A Treking we will go.....

Elizabeth was given a blessing by Wilford Woodruff in which he promised that she and her children would reach the Salt Lake Valley alive.

After crossing the Atlantic Ocean and traveling further across their land of promise by steamboat and train, Elizabeth, Christopher (5), and Jane (1) began their handcart trek in Iowa City, Iowa.

Elizabeth was privileged to experience another miracle during her journey to Zion. She told the story of this miracle to her daughter, Jane, repeatedly throughout her life. As Jane (Panting Bell) grew older she told this story to her children and grandchildren:

As the Willie Company traveled along the plains, they had many trials which slowed them down considerably. Little Jane rode in the handcart and was very ill. Her mother didn’t dare to stop to take care of her as she pulled her handcart along. She would call to her son, Christopher, to ask if Jane was dead yet. When they reached Ft. Laramie, the expected provisions were not waiting, and they had to continue on with reduced food rations. On October 14, after another reduction was made in rations, Elizabeth went out to gather some buffalo chips to make a small fire to warm what little food was left for her children. She had on a long, full apron and had almost filled it with the Buffalo chips when a man came up to her suddenly (and seemingly out of nowhere) and inquired as to the circumstances of the company. Elizabeth told the man that most of them were starving and were in great need. He asked her to follow him, saying perhaps he could help a little. Shaking the buffalo chips from her apron, Elizabeth followed the man. They went over a small hill out of sight of the camp, where he led her to a cave where a lot of dried buffalo meat was hanging. Elizabeth told her granddaughter, June Cranney Monson, that there were shelves of books on one side of the cave that looked like the Book of Mormon gold plates. She said they looked as if they were sealed. The man loaded as much meat in Elizabeth’s apron as she could carry and told her to share with the other people. Then he led her out of the cave and to the top of a small hill and pointed out the camp below, cautioning her not to get lost. As Elizabeth turned back to the man to thank him after she had looked where he had pointed to the camp, he had disappeared. She looked for the cave and could not find any trace of it, but she still had the dried meat. She went back to camp and divided the meat out to the ones that were in the most need, no doubt saving lives.

Austin and I we called to be a MA and PA For our stake LDS Trek on July 20-22. Jane Panting, in the story above, is a direct descendant of me that came across in the Willie handcart company. I am excited right now about going, I think when I'm there I might be wondering why I was so excited. It's Going to HOT!! I don't think that there is a night that goes by in the winter or when it's raining that I don't think about those determined pioneers. They were out in that Freezing Wyoming weather, some with no shoes, burying there children along the way. It's very humbling to think about. Everything they had to go through to come to Zion.

Austin's mom has made us the best looking pioneer clothes for the trek. I just need to find us some shoes. We dress up like pioneers and pull a 400 lb handcart 10 miles a day :) then sleep under the stars on the ground at night.. The things we can bring have to fit in a 5 gallon bucket. We have ten children. We all have to work together. Well if it's not and exciting experience I'm sure it will be a spiritual one

Cheese

Carson is so tough he pulls his own teeth out as soon as they get loose :D Don't look at the hair I've been trying to get him to cut it, but his uncle Collin is living through him and has him talked into never cutting it. Collin can't have long hair. I think he's a kid, let him be a kid. He's not looking for a job or going on a mission soon so if he wants it long I say let him have it long while he can. Anyway excuse my rambling. The tooth fairy was a real slacker this time it took till the third night to come maybe it's cause she has more kids now and is so tired at night that she just passes out! Carson is my oldest and I love him so much! He was the best baby, toddler, and child. He is growing up so fast he will be a teen before i know it. AAhhhhhhh! I am so excited for him grow up! I know I shouldn't say that, but i am. I hope these boys have amazing relationships with there parents and will always be good to us.

Our Garden

This is our garden!! With our government spending a billion dollars a second causing food prices to go up and up, we thought a way to help with our costs was to have a garden. Our friendly neighbor Gerald gave us a TON of wood so that helped extremely with the building cost. All we had to buy was 3 bags box garden soil, paint, seeds and the plants. Gerald gave us so much wood we are going to build the kids a play house and Austin a little garden shed. I Love nice people! We planted six tomato plants, red, yellow, green and white onions, Peppers, beans, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, lettuce, okra, cucumbers, watermelon, pumpkins, spaghetti squash, zucchini, yellow squash, and asparagus. So come fall we will have eggs and Vegetables coming out of our ears :) Have I ever said that I love having a man that can build or do anything!!!

Mommie & Daddie

We got to have some of my most favorite people stay with us for only two or three short weeks. They were in between their summer home, Arizona, and camp hosting up at Redfish Lake. We loove it when grandpa and grandma come stay with us. I love this picture on top cause neither I or Austin has EVER been able to get Dayne to fall asleep on our laps like this. It seems all of my boys just love their grandpa. I swear they had only been here days and Dayne was crawling to grandpa instead of me. Maybe it's that soft belly he has to lay on :) I know I loved laying on it when I was a kid.
Grandma Helped us dye easter eggs and got to see what a handful my little Trace is. I think while they were here he wrote with permanent marker on the couch, window, computer desk, trim, wall, bed sheets, then on the couch again with pen. Drew all over the cabinets this time with crayola markers. whew!! Let the chickens loose, and tried to walk to the neighbors house to see the horses. When I say neighbors they're not close like quarter mile to half mile away thats a long ways to find your two year old after hours of looking. But me and my mom have put our finger on his acting up. It's when you wont give him your complete attention no matter what your doing he will get it, even if it's negative.

Any way on to what I was posting about. I miss my mom and dad! Is this ok? Am I a baby? I must confess I hate they're shenanigans right now! It's not cause I'm jealous of them traveling it's because I want them here more than gone. Thats why I stayed here. I want to have my kids grow up with them in there lives. My mom said something while she was here and it applies here. " I learned a long time ago that I can't change other peoples choices" Thats so true. All I can do is make them feel welcome and wanted every time they come and maybe it will shorten there time away??? I love them, and the fact that someday (very far away) I will have to get by without them FREAKS me out. I DON'T WANT TO GROW UP!

Lots of new Events!!

We got some new family members and they were out growing the cardboard box they were living in so this is the chicken suite. We are trying to become as self reliant as possible so this is one step in doing that. Come about October we won't have to buy eggs at the grocery store. (Although we could have bought eggs for the rest of our lives for the cost of there house) not only did Austin build them a suite, we pretty much have our own aviary. We just need some different kinds of birds besides chickens. As you can see Trace lives in there, he loves "my chichens" As he calls them. Soon we will have eggs coming out of our ears so if anyone is interesting in eating fresh eggs let me know and this fall we should be flooded with them:)
Dayne has old man hair. It's long on the sides and back and can't seem to come in on top! So We Took him to our most favorite beautician Trista! He was super good for his first hair cut, she tried evening him up a bit but it still looks like old man hair. O well I'll keep him :)
Just thought I'd tell ya'll that I really had twins :) This is LITTLE Avery, we love her. Her and Dayne are just four months apart and are very intrigued by each other. I have a small fry as they look the same age but Dayne is the older one. Avery is such a happy girl, and my boys favorite. So excited for them to grow up together!
Carson turned Seven last month and was so excited when he got some heeleys for his birthday. He's such a good kid and is excited to be baptized next year. He just got to watch his cousin Brooklyn get baptized and he's already ready he says. This year he celebrated his birthday at chuckie cheese's with a couple of his BOY cousins. trying to convince him to cut that hair, but it's not working: \

Carson's Gold

We are So proud of Carson! He is 3 wins 1 loss in his wrestling so far. Yesterday he pinned both kids he wrestled. It was sweet! I put one of the videos up. It's so fun to see him get excited when he wins. The video I put up he was wrestling a kid that has an "uncle Reco" Dad Is what we like to call them, you can hear him and the kids mom yelling at him the entire time. Carson likes to win but he lets it go to his head really quick and starts calling kids "losers"and sayin how easy it was to beat him, I even saw him flip his hair like he was a bad A after he won yesterday. (SO FUNNY) So we try our best to let him know he is doing well wether he wins or looses. He knows when the refs hold up his arm at the end, that he won. We hope he sticks with it. Wrestling is the only thing he has done two years in a row so we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Going out on a Decorating Limb

I am so excited that this turned out so cute!! I am kinda slow in the whole decorating process I know Vinyl has been around for a while but I never knew what to do. Then I met Stacey she does vinyl. So I knew she could give me some ideas and web sites to look at. WHOA! Do they have some dang cute stuff on those web sites I could just order different things all day. This is my first vinyl and I love how it turned out, now we'll see what Austin thinks of it to know if we can do more. I have all kinds of Ideas i want to do but better get the OK from the man. It's Not putting holes in the walls so i think it will be fine. The Best thing is it's CHEAP!