Indiana - November 10, 2014

Hello there!

Things out here in Indiana are going very good! Now the cold and rain is no fun at all, but that is what makes missionary work fun, right? As we close in on the end of the year the mission is really working very hard to be able to reach our goals, so that is kind of fun and kinda not, but I am really enjoying the work that I am involved in here in the little branch of Winchester!  Being with my new companion, we are learning that missionary work is very different in these small branches than it is in the big wards. A lot of the missionaries that are in big wards just don't realize how different it is, me on the other hand, these small places is where I have done most of my work! Anyways, super fun. The Williams family that we are working with are doing really well. They set a date to be baptized on the 22nd, and holy cow the adversary sure picked up his game with them, but they are pushing through it very well. They really are an amazing family! But anyways, it sounds like things are good back at home. Busy busy, it must be for it to be going by so quickly! What are you going to do when there is another kid back around :) Yeah, that is coming up pretty fast too, crazy! I hope all continues to go well, thanks for all the prayers and support! You are in my prayers as well. Love you Mom, love you all! Keep doing what's right, and stay close to God! 

Love Elder Jade Grover

 

My backyard

When we first bought this house, the backyard was a scary place, especially if you were trying to mow what little grass and weeds would grow under these two ginormous Elm trees.  My biggest complaint is that they shed . . . branches and sticks and leaves . . . ALL the time, especially when the wind blew!  But the real reason we had them cut down back in 2008 was because they were getting old and teetering dangerously above our house.  That was a great day, and somehow the backyard seemed so much bigger!  Still, we were left with two giant stumps and bumpy, uneven ground . . . still hard to mow.  So finally I said, "these stumps have got to go!"  Kenny brought the backhoe and started in on them.

This stump still grew branches like crazy, and we called it the burning bush

I have to say, I was a little surprised how big of a hole Kenny had to dig to get that thing out!  It looked big from the top, but underneath it was huge!  After a couple hours, it finally broke loose.

Pulling out the stump

And that is the bottom - check out the size of that thing!

 And while dad was pulling out the stump . . . the kids and I enjoyed the swingset.

Stetson

Lucy

Lydia on the slide

The next day Kenny started in on the second stump . . . and after about six hours he had pretty much dug up the entire backyard, and the stump was still there!  Six more hours, and he got to this point:

Look how many roots that tree had!!!

 It looked like this for quite awhile, and I wondered what Kenny was doing.  It's a good thing he is patient, I would have just given up!  He FINALLY persevered the stump came loose.  Yay!!!

The ginormous stump and a few of it's roots

And now we are left with . . . a really big mess!!!  I had no idea there were so many roots under there, no wonder the ground was so bumpy!  As I always say, it has to get worse before it gets better, and we are on our way to a better backyard!!!

Lil' Miss and Mister Wrangler Contest

Every year, for our county fair, they have a Lil' Miss and Mister Wrangler contest for kids ages 3 to 5.  The past two years I have thought, 'man, I should have had Stetson do that!'  Finally this year we did, and Lucy got to do it too!  I was actually surprised at how nervous they got, especially Lucy!  Despite that, they both stepped up and did a GREAT job!!!

Cowboy Stetson
Sang "Goin' Fishin'" and played the guitar

Cowgirl Lucy
Sang "I'm a Little Cowgirl"

Their cousin Dodger did the competition too, and here they are, waiting for the awards.

(Yes, it's blurry, it's not just your eyes)
But this is the only pic I had of the three of them together.

They weren't crowned Lil' Miss or Mister Wrangler, but everyone was a winner in this contest, and they came home with some pretty cool stuff!  Plus, I think it was a great experience for all of us!

So, after the contest we took the kids to A&W for dinner to reward them for a job well done . . . and guess who was there?  No way!  Andy and Alicia must have had the same thought, 'cuz they were eating at A&W too!

Cousins: Lucy - Bronx - Stetson - Dodger

Teeth

Sometimes, in the midst of teething drama with my children, I have thought, 'why aren't we just born with teeth?'  But then, as I am feeding my infant and they start to bite . . . I am grateful that we aren't.

Anyway, we work so hard to get these teeth - pain, crying, sleepless nights, fevers, sickness, etc.  Just to have them fall out in a few years - what is that?  I have a nine month old baby getting her first two bottom teeth - and my 5-year old is loosing his . . . is it all for naught?  Luckily, the second set comes in easier than the first!

Stetson pulled this tooth out himself - something I have NEVER done!  Way to go!  It was time for it to come out too, the next one was already growing in behind it!

Stetson lost his first tooth!
July 20, 2013

He put it under his pillow, and the tooth fairy came!
$1 dollar in dimes - he was pumped!

Stetson lost his second tooth on our summer trip to Salt Lake.  We took the kids to a super fun place called Kangaroo Zoo, a building full of blow-up houses that the kids can climb on and slide down to their heart's content.  Stetson called me over to watch him go through this one that was kind of like an obstacle course.  As he started through it, he fell - not a big deal on these things - but he didn't get up for a minute.  I almost went in after him, but he finally got up and finished the course, ending with a slide that shot him down right in front of me.  I could tell he was holding something in his hand, and he looked a little concerned.  "Mom, I lost my tooth!" he said, holding out his hand.  Sure enough, there was his tooth.  Two tender mercies at that moment . . . first, the tooth fell right into his hand - if it hadn't it would have surely been lost!  And second . . . it didn't bleed very much - so he didn't get any blood on the bounce houses causing a health threat to everyone else there.  Awesome!!!

Stetson lost his second tooth!
August 6, 3013

His new smile

And more good news: the tooth fairy found us, even in our motel room!  Stetson got a dollar bill for that second tooth!  Now he wants to save up to buy a Pirate Lego DS game . . . 

Sharing our home

So, one day I was in the office, working on the computer when I started hearing a bird chirping.  I didn't think much of it, assuming that it was just outside the window.  A few minutes later Lucy came in, she just stood there for a minute, and then she said, "mom, what is that sound?"  "It's just a bird," I assured her. "Inside our house?" she asked.  "Of course not!" I answered.  But as I turned around in my swivel chair I heard the chirping again, and it sounded like it was coming from our little storage space, just across the room.  Lucy heard it too and went right over and opened the door.  Sure enough, there was a baby bird laying just inside the door.  With absolutely no fear, she reached down to grab it, and it tried to fly away.  That startled us both, so we called for some reinforcements.  Kenny and Stetson came to the rescue.  Kenny put on gloves, but he didn't need them, the poor baby bird was more scared than we were!  I honestly don't know how he got in there . . . maybe there are birds living in my roof, and this unlucky one just fell out of the nest.  It was crazy, but the kids loved it!!!  They were so mad when we let it go outside instead of keeping it as a pet!

Our unexpected visitor

Right after the capture, the kids thought it was great!

Early last spring Kenny and I awoke to the smell of something burning.  After some investigation, we found that it was our sump pump down in the crawl space basement.  The sump pump had blown out, and the basement was full of water.  Since our water softener regenerated into the sump pump, we had to turn it off.  So, all summer long we had hard water . . . ruined our clothes, dishes, etc.  So Kenny finally got around to getting it fixed - yay!!!  We got a new sump pump and Kenny replumbed the water softener into our septic tank.  Anyway, as he was cleaning up the basement, which was covered in mud due to many floods with no sump pump, he found some friends . . . 

A family of Salamanders!

Again, the kids wanted to keep them -
good thing we had a swamp outside to turn them out in!

These four got their picture taken, but later Kenny found two more!  Can you believe I had six salamanders living in my basement?  At least we don't live down there, and my kids and I are not really afraid of creepy crawly things . . . now if it was a snake, that would be a whole different story!!!  I don't do snakes!

Black Family Reunion

The 2013 Black Family Reunion was July 4-5 at Grandma and Grandpa's new cabin.  It was so awesome to have ALL of the family there.  I sure got lucky to marry into this family!  I love them all!

The cabin at Devil's Canyon (not quite finished outside)

The highlight of the reunion was installing the new playground equipment from the old Walter C. Lyman park.  The grandkids (and Grandma) were super excited!

The ribbon cutting ceremony

Still working on it, but it is done enough for the kids to play!!!

Stetson's trick on the new slide

Never too old to have fun!
(nope, it didn't break)

Lucy loves the swing!!!

 We also had an awesome scavenger hunt where the kids had a list of things they had to find.  I was amazed at how many of the kids got everything on the list!!!

Stetson with his bag of treasures

Lucy had fun too, you just can't tell from the picture 

Now this is Lucy's kind of treasure . . . a horny toad!

We also got to go swimming, with the whole pool to ourselves!

Grandma and Grandpa even joined the fun

No one had more fun than Grandma!

It was a little cold, but it gave Lydia a chance to snuggle with daddy

Lucy Mae

The Stet-man

Lucy and Bronx
It doesn't get any cuter than this!!!

We went for a drive in Grandma and Grandpa's new ride . . . AWESOME!!!  Now I want one!

Stetson and Garrett in Big Red

 Lydia was pretty sure she was the star of the show.  Always smiling and happy as everyone passed her around.

with Brooki, Taylor's fiance

with Katie

Dave and Marlene with the two youngest members of the Black family . . . Stihl and Lydia

We also had a fun-filled evening with family skits and a pie eating contest (too bad I didn't have my camera).  I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!!!  Thanks guys!  The food was AMAZING!!!  And there was plenty for all.  Plus, we had good company at a great location!  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the awesome family reunion!!!

Celebrating our Independence

THE 4TH OF JULY

This 4th of July was a little crazy, but we still had fun.  Building floats for the parade, riding in the parade, the dunking booth, candy, ice cream cones, sno cones, navajo tacos, fireworks, and lots of fun with family and friends.

Three cute kids ready for the 4th of July celebrations

The drill team was in charge of a dunking booth and an ice cream booth.

Stetson liked the dunking booth

Lydia enjoyed the shade

And we all LOVED the ice cream cones!

  

THE 24TH OF JULY

PIONEER DAY

Enjoying the parade with our cousins

Ya' gotta love Lucy Mae!

The Girls

The boys

This has been the highlight of the Pioneer Day parade in Monticello for as long as I can remember.  It is 100 years old, and still able to drive down the parade route - Awesome!

THE BIG FOUR

Happy Father's Day

. . . TO AN AWESOME DAD!!!

Father's Day 2013

The kids and I are so grateful to have Kenny in our lives.  He is kind, patient, hard-working, understanding and always positive - nothing seems to get him down.  He is an amazing husband and Father and we love him tons!!!  Happy Father's Day!

OUR GREATEST BLESSINGS . . .