Buddha & His Right Eye

This boy and I went to the eye doctor yesterday.

His glasses had broken.

None of us were surprised when they checked his right eye.

Jackson, Kaydon and Colton are all blind in their right eye.

Literally blind.

How does that even happen??

He makes me laugh so dang hard!

As soon as they did his dilation drops, he was a hoot.

Like, hilarious.

Then we picked out his new frames.

Freaking expensive.

But, so handsome.

And, we go another year...

YES!!!!

I am probably going to blog about last night on both blogs today.

Because I said, "YESSSSSSS!!!!!"

Now, don't everyone go thinking I'm getting married for the 19th time. 

It wasn't that kind of yes.

It was way better than that kind of yes.

I said yes to a Church calling.

For those of you who are not a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we receive callings.

These are volunteer "jobs" within our ward or branch.

I haven't had a calling in this ward yet.

Four years.

I accepted a calling last night.

Before the bishop could even tell me what it was for, I said, "YESSSSSS!!!!"

He looked at me as if he had never had anyone be so dang excited about something that was still a mystery to her.

Now.... 

The feelings of it all over on the other blog!

Missionary Moment - Chile Vina Del Mar Mission

Buenos días!

Boy and girls, boy has it been a non-eventful week couple of weeks! As you all know we have kind of been in a lockdown of sorts because of some issues that were going on in Chile at the time. Everything is fine now, for a while Chile was just kind of going nuts but everything seems to have calmed down a bit and we are able to work as normal again. By that I mean we are able to actually leave the house and talk to people with our shirts and ties. 

Just about the whole week we played cards and chess. For a good time I was a chess master and was unstoppable then my companion finally came back and I haven't won since. But we also made banana bread, then we got bored again and made some chocolate banana bread. Then we got bored again and I read about 17 Liahonas if I counted correctly. And why the subject line is as it is you ask? Well it is because we found that canned peaches are the best things on the planet and we had little spoons from when we bought ice cream. I ate the peaches normally but now my companion is obsessed with these small spoons and really only uses them when he eats.

But we really only did that stuff, we decorated a little bit and just chilled out for the rest of the week. But I hope all is well up there in the states and I hope you all have a wonderful week this next week. Take care and I love you all!

Elder Jorgensen 

Robb Halloween Shin-Dig

Last night we had the Robb Halloween Shin-Dig.

Grandma made sloppy joes, chips and dip.

They were delicious!

Grandma also made a ton of sugar cookies for us to decorate.

It was really, really fun.

Also.

For record keeping purposes.

I was the winner of Scrabble.

The end.

Pumpkins

Last night, Colton and Kaydon and I went to paint pumpkins with the babes.

Anson was all about it!

He loved painting his pumpkin all the colors.

He would hand me one brush and reach for another.

He was creating a masterpiece and he knew it!

Asher, on the other hand, was not interested in painting.

His mama tried.

He was out!

So, we helped feed them dinner and attempted a walk.

Anson was all about going for a walk with Auntie.

Once again, Asher was not interested in the walk.

He was VERY interested in dinner and his toilet bowl brush and wearing his coat whilst eating.

So, I went with it!

Love these babes so, so much!!!

Chile

I look at these pictures and I actually think to myself, "Man, those were easier times."

That seems crazy, right?

Four babies, ages four and under.

29 operations.

Medical equipment everywhere.

Four in diapers.

No sleep.

Single mama.

Yes, I had help.

But, in the end it all falls on my shoulders.

Look at how amazingly delicious these children are!

We have come so far, and yet the stresses of it all continue and even grow.

That's the way it is meant to be, afterall.

I received another update email from the Mission Home yesterday.

My boys, and his fellow missionaries, are safe.

They were allowed to go outside yesterday morning in casual clothes, no nametags, and without the ability to speak English, in order to get some fresh air and something to eat - then it was right back to their apartments.

Today, they are hopeful to be able to meet in church buildings with other missionaries in the area and have some activities.

I know that they are safe.

I know that Heavenly Father has surrounded every single one of them with earthly and heavenly angels.

Of that, I have no doubt.

These sweet boys, though.

They have been through SO much.

I can't even begin to fathom how diligent they had to have been before they came to my care.

The mere fact that they knew they would have me as a mother was probably enough for them to roll their eyes... but they still chose me and I will always choose them.

BBW

Braxton came into my room on Saturday, while on the phone with his friends:

"Ma, are we doing our thing tomorrow?"

Me: "Yeah, Peanut! I just need to earn enough dashing today so I don't need to dash tomorrow."

Him: "Yeah... I can't. I'm gonna be hanging with my Ma."

He's 18.

That's rad.

I canceled my Sunday schedule immediately.

Colton came, too.

We watched football.

In our same spot.

With our same waiter that we have every week.

On the same tv's that we watch every week.

Together, like every week.

KK was working, or he would have been with us too.

Jacks called while we were there.

That's rad.

My Missionary

Yesterday (Sunday), I got a call from my missionary.

I knew something had to be up because he normally calls on Mondays.

He told me that they had been told to call home...

Chile was in a war...

They were under curfew...

He would try to call me today.

I was SO relieved when he called just now.

He is on the phone with me while I am typing this.

He and his companion are currently safe.

They are not allowed to wear their Sunday clothes at all.

They are not allowed to speak English in the streets.

They don't have the ability to travel.

There are no busses or public transportation.

They have been told that their mission president is in Argentina...

I sent an email this morning questioning that.

This mama is on it.

He is in high spirits.

They have food in their apartment.

Although there are fires and protests where they are, they don't feel unsafe.

They will stay in their apartment, or in the church, and study.

There are lots of rumors about the missions all being shut down, but they are just rumors.

If they are required to move to go further north, or to Argentina, members will be the ones to have to transport them.

But, my boy feels like he is where he should be.

He is happy.

He and his companion are staying very positive.

Santiago is about three hours south of them.

I love this boy.

This mama is struggling with not being able to protect him, but I know that Heavenly Father is much more capable of protecting him and all of the missionaries.

Pumpkin Man

Kaydon and Colton made a pumpkin man.

It's pretty much the best thing I have ever seen in my entire life.

There is also a dead man hanging from their second-story window.

So, there's that.

The Peanut

No school yesterday and today for the troops.

This one showed up at my office at about 9 am.

And proceeded to sit right there until about noon, when I asked him if he was hungry.

(super stupid question, by the way)

So we went to eat lunch.

This peanut of mine is 18 years old.

A senior in high school.

And he still loves to come and just be with Mom.

Just sit in front of me, watching a movie on his phone or playing a game...

Just sitting there with me.

Jacks does the same thing.

He has been calling me twice on Mondays.

The first round is to actually talk to me.

The second round is just to "have you there in the background while I send emails and stuff."

Before he left for Chile, he used to sit across from me at my desk and do the same thing Brax does.

These boys, though.

They are smart.

They are hard-working.

They are kind and compassionate.

They are funny as heck!

They are epic people-watchers just like their mama!

They are good, good boys.

I'm so thankful for them and so proud of them!

Dashing with Sassy

This girl of mine.

Yup, she's mine.

She's so much me in a little body!

Literally every single day when she's sees me get into my car, she asks where I am going, what I am doing and if she can come.

Literally she has been able to go with me like five times out of approximately 6,039 times.

Last night, I ran home from the gym to pee - then headed back out to the car to go dashing.

Kaydon was at work.

Braxton was at work.

Colton and Mari were preparing to go to mutual.

I told her she could go.

The excitement in is always hilarious.

She plops herself right in the shot gun seat, buckles in and she's ready to go!

She told me all about Jamestown.

She is writing essays on it.

She loves to write like her Mama Heidi.

She told me all about the kids in her school being mean to the janitor, so the teachers said that they had to have a silent lunch hour (which sounded super dreamy to me!!!)

She watched the GPS on my phone screen so she could tell me right where to go!

Then, of course she got an ice cream made by our favorite Kaydon.

Dashing is great for a lot of reasons...

I LOVE that the kids can go with me.

Colton has gone with me multiple times.

He is just the most fun car partner ever!

Kind of a Pretty BIG Deal!

Last night, I got a text from my bishop.

He asked me how I was doing.

I told him.

Then, he responded with this:

GUYS!!!

I get to start taking the Sacrament again.

It's kind of a pretty big deal!

Here's the thing:

I have worked SO hard.

I have crawled through therapy... literally on some days.

I have learned so much about my childhood, adolescents, adulthood.

I have discovered so much about me and why I do the things I do.

I have established boundaries - really hard boundaries.

I have committed myself to doing this thing right.

And, I've done it.

Along the way, I have learned about people.

Not everyone is going to root for our rise.

And, that's okay.

Heavenly Father will ALWAYS root for our rise.

Always.

Prayers have been answered in miraculous ways.

Comfort has been felt when I literally could not understand the why's and the how's.

Tears have fallen like the stream in early Spring with the runoff of the snow joining the already established waterway.

I have yelled and said really bad words in therapy.

And, she's let me.

I have called T, telling her that I am just confused and overwhelmed...

And she's talked me down from the ledge more than once.

The best part of this text:

The best part was when I sent it to my boys.

That was the best part of this text.

That is the best part of all of this!

Missionary Moment - Chile Vina Del Mar Mission

Buenos días!

How are all of you guys doing? I hope all is well! We are doing really well here, the weather is changing and is starting to get really warm which is nice! I am enjoying it a lot more now here in Los Vilos. Beach life! (I will send pictures)

We had some pretty cool stuff happen this week too! We had a zone conference which was really cool. I didnt get any pictures of that because I was constantly trying to get stuff ready and traveling, kind of a mess but I liked it a lot. We learned a lot of new stuff and we had some really good food! Kinda miss some good ol american food.

We also had a cool experience at church yesterday. We are teaching a guy named Martin, and he has been working super hard lately and going to school so he doesnt have all the time in the world but always tries to make an effort to get to church. And the cool thing that happened yesterday was when he showed up he said that he had a surprise, and I at the time was trying to get a dog out of the chapel (cause we live in Chile), and he said the surprise but I didnt here it. So I asked again and he said he wants to be baptized as soon as possible and said he is willing to do anything in his power to do it. So we are now working with him to prepare him for this. Super cool experience we had!

I also wanted to share my testimony with all of you. I give it every once in a while but every day it seems to grow stronger and stronger so what else can I do but share it with all of you. I have a testimony that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the kingdom of God here on this earth. We have been sent here to live our life to the fullest and make good decisions along the way. I love the Lord Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven, and they love all of us. As long as we work hard to follow the commandments we will be blessed, I know that for a fact, not a "I think" but a "I know". I love all of you and am so grateful for each and every one of you. Please be careful, make good decisions, and love one another. These things I leave with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Jorgensen

I want to add my testimony to my boy's testimony.

I have really started from the ground on my journey of recovery.

That includes my testimony.

Like, do I really have one?

Is this really all it's cracked up to be?

I have had some serious blows to my testimony over the last five months...

As such, I have really pondered and prayed for very different things, in very different ways.

T has stayed on me to do those things, and to take those steps... as has my counselor.

I told Jackson, as I talked to him Monday, about a super cool experience I had this weekend.

I sat and told the other boys about it yesterday.

I have $300 worth of bills that are due today. (Tuesday)

These bills are above and beyond what I was able to pay with my full-time job's paycheck.

I dashed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Prior to dashing on Friday, I knelt in prayer.

I asked the Father for the ability to cover these bills with my dashing.

I told the Father that my goal for Friday would be $150 and my goal for Saturday would be $150.

That's a lot.

Like, a lot a lot.

Friday, when I ended my shift, I had made $77.

Mind you, I was working with strep throat and a fever of 103.

Saturday, I got up - my fever had broke, so I went to the gym to walk on the treadmill for a minute prior to starting my shift.

I was scheduled to work a ten hour shift.

As I got on the treadmill, I got a notification on my phone from Dash.

Now, when you go to a restaurant to pick up food, the base pay and the tip are immediately added to your electronic account - prior to even picking up and delivering the food.

When you pick up a grocery order, say from Walmart, only the base pay is added immediately.

The tip, if the customer decides to do a tip, is not added until after...

I got a notification that one of my grocery deliveries had just added a $99 tip.

$99.

I stood on the treadmill, crying.

I was in complete awe of a direct miracle.

MIRACLE.

Answer to my prayers.

I was now at $176, prior to starting my Saturday shift. 

I was above my Friday goal.

I made my goal.

I am able to pay the bills due today.

Because of an answer to prayer.

I still have many questions about the Church.

However, I have zero questions about the Gospel.

God knows us.

Our Heavenly Mother is cheering us on with a love that I can't even comprehend.

We are known.

We are seen.

We are loved.

My Gym Bestie

I love Sundays at the gym.

I love Sundays at the gym because it's so slow.

There is hardly anyone there on Sundays.

Except me and this guy.

This is my walking buddy at the gym on Sundays.

Every Sunday there is literally no one else on any of the cardio machines.

But we always walk on treadmills that are right next to each other.

He watches CNN. I watch football.

Every once in a while, we will say something to each other.

But, mostly we just walk next to each other and enjoy having each other there.

It's my favorite.

(I literally don't even know his name!)

Brrrrrrr!

It is freaking cold today.

Freaking cold.

Freaking 27 degrees.

Freaking windy.

Freaking icy.

Freaking cold.

I am not quite ready for freaking winter!!!

When I told Jackson this week what the weather was going to be like, he laughed.

Then he reminded me that it's going to be freaking summer there!

Sugar Them Up!

Monday night, Kaydon and Colton and I went to decorate sugar cookies with the babes.

I felt like a let-down ... again.

I had these grand ideas of making homemade sugar cookie dough, taking rolling pins, having them roll out the dough, then use cookie cutters...

Nope!
I bought pre-made cookies.

Frosted these puppies, then let them eat the frosting and sprinkles.

They had zero interest in the cookies.

Anson LOVED the frosting .

Asher was ALL ABOUT the sprinkles!

I love our time with these babes.

They are such a blessing to our entire family!