Snowdonia National Forest, Wales

One of the places we were determined to go to before leaving the UK was Wales. And we finally made it there--thanks to some tips from our friends. We stayed in Snowdonia National Forest at a Royal Navy Charity cottage. The Royal military has a few such charities that we know of. They are cottages or old barracks that they now use for their military and their families to use for R&R. Fortunately for us, they are generous enough to let their allies use it too. This trip was also extra fun because we were able to go with our great friends, the Butikofer's.

Wales is literally breath-taking. On the drive, we came around a bend in the road and suddenly we were in mountains. I'm sort of embarrassed to admit, the beauty of it actually brought tears to my eyes. I'm not sure what it is, but, for Geoff and I both, something in this country speaks to us on a deep level. The drive was gorgeous, if a little alarming. Tiny roads with no shoulder is one thing when you are driving around daily in a flat farming community, but it's another thing entirely when you are driving on winding mountain roads with sheer drop-offs a few feet away. The landscape is simply majestic. The mountains are lush and green, dappled with purple heather and dotted with rocks and sheep. Picturesque is not a sufficient word.

Here is the view from the cottage:

See what I mean?

So, of course, as soon as we had arrived, unloaded the cars and had a bite to eat, we raced out the door to climb the mountain behind the cottage. It was a bit of a challenge. The kids took right to it and were little mountain lions, which lead to my heart trying to burst out of my chest. Seriously. I just had to shut my eyes. Watching their every step was too terrifying. I keep seeing them dropping right off the mountain. And, Geoff's achilles obviously protested the climb, but he didn't let that stop him. Also Jere-Miah was very apprehensive, but he persevered and we are so proud of the giant steps he took that day. We climbed most of the way up all together, then Jere-Miah and I stopped and took a seat and enjoyed the view, while Geoff and the other kids adventured the rest of the way up. We headed back to the cottage, had homemade pizza, hot showers and enjoyed the lounge with hot chocolate and a fire before bunking down for the night. A great first day there. :)

Our kids with the Butikofer kids waiting for the adults to catch up so they could climb!

Geoff and Jere-Miah starting up the path.

Looking up. We're climbing up there?

The view from the top... well, almost the top. That's our cottage down there. Jere-Miah was such a stud. He worked so hard to get up that mountain and though it was very difficult, he never gave up... Geoff wouldn't let him anyways, even if he had wanted to :)

Day 2 in Wales we decided to just do more exploring. There are plenty of castles and manor houses and gardens to visit everywhere in the UK, but we wanted to see Wales as God created it. We went to Fairy Glen, a magical rock-climbing, hiking experience. It's part of the Conwy river and has a few literary associations. One such is in Geoff's favorite book series by Terry Brooks, the Shannara series. Legend says that the fairy come from the crevice in the rocks where the river comes through. And in the world of Shannara, the first Knight of the Word is called and endowed with power by the Lady of the Word as she descends from the mists of the falls at Fairy Glen. You can see why we had to go! And it was everything we'd dreamed it would be. You can definitely see why people associate it with magic.

Emeryss and M. Butikofer taking turns sitting on 'the throne'

at the beginning of the Fairy Glen path. It is, as you can probably tell, actually the old chimney of house that once stood there. It did make a pretty great seat though :)

Brody in heaven, completely enjoying the serenity of the river.

Geoff and J. Butikofer rock climbing to get a better view of the river...

and their mini-me's, Brody and M. Butikofer, following after.

Geoff. Finally catching his first glimpse of the Fairy Glen.

Geoff, Emeryss, Mac and Daeglan exploring the rocks and giving me a heart attack.

Brody, Master of the Universe, triumphant at Fairy Glen.

Yes, that there is the Fairy Glen. *sigh* I really want to go back!

After working up our appetites at Fairy Glen we went to the nearby village of Betws-y-Coed and had lunch. It's a bit of a touristy village, but it was fun to walk through and look in all the shops. There was also a great old church there, that I can't for the life of me remember the name of... anyway, the kids and I had a look around inside. It had beautiful stained glass windows, but unfortunately, I was low on memory space on my camera, so I didn't get pictures. They also had candles out to light--for 20p each--and a sign that posted why they lighted candles. It was actually really cool, though, again, I can't remember exactly what it said. Jere-Miah really liked it though, so I gave him 20p and he lite a candle and said a prayer. Very memorable moment.

We then headed to Swallow Falls, named so because their appearance resembles the tails of swallows. They don't quite compare to my favorite place, Mesa Falls in Idaho, but they were worth seeing, and a real treat for the kids, who have no memory of ever seeing a real waterfall before and Jere-Miah, who actually hadn't ever seen a waterfall.

Daeglan contemplating life on the stairs down to Swallow Falls.

The Marrott's--Geoff, Miranda, Jere-Miah, Emeryss, Mac, Brody and Daeglan--at the Falls.

Swallow Falls.

As you can imagine, when Day 3 came we were sad to say goodbye to Wales. And can you blame us when we were waking up to this every morning?

But, alas, it was time to start the trek home, but we decided, since we were so close we had to make a pit stop on the coast and get a glimpse of the Irish Sea first. Our stop was brief, especially since it started hailing just 2 minutes after we parked the cars and got out, but it was well spent and memorable. Just as we were heading back to the cars, a little family that had been crabbing on the pier was letting their crabs loose and we got to stop and enjoy their spoils. There were crabs everywhere! The kids loved it. Then it started to rain hard again and we sprinted to the cars and made our way home. We love you, Wales. Someday, we'll be back!

The Irish Sea.... or rather a bay area of the Irish Sea.

Jere-Miah in crabby heaven.

Mac and Daeglan (holding the crab) trying to hold them without getting pinched.

Picture of the day: Geoff's lunch!

Sherwood Forest... our Band of Merry Men.

At the beginning of the summer our family was put in for an EFMP (exceptional family member program) move back to the States. It's been a two month process and we still don't know exactly where we are going or when, but that we will be leaving beloved England before the end of September. Since we knew our time was short, we've been making the most of it and traveling!

The second weekend in August we took the kids camping in Sherwood Forest and we able to attend the annual Robin Hood Festival there. We arrived in at the Sherwood Holiday Park on Friday afternoon and the campsite was fabulous. Clean, quite, family friendly and very peaceful. Camping in the UK is definitely different from camping in the USA--the UK has a no campfire rule due to the overabundance of peat moss--but it is just as wonderful. Here's a few pictures of our campsite set-up.

We were a bit nervous about sleeping 7 of us in one tent, but it worked out great. We had fun playing with a frisbee on the open lawn, especially at night... someone super cool bought the kids a lighted frisbee for the trip. Yes, I won major cool points for that one! We also brought a few coloring books and some card games. The camping was such a nice escape from the busyness of every-day living. So great to be unplugged.

We spent all day Saturday, exploring the world of Robin Hood at the annual Robin Hood Festival in the Sherwood Forest. The festival was awesome. Characters in costume were all over the forest and were very interactive. We got to talk to them about daily life in Sherwood, we were able to hear lots of live music and see a fire thrower.

One of the first things we did after arriving at the festival was go to the open theater for a retelling of Robin Hood and His Band of Merry Men. This was an audience participation performance and Mac and Daeglan were picked from the audience to play two of the Sheriff of Nottingham's men at arms. They took well to the role, but got reprimanded a few times for trying to fight Robin Hood (or their fellow men at arms) when it was time for fighting yet. Daeglan had a short speaking part, which he stuttered through. Daeglan is awesome though, it simply doesn't phase him. He has all the confidence in the world and we hope that never changes.

Daeglan delivering his lines. Which, if I remember correctly, were something to the effect of "Let's get Robin Hood and all his Merry Men!"

Mac fighting Robin Hood. Look at that natural fighters stance!

After that show, we went to the jousting field for a bird of prey demonstration. Brody is obsessed with falconry and is begging for his own bird of prey. You can imagine his delight when the kids were invited out onto the field to be a part of the demonstration. Here's a picture of all the kids. *Note Brody is the one standing in the middle of the field. They were supposed to be pretending to be mice and be listening for the owl to fly over, then stoop down when they heard it. Brody claims everyone else was cheat and they were watching for it. He was amazed that even with his heightened sense of hearing, even he could not hear the owl coming.

After lunch we got to watch the jousting show in which Robin Hood and the Merry Men went up against the Sheriff of Nottingham and the evil Guy of Gisbourne. It was fun, if a bit cheesy. The horses were really the stars of the show. They were magnificent beasts.

On the right, Robin Hood. On the left, Will Scarlet.

We then went on a walk around the forest. Nestled in among all the amazing old trees were little camps of mediaeval peasants and tradesmen. The boys particularly enjoyed the armory. It's always the favorite. What I find amazing is how heavy the weapons and armor are and to think of men actually fighting battles in all that gear. Geoff isn't as in awe about it... maybe that's because he is used to wearing 70+ pounds of gear to work.

Brody. "Man this sucker is heavy. And I can't breath in here!"

Daeglan. "Am I supposed to be able to see?"

Mac.

As usual he didn't have much to say about it, but his face says it all :)

Jere-Miah with a mace. "This is my kind of weapon."

The last thing we got to do at the festival was archery lessons. We each got a little bit of instruction and were able to shoot five arrows each. By far one of the funnest things we have ever done as a family. So much fun, in fact, that we are hoping to buy some real practice bows and make this a family hobby when we get back Stateside.

Jere-Miah with an English longbow.

Mac

Emeryss.

She half-giggled the whole time, but she secretly really loved it

and was trying really hard to be just as good at it as the boys.

Daeglan

Brody. He soaked up every bit of instruction.

Archery is another passion for him. Basically, this trip was Brody's wishes come true!

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend and our little band of Merry Men was sad to head home. But we are so happy to have these memories to treasure for years to come.

Diligence and Obedience Bring Safety and Peace

I've had a few people ask for copies of a talk that I recently gave in our ward's Sacrament meeting, so I am putting it here with the thought that maybe others will appreciate it too. Please find at the end a reference list for all sources I used in planning and preparing this talk.

Diligence and Obedience Bring Safety and Peace

Today we live in an unstable world. Due to this instability many are security obsessed. They buy the top-of-the-line locks and alarm systems for our homes and our vehicles. They buy expensive insurance policies, even for their pets. They invest their money in stocks and bonds to "keep it safe." We have large militaries and governments. We have nuclear weapons as deterrents. We band hand lotion and breast milk and nail clippers from airplanes. We even go so far as to invade others privacy in the name of security, so that we ourselves can be safe. That's not to say that any, or all, of these things are wrong or even unnecessary. The point is society today is plagues with anxiety, worry and fear.

Fear dates back to the war in Heaven. Satan used fear as a tool to persuade many to follow his plan. He plan was secure; he promised not one soul would be lost; he guaranteed all would return home to again live with our Father in Heaven. His plan took away all risk. So much so that it even took away the risk of allowing God's children their agency, lest they make mistakes. Even after the Fall of Adam and Eve, he used this tactic, pointing out their nakedness and urging them to hide themselves from the Lord. Fear, like sin, separates us from God. Fortunately, for us, Heavenly Father has provided an antidote, a cure for fear.

When planning this talk, and pondering the topic of "Diligence and Obedience bring safety and peace", my mind keep coming back to the Norwich Stake Conference last fall in which Elder Quentin L. Cook and Elder Kearney (our Regional Area Authority) spoke to us. Please know that I am going off my notes from that conference and as such, not everything will be a perfect quote. The one thing that Elder Cook said in the beginning of his talk is this: "Life isn't perfect. It will never be perfect. It will never go perfectly as planned. However, through the Gospel and Atonement of Jesus Christ we can and we SHOULD have peace." He then went on to urge us to have regular religious observances (FHE, family scripture study and prayer, family councils and devotionals) in our homes and he stated that it is in these things there lays safety and peace.

Just as Satan's oldest and most effective tool is fear, Heavenly Father's antidote has always been the blessings of safety and peace bestowed upon his faithful and obedient children. Christ said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27) Elder Cook's message of faithful, daily obedience in gospel living providing or yielding safety and peace is the same message the Lord's prophets have been delivering to God's children since the beginning.

Adam knew not why he offered sacrifices save only that the Lord God had commanded it and that in being obedient to God's commandments, he would receive the light and knowledge he needed to traverse the corrupt world that was his new home.

This same principle of faithful obedience yielding safety and peace is the very underlying theme throughout the scriptures. Adam, Noah, Moses and the children of Israel, Abraham and Isaac, Daniel, John the Baptist, Lehi, Nephi, Abinadi, Alma and his son Alma the younger, the Anti-Nephi-Lehites and their 2000 courageous sons. All were faithfully obedient to God's commands and all that was asked of them and all received safety and peace.

I would also like to share with you, from the Stake Conference I mentioned already, the analogy of the ships that Elder Kearney taught. Elder Kearney works with ships in his profession and shared with us how our diligence and our obedience can be compared to different kinds of ships. The first ship is the barge. The barge has great potential. It is large and strongly built and can carry great loads, delivering a multitude of goods to many ports. The problem with barges is that they cannot move of their own accord, they must be pulled or pushed along. The second type of ship is the sail boat. The sail boat is elegant and beautiful and can cut through the waters with great finesse. It is fast and can harness the power of the wind to out-shine other vessels. The problem with sail boats is that they rush to shore at the first time of the bad weather. Sail boats are only out when the weather is nice. The last type of boat, Elder Kearney mentioned is the rescue vessels. Rescue vessels are not pretty or beautiful, nor are they the largest ships. They are built for function over form and are usually painted an obnoxious orange that stands out like a sore thumb. However, these vessels are fully fortified to sail the waters in any type of weather. They are built to withstand raging waves and billowing winds and can fight against the threat of being capsized. Not only are they able to stay afloat in rough waters, they are usually traversing those waters in search of others to rescue. When they are out on the water, they are out with purpose.

When I think of barges, Laman and Lemuel come straight to mind. They had great potential. They were born of good parents and were taught the gospel all their lives. They were privy to the teaching of a prophet in their own home. And, they did, after all, usually end up being obedient. The problem with Laman and Lemuel was that they had to be pushed. There were in every case we read of compelled to be obedient. They were often shocked or had visits from angels to keep them on course. And once they reached the promised land and their father died and the pushing stopped, their people became lost. And so it is with all who must be pushed along, without the pushing they become a dead weight upon the water and as Mormon says, "They are led about by Satan... as a vessel is tossed about upon the waves without sail or anchor or without anything wherewith to steer her; and even as she is, so they are." (Mormon 5:17-18) "Or in other words," as we read in D&C 82 verses 9 and 10, "I give unto you directions how you may act before me, that it may turn to you for your salvation. I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." The Lord has taught us all, as he did Laman and Lemuel, how to act and what we should do, and if we are obedient, he is bound to us to bless us with safety and peace, but when we do not what he has asked us, we have no promise.

Shall we talk of sail boats now? Will we be like sail boats and expect to only sail in good weather? Does having the Lord bound to us mean that will we only sail on calm seas and bright beautiful days if we are obedient? No. In fact, quite the opposite seems to be true.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, "If we are serious in our discipleship, Jesus will eventually request each of us to do those very things which are the most difficult. Thus, sometimes the best people have the worst experiences because they are the most ready to learn." Is it any surprise then, that when Elder Maxwell found out he had leukemia, the illness that took his life, he simply shook his head and said, "I should have seen it coming." Brothers and Sisters, while we are promised safety and peace that does not mean that life will be perfect. Remember what Elder Cook said, "Life is not perfect. It never will be. It will never go perfectly." But also that we could have peace, through the gospel and the atonement of Jesus Christ.

We can look to the Prophet Joseph Smith for greater understanding of this. The Lord taught Joseph in Doctrine and Covenants section 6 verse 13: "If thou wilt do good, yea, and hold out faithful to the end, thou shalt be saved in the kingdom of God, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God; for there is no gift greater than the gift of salvation." And when the storms raged against the Prophet Joseph and the Saints and Joseph cried out, "O God, where art thou?" the Lord gently reminded Joseph in verses 7 and 8 of section 121, "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high, thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."

Job, who lost everything in the storms of life, whose friends and neighbors cursed him and left him, would not question God, and never doubted, never feared. Brothers and Sisters, do not let the storms of life push you back to shore. For as a wise man once said, "A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are made for." That is not what we are made for. We are made to be in the water, to be ever pressing forward. As the scriptures teach us, "men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness." (D&C 58:27) And just as a sail boat is unprepared to weather the storms, we cannot take unprepared vessels out on the waters.

Rescue boats are prepared and ready to weather any storm. And by faithful obedience we will be too. In a talk by Elder R. Conrad Shultz, entitled 'Faith Obedience' we are told a story about Elder Shultz and his family being out on a boat one day and being caught in a sneaker wave. These waves, as they are so named, come upon the waters without warning and can be catastrophic. Fortunately, for Elder Shultz family, all were wearing life jackets and even though it did throw one person over board, they were all safe. However, Elder Shultz later learned that 5 people died along the coast that day, for being caught unaware and unprepared. Looking back, those that lost loved ones, were probably dumbfounded, thinking, but we didn't know, the sea was calm and serene, there was no need for precaution.

Elder Shultz, then warns us that that Satan would have us believe that it is blind obedience when we are following the Lord's commands even when we do not understand them or see a need for them. He then quotes President Boyd K. Packer, who said: "Latter-day Saints are not obedient because they are compelled to be obedient. They are obedient because they know certain spiritual truths and have decided, as an expression of their own individual agency, to obey the commandments of God... We are not obedient because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see."

There is no need to understand or have a rational explanation for every commandment. After all, we do not have perfect, unfailing vision, nor do we have the ability to accurately predict the weather of life 100% of the time. But if we have faith and trust in Heavenly Father, we will know that we are promised safety and peace when we obey. Just as Alma urged his people not to be like unto the Israelites who would not look to the brass serpent and be saved because the way was too easy and they didn't understand, we too must not be slothful because of the easiness of the way or become complacent when the sea is calm.

Elder Shultz went on to say, "It brings us back to obedience. It will always be so. It's part of the plan of eternal happiness. I know of no doctrine that is more critical to our well-being in this life and the next. All scriptures teach obedience, and no apostle or prophet has ever lived who has not taught the principle of obedience. Sometimes it is necessary to be obedient even when we do not understand the reason for the law. It takes faith to be obedient. The Prophet Joseph Smith, in teaching obedience, said that whatever God requires is right, though we many not know the reason until much later."

An early Christian reformer once said, "The learning of truth so that we many do what is right is the whole summing up of the existence of man." And I firmly believe that is true. We, in the church, know the truth and must do what is right, that is what we are made for.

We must also remember that while a rescue vessel is fortified and protected on the water, it is not their only aim to simply float along on their own. Their purpose is to be out in the waters, searching for others to rescue, to bring others safely in to harbor. President Monson has often called us to the ministry of rescuing others. Serving other also helps us to further fortify our own vessels.

As King Benjamin taught his people, "I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." (Mosiah 2:17) And Christ himself said, if ye do it unto the least of these, ye do it unto me. (parable of the Good Samaritan, Matthew 25)

Service can also give us a new perspective. By helping others through their storms, we learn of our own strengths and weaknesses and we also see our storms in a new light. Not only this, but service truly ensures our own safety, for as Christ said, "whosoever will lose his lives for my sake, the same shall save it." (Luke 9:24)

In closing, I would like to draw your attention to Hebrews chapter 11 where we are taught in verse 6 that rewards are given to those that are diligent and then reminded in verses 39 and 40 that without suffering we cannot be made perfect (JST). Brothers and Sisters, please remember that as the hymn says, "Keep the commandments, in this there is safety and peace." May you feel the Lord's arms wrap around you as you are obedient to His commands. "Therefore," as Peter says, "Beloved seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless." (2 Peter 3:14)

I leave you with my testimony that I know that this principle of safety and peace being bestowed upon God's obedient and diligent children is true. I know that Heavenly Father provided a way for us to have safety and peace and that, that way is through is Son, Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus is our Savior and that he truly atoned for each of us. And I know that by obedience to His laws, we can live with Him and our Father in Heaven again. I know that the Lord is aware of us, especially in times of trial and that He enfolds us in the arms of his safety so that we may not be swept away when the storm rages against us.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Reference List:

Faith Obedience by Elder R. Conrad Shultz

Spiritually Anchored in Unsettling Times (book) by Bruce C. Hafen

Ships Are Safe in the Harbor by Elder Claudio R. M. Costa (podcast of BYU Devotionals as found on iTunes)

Act in All Diligence by Henry B. Eyring

Steadfast and Immovable by Silvia H. Allred

What Latter-day Saint Women Do Best: Stand Strong and Immovable by Julie B. Beck

Steadfast and Immovable, Always Abounding in Good Works by David A. Bednar

Book of Mormon Roundtable Discussions by the BYU Ancient Scripture Department as found on iTunes (particularly the discussion "Alma Counsels Helaman", and the discussion "The Lord Will Deliver His People")

Journal Notes of Miranda Marrott from Fall 2010 Norwich Stake Conference, talks given by Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and by Elder Kearney of the Quorum of the Seventy.

Marrott's Believe It or Not

As per our usual crazy life, something has gone wrong. Most anyone who would read our blog already knows, but I feel it deserve a spot in our bit of living history here on the world wide web. It was a fairly usual day here at 12 Normandy Close: kids were jumping and screaming on the trampoline and I was in the kitchen listening to an audio book and cooking dinner. Geoff was at football practice with his squadron. The phone rings. I frantically look for it while trying to also wash my hands clean of floury mess. I answer just at the moment I'm sure the caller has probably hung up.

"Hello," I huff out.

"Hi, is your mom there?" haha. I get that a lot... and yes, it does get old.

"This is the mother," I say as patiently as I can while stirring dinner.

"Oh, sorry. Hi, Mrs. Marrott? This is Sgt Smith from the law enforcement desk. I'm in your husband's squadron."

My heart squeezes a little, you know that intuitive thump it gives you when it's trying to tell you something important. But I calm myself, thinking she probably just needs help with a bake sale or a meal for a new mother or a moving family. Just business. But then why call from the LE desk?

She continues. "Your husband is fine, ma'am. I just wanted to inform you that he's been taken to the hospital. Nothing major, but he couldn't walk."

"Ok," I squeak out, "So he's at the hospital now?" I know she just said he was, but I just needed a confirmation. But what I'm really thinking is, what happened and do I really want to know how he ended up there?

"Yes, ma'am."

"Was he in an accident?"

"No, ma'am. Well, yes, ma'am. I mean, he got hurt playing football."

Huge sigh of relief. Sports injury, I can handle this.

"Alright then. Thank you."

I try and stay calm because I know the kids will flip out when I tell them where Geoff is and why I need them to immediately get shoes on and get in the car. My attempt at calm isn't successful and I'm soon yelling, "Get your shoes. You can't find them? Well why not! Forget your shoes, you can go barefoot. Just get in the car."

Ok, I wasn't really yelling and it wasn't like it started that way, but after 5 minutes and they still weren't in the car, I started to get impatient.

I call the Cranney's and ask my dear friend Camille to watch the kids while I go to the ER to check on my hubby.

The phone rings just as we are about to walk out the door.

"Hello," I try not to huff this time.

"Hi Miranda?"

"Yes." I realize now that it probably came out condescending and/or belligerent.

"Oh, hi. Um, this is Audrey (or maybe it was Amber). I'm not just some strange lady calling. I work with your husband. I just took him to the ER. He asked me to call you and make sure you knew where he was and tell you he's ok, but he needs you."

There went my heart again.

"Thank you, Audrey/Amber, for taking care of him. I'm on my way. Thanks."

Now, I was swatting my kids out the door. My hubby needed me. My kids are even more anxious knowing they can't go with me and they will have to wait to find out how Dad is. Brody is in tears, pulling his hair. Daeglan is saying "Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, Maaaaaooommm," trying to get my attention so he can ask for the 19th time if he can come with me and then why can't he come with me. Mac is looking at Brody and Daeglan and trying to decide if he should be freaking out too. He finally decides to shed a few tears too, until he hears he gets to play at the Cranney's then he's fine. Emeryss is only worried about packing her backpack with her new dollies so she can show them all to Camille.

We get in the car, finally, and take a few deep breaths. We have a prayer and we're off.

I drop off the kiddos and rush to the ER, reminding myself that driving 80 down a 2-way road barely big enough for one car will get me to the ER, but not in the way I want to get there.

I get there and clap my hands that there are parking spaces right by the door. I all but run inside. I find my friends and Geoff's coworkers the CC's (Cirincione's). The husband, Dom, is G's supervisor and has been there with him and talking to the doctors. I got up to the desk and tell them I am there to be with my husband. I'm told to find a chair and wait as the doctor is with my husband at the moment so I will have to wait to see him! I literally wanted to rip the attendants throat out.

I sit and wait.

The CC's fill me in. Geoff was running down the field and stumbled. Everyone thought his cleats had smacked together. He cried out in pain, swore up a storm and could not get up. It's suspected it's his achilles.

They call Sgt CC back to be with my husband and consult with the doctors!!! I was simply speechless. Hello, Wife here! You know, the one that will be caring for him while he heals! Unbelievable.

Luckily, CC speaks up and says, "His wife is here and I think she should be with her husband more than I need to be with him." Or something extra amazing along those lines. The attendant nearly rolls his eyes as he calls me back.

My love is face down on the bed, looking very much in pain. My heart thumps again.

Geoff fills us in about his examine in which they discovered that not only does he not have control of his foot, he also has no reflex which means the achilles is very badly damaged.

The tech comes in, shoots G up with some narcotic cocktail and then the doc comes in to tell us we have to see the surgeon in the morning. For tonight all they can do is wrap it up and send him home with some pain pills. Geoff winces and tries not to complain as the tech who obviously hasn't wrapped very many tore achilles tries to wrap up his foot. It takes forever. The tech wrap and unwraps his foot about 10 times. I was about to suggest that I do it myself when the doctor comes back and walks the kid through it.

I sleep on the couch with Geoff that night.

I call the surgeon first thing in the morning to schedule an appointment as per his discharge instructions from the ER.

The receptionist informs me that we cannot request an appointment with the surgeon, that the surgeon reads the reports from the ER and then decides who needs an appointment and they call us. Really?

We wait for them to call.

They don't but Geoff's supervisors do, wanting to know what's going on and if he'll be back to work the next day. Geoff's office calls again about 2 hours later.

I call the surgeon's office again. Read to her our discharge papers that clearly state we are to call and schedule an appointment and reiterate that ER doc had contact with the surgeon about Geoff the night before. She assures me he must not need an appointment because if he did the docs would have told her by now and she'd have already called us. I state our case again, adding that his supervisors need to know what's going on and demanding she ask the surgeon about it while I wait on hold.

She puts me on hold.

2 seconds pass.

She picks up and begins to apologize profusely. "Yes, he does need to be seen today. Can you be here in an hour?"

I scramble to rally the troops again, find another sitter and get us all out the door.

The surgeon suggests surgery, though they can't get him in for a week because they only have one anesthesiologists. And now here we are 4 days after the surgery and Geoff is finally feeling some relief... and I am exhausted and still sleeping on the couch with him.

Geoff was nervous about having surgery, never having had surgery before. Before they took him back the anesthesiologist gave him a shot of something to relax him. It was hilarious. Geoff kept saying, "Wow, I've never been high before. This is weird." He was loopy most of the day, when he was awake, mostly he just slept once I got him home.

The surgery went well. In the surgeon's words Geoff's achilles was "hanging on by a wisp." They had to go up into his calf and extract his achilles, but it did reattach well. The prognosis is good for a full recovery. However, it will be a long process. Long as in 6-7 months before he'll be able to begin running again. He can't drive for 2 or 3 months and will be on crutches for 2-3 more weeks (which is about a month total), which leaves me playing chauffeur.

So we are moving on base. Our prayers have been answered so quickly. We applied for housing (mostly to save money and get out of debt) the day before his injury and thought it'd probably be a few months before we'd actually get to move. They called us the day after his accident, which was 2 days later and completely unheard of, and gave us a choice of 5 houses. We'll be moving in about 3 weeks. Not great timing since I'm left to do much of the pre-moving work on my own, but such a blessing that we'll be so close to the doctors and his work during the months of his recovery. We've already had lots of help and support from friends in our wards and Geoff's squadron, so I'm sure we'll make it through this month and the next 6 just fine.

Things are busy and crazy... so basically normal for us :) The only difference is that this time, believe it or not, the craziness is centered on Geoff and not me or the kids. And believe it or not, this was our longest non-ER visit/hospital stay/surgery stint we'd had since I got pregnant with the twins... it had been a whole 7 months!

News Flash

Miranda graduated from College!!! I now have a Bachelor's of Science in Psychology. It feels so good to be done.

Updating our many adventures in 2010, so far :)

I was going to start with, "It's been a long time since I've written on here" and then had a bad flash back to writing in my diary when I was 10. So, we'll skip that intro.

So far 2010 is proving to be a most memorable, busy and altering year we've had in some time.

Just after Christmas break, the kids and I got to go home to Indiana for my grandmother's 80th birthday. It was a great, though short, trip.

Grandma Waters, Daeglan, Mac and Uncle Morgan

The trip started on Wednesday, or it was supposed to, when we got up at 3 am to get to the terminal on base and hopefully catch a military hop to Kansas where I had a friend waiting for us. We were turned away, the flight had been rescheduled, please come back at 7:30. We came back, waited for nearly 2 hours and then were told the flight was full. I'm not gonna lie, I walked out of the air terminal in tears. I had to go home and call my dear friend, Traci, I wasn't coming to Kansas.

The next day we tried again and were successful. It took nearly all day for check in and then

sitting and waiting for them to ready the plane, but eventually, we boarded a C17 (click here for a look at the C17) and were on our way to Delaware. Yes. I said Delaware. The flight was.... an experience. C17's are cargo planes and this one was loaded with jet engines, 2 huge jet engines. See?

We sat in jump seats that folded down from the sides of the plane. We enjoyed our in flight meal of ham sandwiches, snickers and pop. We drank lots of bottled water. We broke the toilet.... seriously, my kids broke the toilet. Ever fly on an overseas flight with a broken toilet?

Good thing the crew was so nice. The pilot took the kids up the cockpit and let them fly the plane. It was a great treat for all of us, especially for me since he keep them entertained for a whole half hour. Here's a picture of the boys lounging on the floor of the plane, another great benefit of fly military flights :)

After nine hours of flying and spending the final two hours calming my sensory overloaded child from the noise of the plane (cargo planes are very loud), we finally landed. We got a taxi to the hotel. All was good. Until we found out that our hotel room was actually about 2 blocks from where we had checked in.... and I had already sent the taxi away. So we loaded our luggage on the bell hop trolley and walked in the dark to our room. My kids cried the whole way.

"Daddy should be here, he'd protect us." "Mom, you should have never made us come." "Someone is going to jump out from those bushes and kidnap me." Finally, we made it to our room!

The rest of our trip, actually followed this crazy, unpredictable pattern. The rental car company charged me $800 for my $150 car rental, making it so that I couldn't use my card to get gas when we stopped two hours after taking off for Indiana. Driving on the right side of the road kepy me on edge all day and I did, in fact, turn into the wrong lane (only once!) when getting off the highway for dinner... it was dark, leave me alone. Our time in Indiana was too short, but we got to see all the grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles and cousins we'd been longing to see.

On Monday, we left Indiana for Texas with Mackenzie and Emma. The drive was long, but actually went well... oh wait, I was sick and throwing up for some of it... well, it went mostly well. While in Dallas, we got to go to the Dallas Aquarium, a Butterfly house, Chuck E Cheese, Applebee's and Old Navy! It was a great American fix.

The cousins, minus Sophie Jane, at the Dallas Aquarium

Leaving was bitter sweet; the kids and I were more than ready to be home and with Geoff, but it was hard to say goodbye to family and our dear America. We took a rental car up to Kansas and got on the first flight we tried this time, thank goodness. This time we were on a KC135, a refueler. (click here for a look at the KC135)

This flight was... even more interesting. We broke the toilet, again. Yes, we did. This time before take off. It took them 3 hours to fix, during which we sat patiently on the plane. The kids stayed awake the whole flight, finally giving it up at hour 9. Unlike the flight on the C17, there was no room to stretch or lay out, so it was a bit trickier keeping them happy. And, believe it or not, this plane was louder. Good thing I had gone to Walmart and bought Brody a nice set of hunter earmuffs to block out the noise. The boys got to go into the belly of the plane and see all the refueling equipment... again a nice treat, keeping my kids entertained for a half hour. Air Force flight crews, you rock. So we were finally all asleep and someone wakes me to tell me we are emergency landing in Ireland. Ireland? Yes, our navigation system went out hours ago and we are flying with a hand compass!!! Thanks for not telling me hours ago. YIKES. We landed fine. But since most of the flight was U.S. military flying on military orders, next to no one had passports. Me and the kids had ours, but not one other person did. We sat on the plane, on the tarmac for 4 hours while the U.S. and Irish governments decided what to do with us. After 18 hours of being on the plane--which of course, by that point we had eaten all our food hours ago and were thus starving--we finally descended the steps and got straight on a bus. They took us to a nice hotel, that I paid $240 to stay in. We ordered room service for the first time and slept all day, 13 hours solid.

Our room in Ireland

Our Irish room service. Yes, those are elf-sized bottles of 7up. Not Tolken elves, Santa elves.

We made it home, and in one piece the next morning and ran into daddy's arms. And I am tired now just remembering this trip. I'm not sure we'll do it again.

More adventure updates to come :)

Brody's Big Day

On September 6th, 2009 our little man (or rather our growing man) was baptized. It was a truly wonderful day. Brody was a bit nervous to be the center of attention and to be dunked, but he was calm and very attentive the whole day, just soaking it all in. My mother got to be here and she gave a talk about baptism. Geoff baptized Brody and as a wife and mother it was a great moment to witness. Mac, Daeglan and Emeryss were so excited for Brody, they all cheered and clapped when came up out of the water (which if you are not LDS, you have to understand is a bit taboo, it's usually one of those really reverent quiet moments where you could here a pin drop). It was really cute though, to hear Daeglan shout, "Way to go, Brody. Well done!" I love the way my kids love and support each other. Our wonderful Bishop, Bishop Wilkins gave a talk about the Holy Ghost and then Geoff along with other men in our ward, laid his hands on Brody's head to give him the gift of the Holy Ghost and confirm him as a member of Christ's church. Again an emotional and spiritual moment. And then Brody was welcomed as the newest member of the Thetford, England ward by our great Primary President, Sister Olson. He got a poster and his Faith in God booklet from the Primary which he thought was cool.

Geoff and I are so pleased with Brody and the consistent good choices that me makes. He is such a deep thinker, he constantly amazes us with his deep understand of gospel truths. He is a great brother (while not perfect, none of us are) and loves to teach his siblings new things and explain the world to them. And he has a great testimony and is quick to pray which is a great example and reminder to me to rely on Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. We feel truly blessed to be Brody's parents and get to share such moments as his baptism with him.