took some convincing to get her to play... we had to call her friends and make sure she would know somebody. And we had to tell her that she was not the only girl who was playing softball for the first time.... she finally agreed.

So we went down to City Hall and signed her up. When we got home from City Hall she sat down and wrote a story (my kids love to write. Bethany writes stories... Kamron writes poetry). The story was about a little girl who signed up for softball for the first time and ends up on a team with a horribly mean coach, Mr. Green Eyes. She still claims that it was totally fictional and she wasn't afraid to play softball. Hmmmmm.. We have since thrown away the story because she thought it was silly & didn't want to see it again.

Cute quote # 1. After the first practice she says to me, "Mom! Thank you sooooo much for making me play softball! It is soooo fun! I LOOOOOOVE it!"

Cute quote # 2. After the 2nd practice she looks at all of us like a teacher correcting her children... "You guys! Only the PITCHER has to throw the ball underhand in softball. Everbody else can throw it OVERHAND!" LOL! I was dying....

And to top it off... her first game, her first time at bat, and YAYYYYYY!!! She gets a hit!

I have never seen a girl smile that much! She went on to become one of the best batters on the team and her team, THE STARBURSTS, (in McCall the kids on the team get to pick the name) took 2ND PLACE!

I love my Brave Bethany!

Diaper Ditcher

2009-05-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I let Tessa walk around in her diaper. She doesn't normally like that. She loves her clothes. She hates being cold. I'm thinking, though, that this might be the last time I do this. I came around the corner and found this.....

And guess what was around the next corner... THIS!

There is a plus side . She has already shown interest in going potty. She has sat on the potty 2 times already with no results but is not afraid either! Yay!

SUH-WHINE FLU...

2009-05-05T14:08:00.000-07:00

Okay- for those of you who know me... you know that I am pretty easy-going with MOST things. But this swine flu thing has me all freaked out. I don't know why. Maybe because I have a baby again... Maybe because I've been thinking about pulling my children out of public school already and this is JUST ANOTHER reason. Or maybe my thyroid medication is all screwy and I'm just emotional. Who knows..... I can't help myself from checking the United States & International totals every day. (Here's the website.. http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/ ) I know it's totally treatable and they're in the process of developing a vaccine and because of the media and technology these days the likelihood of millions of us dying is rare, but STILL.... I just can't let it go. KC is sick of hearing about it... I even ordered facemasks on e-bay before the price went up. You never know....

KC's uncle, Paul, sent us this pic via e-mail & it pretty much sums up how I feel. I love all of you but seriously... if you get sick... you're on your own, man.

And..... yes..... we have a POST!

2009-05-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted since I got high-speed internet and thought I'd take a shot at it. I love writing, I've always loved writing, and I've made a goal of writing more. So for now, since I'm already behind today, I'm just going to post some pics but be prepared for more random ramblings from the Nay home. As I just typed "Nay home" it reminded me of my funny children whose claim to fame in the scriptures is that Ishmael (remember him? Lehi's sons went back to Jerusalem to get his daughters to marry them) anyway... when Ishmael died in the wilderness it was in a place called Nahom. There are multiple pronunciation interpretations but my children, obviously, prefer "Nayhome". LOL! Did I mention these would be random ramblings. LOVE IT!

So these next pics are of Tessa doing what she does best..... Sleeping. I am blessed to have children who LOVE to sleep!

Rocking Chair.....

Toybox....

On the floor with "Monkey".... we love that little Monkey, Nonnie. Despite his "pickable" nose.

With Uncle Kyle...

AND- OHMYGOODNESS.... Loving the high-speed internet for blog posting. You will definitely hear from me more often! Woohoo!

10 Honesty Items

2009-01-23T09:19:00.000-08:00

I was tagged by Jennifer…….10 HONESTY ITEMS…. Here we go:
1. I am terrified of birds. And grasshoppers. And frogs. And jumping spiders. Pretty much anything that can fly/jump up in your face. But mostly birds. The only thing I don’t like about visiting the ocean are the crazy psychopathic begging seagulls that are as big as horses.

2. I love learning about why people are involved in dark things. Drugs – promiscuity – murder – gangs – cults. It’s a weird thing, I know. But I don’t dwell on the darkness… just on trying to understand people’s explanations and reasons for entering the darkness…. People like Hitler and Sadaam and Osama fascinate me. And I can’t get enough of TV Shows like Intervention and Celebrity Rehab. I’ve always wished you could take apart someone’s brain and say….ah-ha! That’s the one bad choice /thought /trigger /experience that led them down that horrid path. In another life I’d choose to be a criminal psychologist.

3. It still upsets me that I can’t wear 2 sets of earrings. But obedience is more important.

4. Everyone thinks I am a glass half full person… and for the most part, I am. But when I decide the glass is half empty. WATCHOUT! I turn into a very emotional girl – one that my husband doesn’t know how to help and my kids are afraid of. This horrible attitude usually occurs once a year or so…..If I have any prior warning I’ll let you know.

5. I hate being the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus. I buy the stuff, I leave the money… I want the glory.

6. I am terrified of nursing homes. TERRIFIED. Like – so bad I feel nauseous and light-headed when I enter one. It’s all I can do to not faint. I’m having a hard time right now even thinking about it. Don’t get me wrong. I love elderly people. Just not the nursing homes…..

7. I am lucky I have Christ’s gospel in my life because without it I’m sure I’d be a drug-addicted alcoholic working on the streets in Vegas with a bounty on my head for gambling debts. I wish I was kidding.

8. I have issues with my friends meeting other friends through me. Like the Seinfeld episode where Jerry is freaking out that his work world and his social world are mixing. It’s just weird. There are Nampa friends and there are Church friends and there are McCall friends and there are old Micron friends and etc... None of my friends in highschool got along with each other so I’m terrified that would still happen if everyone met. Old and immature baggage, I know. This was written specifically for Nichole and Jennifer. I will never arrange your meeting for fear that you might hate each other.

9. Since my kids were babies I’ve prayed that they would be smart nerds….and that if they had to choose between popularity and education they would choose knowledge and education. Only time will tell.

10. I love my husband and we will NEVER get divorced… but there have been times in my life that I have been jealous of my friends who are divorced that get every other weekend without kids. I know it’s hard on the kids and the parents and everyone involved. But oh….. what I would pay to have a kid-less weekend every once in a while. Maybe sometimes I regret moving away from grandmas and free babysitting.

There you have it. 10 things I was totally honest about. And now Jennifer and Nichole can end their bet on me not answering. Pay up, Nichole! And thanks sooooooo much for believing in me. NOT!

FAMILY HOLIDAY LETTER

2008-12-30T09:57:00.000-08:00

Dear Loved Ones;

I sat down to write out a letter this year
And couldn’t quite drum up the Holiday cheer
The children were playing outside in the snow.
I had no excuses. I had nowhere to go.

So I sat and reflected upon this last year
All the changes, and happenings, the joy & the cheer.
Two Thousand and Eight was a great year indeed!
And to write this fun letter is just what I need!

In January things started off with a bang!
Our sweet Tessa was born! Things have not been the same!
She is trying to walk and she’s learned to ‘amen’.
She likes graham crackers, dancing, and making new friends!

Beth & Kamron are happy and beautiful too!
It’s a race to keep up with the things that they do.
Kam does snowboarding, basketball, football and choir,
Also baseball, and scouting, and stacks wood for hire.

Beth is sewing and singing and getting straight A’s
She loves ice skating, church, and activity days.
She can sketch and can paint and loves being at home.
She is training to be quite a sweet little mom.

KC’s busy as always. He works hard as can be.
He’s a great dad and even helped coach little league.
He loves fishing and dirtbikes and snowmobiles too
AND still finds time to complete all his fun honey-dos!

Me, I’m still doing daycare, can you believe that!
6.5 years and counting…. I just might beat Pat!
I am serving in church in the Young Women Prez.
Firesides, Girls Camp, and Mutual’s as good as it gets!

This year we were graced with new family as well!
Grandpa Steve, Aunt Mariah, and new cousin Danielle!
We are blessed to have fun neighbors, family, and friends,
It’s to YOU, through this poem, that Glad Tidings we send!

Happy Holidays now to our loved ones so dear!
Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!

Love,
The Nay Family
KC, Crystal, Kamron, Bethany, and Tessa

Cute Blog Survey From Cousin Lara

2008-08-01T10:05:00.000-07:00

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW: Is a beautiful meadow that I feel was created just for me and my family. Luckily we share it with neighbors we have come to know and love. Pine trees, dirt roads, mountains, and happy children. It doesn't get better than this.

I AM THINKING: I can't wait for my sister to get here tonight! What time is it? I think I'll call her (again) and ask her when she's leaving.

I AM THANKFUL: That it is Friday. LOL! Yesterday was a hard daycare day. One little boy popped the swimming pool, another said a bad word.... and then, beautifully, they all took 2.5 hr. naps.

IN MY KITCHEN: Are last years huckleberries that I'm going to make muffins with for Heather's kids. We are huckleberry picking this weekend. I'm all about the picking...I just need to remember to use them.

I AM CREATING: Ideas for new family stockings. (I know it's only July!) Bethany is taking a sewing class right now and I think that would be a wonderful project for her.... this year will be Tessa's first Christmas!

I AM WORKING ON: My Personal Progress. Sheesh! I'm 32 already! I should probably get this done. I am lucky to have the second chance because I work in Young Women's. I'm hoping to get it done before summer is over.

I AM WEARING: My Super Mario T-shirt, black pants, and sandals....and of course, my silver hoop earrings.

I AM READING: the Book of Mormon. Our family is on a 100 day goal thing. On a lighter note...the last Stephenie Meyer Twilight Series book comes out TOMORROW! Mom will be shipping it to me as soon as she gets it.

I AM HEARING: The dishwasher running and Bethany getting ready to put on a 'Wizard of Oz' play for the daycare kids. Her Cabbage Patch kids are the actors. She made all of the costumes out of construction paper and she's nearly ready to go.

OUT OF THE HOUSE: The pool needs to be patched. Me and the 7 year old who popped it will go fix it after the play.

IN MY HOUSE: it is peaceful. The baby is asleep in her jumper. The house is semi-clean. We have nothing of significance to do today. All is calm and relaxing.

I AM ENJOYING: going to church in members homes this summer. For those of you who don't know....our church is being completely renovated. They had to move the septic lines and the well so we don't have an occupancy permit. The nearest building large enough to fit our ward is 2 hours away so we are meeting in 4 designated homes right now until sometime in the Fall. We are not assigned a home to go to, we can attend anyplace we want. We are only having sacrament mtg. so church is short, but it has also made it very hard on us to keep track of the YW in the ward and their comings and goings. On Wed. nights during mutual we have a 10 minute lesson/devotional covering what their lesson was supposed to be on Sunday.... It's been interesting. Our family is praying that construction will go well and we will all be together as a ward family soon. Back to the enjoying part. I really am enjoying the smallness and intimate settings of the meetings. It's been a great lesson for my children teaching them that there are congregations all over the world that meet like that every Sunday and some in way worse conditions than us. Sheesh... that turned into a novel. Sorry!

Thank you Lara for the survey! I hope to read others answers soon!

Loon Lake and LIFE FLIGHT

2008-07-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

KC had a blog worthy event today. This is him… We started out at the Ruby Meadows trailhead heading towards Loon Lake (the site of the old World War 2 plane wreck) but we didn’t make it there…. Patrick (a guy I work with) was trying to keep up with Todd (another guy I work with) and he ran off the side of the trail. He had one foot planted on the trail and his body and his bike went down the hill and below a tree. His bike fell onto his leg dislocating his left knee.

By the time I got there he had straightened his leg back out cause he said it was grossing him out looking at it cause it was at a 45 degree angle from the knee down. He said he’d been laying on the ground about 4 or 5 minutes by the time I got there but I don’t think it was that long. Todd finally came back and he and I assessed the situation. Patrick's knee hadn’t popped back in and he didn’t want us to even touch his leg. So I gave Todd my cell phone and he rode out to Secesh in hopes of finding a landline.

In the meantime I stayed with Patrick and was able to build him a lean-to cover for shade. I also gave him about 5 motrin to calm him down and for the pain. Luckily there was a creek about 20 yards below us and I was able to use a hanky to get him cool water for his face. His foot and lower leg were swelling up (it’d been an hour or so at this point) so I took his right boot off first and then with a small pair of surgical scissors that he had in his first aid kit I cut the buckle on his other boot to remove the pressure on his hurt leg.

We waited for roughly 3 hours before Todd made it back. During those 3 hours we had some interesting hikers and their dog come and hang out with us. Kindof annoying when Patrick is in pain and we’re trying to keep the dog away from him….yet they still decided to make themselves at home and sat down to eat lunch.

Back to Todd… He finally shows back up with 3 EMT’s. One riding double with him and 2 on their own bikes. Vern Peterson (a Secesh local & customer at Hinson’s) was on his way with a 4 wheeler but it was a single track trail so he had to go really really slow. Willy (who used to work at Hinson’s & happened to be out on a day ride through Secesh) stopped when he saw Todd talking to Vern and decided to come in and help.

While the EMT’s were taking care of Patrick, Todd rode back out to where Vern was on his 4-wheeler cause he was taking a while to get the backboard there. Todd strapped it to his back and rode back in to us.

So the EMT’s had an inflatable splint they put on his left leg…. Earlier I had cut some limbs and stuff but he wouldn’t let me brace his leg at all. And then one of the EMT’s stared looking for an “LZ”. (Which in EMT talk means Landing Zone for life flight). Vern finally got there with his 4-wheeler and had a chainsaw with him so once we found a suitable LZ he got busy clearing some trees around the area. (Vern lives in Secesh and the official LZ in Secesh is on his property.)

3 of us were trying to move Patrick while they were clearing the LZ but were only able to take him about 60 yards. Patrick is 6’3” and a big boy. So once life flight was able to land everybody came back and helped us carry him the rest of the way.

Patrick is a funny guy. He was in a good mood by the time we got him to the helicopter and his mom also works for a Dr. at the McCall hospital. He was cracking jokes as we were loading him into the helicopter and when they put the headset on him he was saying things like “Hello Rubber Duckie! This is Fat Santa.”

Soooo…we’ll be re-scheduling our trip back into Loon lake cause we never got there. Anybody wanna come?

SUNRISE, SUNSET...SWIFTLY FLOW THE YEARS

2008-05-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

So lately I've been having that song from Fiddler on the Roof going through my head. You know the one... "Is this the little girl I carried? Is this the little boy at play? I don't remember growing older......when did they?"

Yeah. I'm not liking this kids getting older stuff. I came home last night from something at church and I swear Tessa had grown like 6 inches. She just seemed so big.

And Bethany...Bethany outgrew her church shoes a month or so ago and we haven't been to the valley to buy more so what did she do this Sunday? She wore mine. They were only a size or so big for her. um what?

And Kamron...Kamron is actually keeping his room clean without me asking...AND- he's a webelos scout. Next thing you know he'll get his Eagle and then he'll be driving and then he'll be on his mission. YIKES!

Let me make this very clear. I WANT THIS ALL TO STOP. NOW! Normally when I say that it works. It's not working right now. I must resort to other measures. I'll talk to KC tonight about locking my kids in their rooms for a year or 2... LOL!

I’d like to share with you a poem I wrote today for Tessa. It combines the urgency I feel to teach my children about the things they need to know but also the reluctance I feel in letting them grow up. I hope you like it.

My Dearest Tessa Marae;

If I could keep you small I would.
I’d cradle you with tender care.
Your baby nails would never grow.
We’d never leave this rocking chair.

If I could keep you small I would.
I’d wrap you tight in blankets snug.
I’d stare into your eyes all day.
We’d be each other’s cuddle bugs.

If I could keep you small I would.
Your baby scent would never leave.
You’d be my world, and I’d be yours.
A happiness some ne’er achieve.

If I could keep you small I would.
Your little voice would stay so sweet
Your heart so pure, your love so true
Your smile, a warm and blessed treat.

But you must grow – it’s awfully true.
I cannot stop our Father’s Plan.
You must grow big. You must be strong.
I must do everything I can.

To help prepare and teach you
All the ways that you must go.
It will be hard - but I’ll be here.
Don’t cry right now. You’ve time to grow.

Right now I think we’ll stay right here.
And rock and sing and coo and smile.
I know I cannot keep you small, but
We still have a little while.

Love, Mommy

I challenge each of you moms out there to find just a moment today to stop. I listened to a speaker last night at the American Mother's Meeting who spoke on what she thought about the quote "Wherever you are.... Just be there." She spoke about her sister who, to fight her frustration of sleepless nights with her new baby would take that time in the middle of the night to pray for that child. Amazing. Feeding a baby in the middle of the night and praying for that child. She continued the habit on as her kids grew older and became teenagers and she was up at night worrying about them. She'd sit in her home waiting for them to come home and she'd pray for them.

Sooo.. stop today. Just for a minute. Stop thinking about dinner and the carpool and the field trip next week and your church lesson on Sunday and all the other things that we have to worry about. Just stop. And figure out where you are and be there. I know it's not natural, because as women and mothers we are planners and worriers and fixers. But take a one minute break today because time goes sooo fast. Speaking of which, I need to get going.

Peace and love to you all!

Mom's Day

2008-05-11T20:01:00.000-07:00

I am writing this post at 9PM at night on Mother's Day. After having a lot of time to relax today (because my loving husband did nearly everything today- IE: the kids were up and dressed for church by 7AM and then they served me breakfast in bed - our mother's day and father's day tradition) I thought I'd take a minute and post something very dear to my heart.

I LOVE BEING A MOTHER.

I love it. It is hard. It is painful. It is exhausting. It is heartwrenching. Sometimes it is downright horrible. BUT- and it sounds cliche, I know... I TESTIFY..there is NOTHING more rewarding than being a mother. Nothing.
I specifically want to give a cyberspace high 5 to all of the stay at home mommies out there. Holy crap. This stuff is hard. I have been a stay at home mommy for just over 7 years now. If you haven't done the math, I worked until Kamron was almost 3 and Bethany was 1.5 years old. They both started in daycare when they were 6 wks. old. I was blessed with a wonderful daycare lady, Roxy, who watched my children (and also, conveniently lived across the street from my mom and dad) and I am grateful for her example. I try to be a good daycare mommy like her. For those of you who don't know... We share our home on a daily basis with other people's children, which is sometimes hard. But I am grateful. I am grateful for my job. I thank my Heavenly Father every night for the oppurtunity I have to work and help provide for my family. After having Tessa this winter, I have found a renewed energy and love for my job. These little kids don't care if their mommy's work all day, they just care that wherever they go during the day that they will feel safe and happy and loved. I try to do that for them.

I AM NOT KNOCKING WORKING MOMS, because I know that in this day and age it is hard to make a living sometimes, even with both parents working. I have been on both sides and I am not judging. There are some working moms that can do it all. I could not. There came a time in my life as a working mom that my priorities were all screwed up and after much prayer and worry I quit my job and decided to stay home. The story is way more complicated than that....and some of the details are personal, but I KNOW that had I not followed the promptings I received to quit, although scary as they were....my life and my family's life would be much different now.

Now I am blessed. Beyond description. I will not go into detail about all of the things we had to give up or all of the $$ I used to make. It doesn't matter. Although we have less now, my life is more full. Some of my best friends, Kristina Wright and Virginia Herbst were once teaching a class on parenting and chores and etc. and they ended the class with a handout. It says "Mom, I am the PURPOSE, not the interruption. This has been hanging on my refrigerator for a good 3 or 4 years now. And I swear by it. It is my mantra I repeat to myself when I get frustrated about mommyworld. My children are my purpose in life.

And with that I will end by thanking my loving mother, AKA: my "MOMSTER". We have had our differences in life, as most moms and daughters have, but I am truly grateful to you, MOM, for everything you have taught me and are still teaching me about being a mother. I know you worry about if you did a good job when we were kids and I want you to know you did. Thank you for staying home and putting your career on hold to raise me and nurture me (and making that decision BEFORE the proclamation came out-wow). You taught me how to love children and make everyone around me feel appreciated and significant in life. You taught me that it's okay to forget the pile of laundry and sit down with your kids to read or play a game. You taught me how to teach my children. How to be involved in their education and how to stand up for what I believe is right for them. You taught me the importance of 'me-time' (although you never took enough of it for yourself). You taught me the importance of Family Home Evening and togetherness. You taught me that children are way more capable than anybody thinks they are, and most of them just need to be given the chance to prove it. You taught me how to be fair, while also understanding that everybody needs to be taught and molded differently. I always felt that even though I was just a child I was still a person of great importance whose opinion always mattered. You taught me how to set boundaries and follow through even when it is hard. But most importantly you taught me how to love my little children uncondtionally and to make sure that they know that everyday. And for that I thank you and give tribute to you. I love you. Happy Mother's Day.

Snowblowers and Poopy Diapers

2008-02-28T09:55:00.000-08:00

Just a quick "new baby" story.....
I'm laying in bed a few Sundays ago about 7 AM listening to KC outside. He had gotten up at 5AM to snowblow the driveway so he could get out to go to church by 9. (He also volunteered to do the neighbors driveway cause her hubby was out of town - I think Russ plans his 'trips' around snowstorms - j/k) I'm exhausted and sore and just not in a really good mood and KC comes in laughing. huh?

Soooooo... you all know we just had a baby. A baby we love. A cute adorable baby. But a baby who also produces lots of poopy diapers. I don't know what people did before diaper genies....we thought about maybe not buying one this time - but the thought of taking every poopy diaper (10 + a day) outside with a newborn after surgery in 5 ft. of snow was a bit too much for me. So the diaper genie jumped to the top of the baby shopping list and we purchased it a week before Tessa was born.

Back to KC - so he's laughing and I'm thinking "what the heck? KC doesn't normally laugh after snowblowing for 2 hours." And then he asks me who emptied the diaper genie yesterday. What?

Okay- back to a good 24 hours before.... I'm completely overwhelmed and my house is a disaster and I enlist (draft style, not volunteer style) my children to help me clean my out of control house. They decide that they've been watching dad long enough and they know how to empty the diaper genie. Which they did (I was surprised and happy) and we send Bethany outside with the diaper sausage links to put in the big trash can outside......do you see it coming yet?

YES!!! KC proceeds to tell me that as he's snowblowing outside that he gets close to the garbage can and the snowblower starts acting funny. And before he could realize what was going on the little mini diaper genie sausages start shooting out of the snowblower into the drift across the driveway! OHMYGOSH!!! Sooo we do a little investigation and Bethany said that when she went outside the lid on the garbage can was frozen shut so she just left the diaper sausage links in front of the trash can. Which would have been fine had it not snowed 8 inches that night...!!

Anyway- KC tried to retrieve them all out of the snowbank, but he thinks we might have a few surprises come Spring. NICE!!! LOL! Thank goodness they are little newborn diapers- otherwise I don't know if the snowblower would have survived. Something I'll have to remember when Tessa's 2 and the big kids want to 'help' by emptying the diaper genie.

So- snowblowers and poopy diapers. While not a good combination normally, it makes for a great way to start off an otherwise gloomy morning.

TESSA MARAE NAY

2008-01-17T20:12:00.000-08:00

HERE SHE IS.....!!! Our newest angel. Tessa Marae Nay. Born Jan 15th at 11:16AM. 7 lb. 6 oz. 20 inches long and absolutely beautiful. We are so grateful to have her in our home. It's what I've been dreaming of for 8 years now. What a blessing she is.....

I'm tired. Been home a whole hour now. More pics will come later... Love you all!

New Years Weekend

2008-01-03T14:36:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share what we did this weekend. The Ricks family, consisting of my sister Heather, her husband Steve, and their 3 boys, Seth, Trevor & Alex came up for 4 days. It was a ton of fun. These are some of my favorite pics captured this weekend.

This is all 5 of the cousins on the 'batman' sled that Trevor got from Santa. With all these boys Heather's house is full of superhero stuff....but not for long. Little pink things are appearing slowly but surely. They are expecting baby 'Danielle' in 3 short months.

This is my sister Heather and her husband Steve. Steve made the same mistake KC did when I was 6 months pregnant with Kamron and we went snowmobiling. They tend to forget that the extra 5 or 6 inches in your belly at that stage makes it harder to reach around them and hold on. Heather almost came off the back just like I did 10 years ago. LOL! I should have warned her. She made Steve ride behind her after that.

This is Seth. The biggest Ricks brother. He's 5 years old. He had a few issues the first day with the snow......got stuck in the slide off area between the window and the house.....then he lost a glove never to found again till Spring (if we're lucky), but when it was all said and done he didn't want to go home.

This one and the next one are my favorites..... This is Kamron in his truest form. This child was born to be in the snow. He only gets about 20 minutes outside every day at lunch (not something I am very happy about) so when he gets home from school I pretty much let him play outside till it's dark. He's one of those kids that (if I don't pay enough attention to this need right now) might eventually run off and be a ski-bum living in a tree somewhere.

And the last one. This has got to be one of my all time favorite pictures of KC & Bethany. We got the kids snowshoes for Christmas and they love them. Kamron is more of a speed demon (spending time snowboarding, snowmobiling, and on the sleds) but these snowshoes are exactly Bethany's pace. Her and Daddy are now calling each other their "snowshoeing buddies". Way cute. I'm sure they'll use them tons, too. Some of our bestest friends, Chris & Tracy, got us a family pass to the Little Ski Hill & Trails this year. Woo Hoo! We love you guys!

I also just wanted to say how thankful we are that we were led by The Spirit to McCall and are blessed enough to be able to have the time and resources to enjoy the beauty we are completely surrounded by.

THE BUNNY

2008-01-02T11:21:00.001-08:00

Soooooo.... being in a friendly type mood considering I only have 27 hours (and counting) of daycare left before vacation....if you can call it that... I thought I'd share something weird about us. We all want to know weird things about people.....don't even act like you don't. Girl, you know it's true.

So I begin. If you are so priveleged to be reading this blog today you will be informed of a great Nay Family Secret. Let me introduce you to another family member at the Nay home. This is 'THE BUNNY'. THE BUNNY has been a part of the KC & Crystal relationship since 1995 or 6-ish. I brought it back from Chicago (the birthplace of beanie babies, by the way) and gave it to KC as a gift. He, being the dutiful boyfriend at the time, claimed to love THE BUNNY. I, being the (insert whatever you want here) girlfriend, began to pretend that I was jealous of the attention THE BUNNY was getting. I had no other option but to begin to torture it.

And here we are 12 years later......THE BUNNY gets found by me and gets tortured. IE: Hung by it's ears from the rafters, cooked in tinfoil above a candle flame...etc etc. Then I hide it again and KC begins looking. When he finds 'THE BUNNY' he 'sets it free' again (meaning he hides it somewhere else). He usually takes pictures of it waving or hopping into our house (he claims it's living free in the wild and will only come visit when I'm gone)......this is one of those pictures above. Below is another one he took with a note the Laurels had written to me. JERK! (I, BTW, just said the word 'jerk' out loud, too. This is how serious THE BUNNY situation is in our house.)

Our home is now split into TEAMS. KC & Bethany against Crystal & Kamron. Now....after reading this post, if you don't want to be our friends anymore we understand. We have had full-on-knock-down-drag-out-wrestling-matches over THE BUNNY in our home. It gets scary. I believe the longest it was hidden was about 2.5 years. Yes I said years. And yes, KC had hidden it that time in the coat pocket of a long overcoat he inherited from some great uncle. A coat he's only ever worn 2x to funerals. He's good. He's scary good. As of now, Kamron and I are in pursuit of THE BUNNY. I am in the process of cleaning out our bedroom (the only place THE BUNNY is allowed to be hidden) to make room for the baby. So I WILL find it today. I will. THE BUNNY WILL BE MINE. Maybe this is why I share this information. It's a huge celebration when one team finds THE BUNNY! Why not share the good news with our friends and loved ones??? LOL....

And- I know you've probably never been asked this question before in your life........but I'm looking for new 'torture' ideas. Any suggestions?? I'm thinking rabbit stew........

1st Day of Christmas Vacation

2007-12-20T15:41:00.000-08:00

Sooooo....We made it. Today was the 1st day of Christmas vacation. I didn't think it'd ever come! There are times, in a daycare lady's life that any type of school vacation is horrifying.... but I was really looking forward to this. And today was AWESOME! We ended up with a total of 11 kids. 5 of those being invitees to Bethany's extremely delayed birthday party. (Long story- not enough time today) We really had a ball today. Started off with singing HSM karaoke (for those of you who are still un-informed: HSM = High School Musical). Then we settled into watching HSM 2.

Lunchtime came 1/2 way through so we paused to make our own personalized English Muffin Pizzas with RootBeer and 7up or a combo of both (thank you Wright girls for the yummy idea). I should mention here that, being pregnant, I could not have managed lunch without the help of Sarah Wright. I was scared of today so asked her to come over with her sisters and help me. Thank you Sarah!

After lunch we finished our movie and then had birthday presents, cake and cones. The daycare kids got along with the big kids who got along with each other which makes getting along with me wayyyyy easy. We finished the party off by another good 45 minutes of HSM Karaoke. Which is what we were doing when most of the parents came to pick their kids up. I think they probably believe I've lost it. After 6 years, of daycare though, the higher decibel levels don't seem to bother me. Yet another blessing.

You all need to know that I prayed that I could just get through this day and my prayers were answered above and beyond that which I needed. Heavenly Father blessed me with a wonderful start to Christmas vacation this year. Maybe so I can ponder on the joys of my older children as I am preparing for this new little one. I've joked with my children from the beginning of this pregnancy that I'm having another baby to remind me that I liked them once, too. Luckily, they both have good attitudes and take it all in stride. But I'm thinking it's not that funny anymore... My older children DO bring me a different kind of joy. Not the 'I feel needed all the time joy' that I LOVE, but the 'Wow. I taught them how to do that a year ago and they actually remembered this time' joy. Which I'm learning is a HUGE thing too.
Sorry. Now you're just listening to the ramblings of a pregnant lady. A humbled, happy pregnant lady.
I hope your days were all as good as mine. If so, remember to give thanks in your prayers. And if not, just be thankful you had another day. LOVE ALWAYS!

WE HAVE A BLOG....FINALLY!!

2007-11-06T12:46:00.000-08:00

We finally did it. Jumped on the Blog Bandwagon. We're not really bandwagon people... we've always kindof done our own thing, BUT (there's always a big BUTt- and it's usually mine) we spend time on other people's blogs now and feel like we're eavesdropping so figured we should allow other's to check out our crazy life too.

I, Crystal, the mommy & wife, will of course, be the main contributor with input from my children. You might be priveleged to hear from KC occassionally, but don't be surprised if it's not as frequently as we all would like. And...fair warning... his posts most likely will be accompanied by dead fish pictures and boy things like that, like the one above. I'm SURE he'll love this when he sees it. Ahhhh...it's a wonderful thing being married to your best friend who can't seem to stay upset with you. I take advantage of it as much as I can. LOL....!!

So anyways...I think I'll add some favorite family pics and then we'll go from there.