you're still mine

and friday's five...courage, good books, rainy mornings, green grass and that he's still mine.

Photos taken by Talia Jensen

Huh?

I forget how tiring the first week of school is, not only for the children, but for the parents as well.  This morning was met with Jon sitting around 5 minutes before he needs to leave, no breakfast, no school clothes on, no teeth brushed.  When he does finally get dressed he is wearing his gym clothes to school.  I had to explain to him that you wear school clothes to school, bring your gym clothes to gym, change into the gym clothes for gym, change out of them after gym and put back on the school clothes.  I think he understood.  Now for Emeline,  she comes out of her room wearing long pants, she attends a school with no air conditioning and we have been having record heat for this time of year here where we live, so wearing pants is unreasonable.  So I tell her to go change into capris.  She goes downstairs and comes back up with a wet pair of capris and tells me they are a little dry.  I tell her she can't wear those and I go into her room to help her find a pair of shorts to wear.  When she comes out again, she is not wearing shorts, but a pair of capris that are WAY too small.  So, once again I make her go back into her room to change.  She comes out finally ready for school.  Their brains must be saying "huh?" a lot these days, because I know mine is.

Last day of Summer Vacation

It is the last day of summer vacation for the children.  They start school tomorrow, except for the youngest.  When school was ending last spring, I wanted to make it our family goal to read the entire Book of Mormon before school started again.  This meant reading morning and night about 4 to 6 pages per day in order to accomplish this goal.  Well by the end of summer we were reading 10 pages a day and today we read 30 pages.  But we did it and it was amazing.  I hope to make it our goal for next summer as well and make this a family tradition.  For the school year we will be picking some subjects each week and reading a few scriptures about that subject every night before bed.  We sent the kids off to bed early with a father's blessing and family prayer in preparation for another year of school.  Hope all goes well tomorrow.

Picture taken by Talia Jensen

As I sit by the lovely garden gate

Prayer in a Garden
Today the world seemed cruel, but evening hours 
Were filled with perfume from forgotten flowers.
I saw again familiar filigree
Of moonlight through my lacy Lilac tree; 
I heard the robins stirring in their nest; 
And saw the path that fairy feet had pressed;
Reflected stars were in my garden pool;
On my warm face the breeze was kind and cool.
The silence seemed to speak, my head was bowed,
Then ramblers that had grown into a cloud 
Lifted my eyes that, tear-washed, now could see
The beauty that today was lost to me.
Dear god, who is so near to flowers, and birds,
Be nearer still, as I shall search for words 
To thank Thee for the blessings night revealed,
Which through the day discouragement concealed.
-EvA SPARKs TAYLOR

Friday's Five

Jon's grateful list

1.  My mom

2.  Food

3.  house

4.  Friends

5.  Education

I can feel it in the air

Summer is coming to a close and school starts just around the corner.  I can feel it in the air.  I love it  when the kids go back to school.  Summer break is just long enough that by the last two weeks before school starts the kids are bothering each other a little more and mom needs a break from the Jon Stop Its and the SAMs, I don't really hear a lot of Eme's name being yelled during the break though.  She doesn't do a lot of the teasing and bothering. And for that I am ever so grateful.
These are just some of the amazing pictures from our once in a decade family photo shoot by Talia Jensen.  She is awesome and she does awesome work.  We love her.

Jon starts Junior High School this year, we will prepare ourselves for the emotional roller coaster.  Mr. Jewels is lots better at handling his emotions than I am.  I just wanna say "oh, just get over it".  I wouldn't be a very good therapist.  Emeline starts fourth grade and Sam will be at home with me and we will do a little preschooling here in our home.  I am nervous and excited for this school year and for the other changes that will take place in our lives.  Mr. Jewels is now applying for teaching positions around the world and also looking for Post Doc work as a backup plan if he doesn't get hired anywhere.  We might just have a job this time next year and for that I am grateful.   I just hope and pray we don't leave our beautiful area in which we live.

Seriously, where could it be?

My camera has been lost for over a month now.  I have looked high and low and cleaned this place over and over again trying to find the little thing.  Honestly, where would a camera go?

Friday's Five

1.  Kids
2.  Husband
3.  This talk that helped change my life
4.  Garden that grows so wild and beautifully
5.  Good food.
All of the dinners that I made this week have either been ruined or have tasted terrible.  I was so glad when Mr. Jewels asked if we could get Beto's burritos last night.  I was also so glad because it also allowed me to instead of taking time to make dinner I had the time to fold all the laundry.  Lucky me.  I take Cookie Monster's advice everyday.  Cookies are soooo good.  That's good enough for me!

What choices did she make?

I took Sam to the bakery down the street from our home to buy a donut and some bread bags for my homemade bread.  The door to the bakery is very very heavy, noisy and hard to open so it surprised me when a voice from behind me said how hot it was outside.  I turned around to see a woman dressed all in black waiting in line right behind me.  I had not heard her enter the bakery.  I responded with a friendly yes, yes it is very hot outside, it is nice to come in from the heat.  She looked very tired and weathered with years of struggle.    When I had been helped the worker at the bakery told the woman in black that she was very busy and she would need to come back later.  I looked at this woman in black again and noticed she had some dirt on her face and cheek as if she had slept in the dirt, which my assumption was probably correct for as we were both leaving the bakery she asked me for some money, I gave her a dollar and she politely said thank you and walked over to the general store, hopefully  to buy a refreshing cold drink.  As I watched her walk away I wondered what choices she had made in life that got her to the position she was in now.  Was it bad friends, too much stress, an abusive husband, parents, boyfriends or just stupidity?  She is someone's daughter, sister, wife and probably mother.  Where is her family now?  What type of situation are they in?  Would she recognize them if she saw them again?  I don't know at what point in her life could have been changed with a prayer or a good friend or family member and maybe someday hopefully soon it can and will change.  I know my Savior loves her too.  I do know that there are many roads to follow and many choices we can make, but only one road is worthy to take us back and it isn't the easy road.

Sweet Refreshment Find

We haven't been camping since who knows when and mostly because, well first of all, no time and no resources, but the kids were also still little and sleeping a little bit during the night was a concern.  So when my dad said he wanted to take the grandkids down to Lower Calf Creek Falls for a camping trip and we could come if we wanted, we jumped at the chance to get away for a little while.

Calf Creek Falls

Handwritten directions to Escalante provided by Papa Schow

Hiking the Escalante River

Jon at one of the amazing cliffs

Little baby scorpion

We hiked a little of the Escalante River, played at Devil's Garden, played in the creek all afternoon and hiked to lower Calf Creek Falls.  Only one of our kids went with Mr. Jewels and me, which was our daughter, Eme, and I'm proud to say that she made it all the way to the falls in an hour and a half and all the way back to camp in an hour and a half. We saw plenty of lizards, birds, fish, bats, spiders, crickets, squirrels and Italians swimming in the Falls in their whitey tighteys.  Quite amusing.

Friday's Five

1.  Home
2.  Family
3.  Air conditioning
4.  Laughing
5.  Completed projects

And here is a completed project;  I have been collecting doors from dumpsters, backyards, and neighbors dropping off their old doors when they get theirs replaced with a new one.  I WANTED to build a garden shed from all these old doors, but with Mr. Jewels constantly doing schoolwork or church duties, it was being put off for far too long and I couldn't stand seeing all these old doors just laying around.  So I went to work.  I hung each door along the side of our ugly garage and painted each one a different color.  It really gives the garden and the garage a much needed pop of color.  Even He Who Hates the Sun came out to admire the project.

Those are pumpkins growing on the ladder

Mr. Jewels enjoying the shade provided by the door

Friday's Five Things to be Grateful For

1.  Getting in a long nap after doing the paper route for the son who is at Scout Camp
2.  Watching the Olympics
3.  Reading the General Conference Talks   one of my favorites  It really is like having to drink pickle      juice.  Read the message, you'll figure it out.
4.  Friends
5.  A daughter who willingly plays with her little brother, so that he will leave me alone for awhile.