From Utah With Love

Bethany reading Samantha books

2011-06-02T08:27:00.002-06:00

Samantha Sliding

2011-05-08T14:53:00.000-06:00

Spring 2011

2011-05-07T15:36:00.000-06:00

Hello friends and family. I am terribly sorry to have neglected you this past Spring. It has been one of the craziest times of life for us here, and I had not even thought about blogging in months. Benjer's job has been keeping him very busy, and Jennifer's job of taking care of the girls and Benjer, as well as her volunteering and teaching has also been keeping her busy. It has been a very dreary spring here, with this past week being the first to have more than one sunny day in a row. So, here is a photo gallery of what we have been enjoying these past few months, despite the lack of sunny or warm weather:

Ice cream!!!

All bundled up... almost all Spring long.

Bethany right before her first dance class. She has been taking a half tumbling, half ballet class since January (thank you Nana!)

Who can forget about the Treehouse Museum, where we spend many dreary, rainy mornings?

Swinging

Having fun inside: Drawing and other art projects,

dressing up in Mama's shoes,

and wrestling.

Wagon rides rule. In our neighborhood, with sidewalks that leave a lot to be desired, it is very good that Granny got the girls an All Terrain Wagon! :)

The Zoo (Thank you Adam, Molly, Caroline and Charlie!)

The girls on Easter all dressed up :)

And, thanks to Aunt Nan and Granny, we just got a new sandbox for the backyard. We have really enjoyed it and when it gets really warm we'll get our water table out and have some fun summer days. Mama is looking forward sitting in the backyard while the girls play, too!

Bethany's 3rd Birthday!

2011-01-25T22:32:00.000-07:00

We can hardly believe Bethany turned 3 yesterday! One on hand it seems like just yesterday that we found out we were going to be parents, but on the other hand it seems like she's been with us forever. I cannot imagine my life without my little Monkey Jones. Bethany LOVES Curious George. So, naturally she wanted a Curious George party. She got to choose 3 friends to come to her party (but one of them was a little picture-shy). Below is the Birthday Girl and two of her friends, Bethany and Leah Holladay.

We started out with an arts & crafts project: making their own placemats with googlie-eyes.

Bethany even got to hold a baby! Sweet baby Josiah is the little brother of Bethany H. and Leah.

Mama and Jaxon's Mama, Denise. Jaxon is the picture-shy third friend she invited.

The monkeys!

Monkey-ing around!

And here is the cake Bethany requested: A cake that looks like Bananas but tastes like chocolate.

I am having some severe technical difficulties getting our videos of the party to upload to here or youtube, so when my super-smart husband is able to, he will post them later :).

Happy Birthday Bethany!

Christmas

2011-01-25T15:41:00.006-07:00

Here are our belated Christmas time photos. Enjoy!

This was the first Christmas Bethany was old enough to help decorate a tree. She got to help Granny decorate her tree before we decorated ours at home.

We got to spend some time with Uncle Jeff and Joelle and family during our trip to Colorado. Sammy sure enjoyed snuggling and playing with them.

Bethany's older cousins, Joshua, Madeline and Emma love to play with her! Pictured here is the treasure trail Joshua made for Bethany in their house.

As previously mentioned in a sermon by Daddy, here is Samantha pushing Bethany in the stroller :).

At their check up at the doctor this past week, we found out that the girls are only about 2.5 pounds apart. But, Bethany still loves to hold her sister...

...and can still tackle her pretty well, too!

Making Santa Cookies with Daddy (a tradition in his family)

The girls got a train table from Mommy and Daddy as their big present this year, along with all of Daddy's hand me town brio trains and train tracks.

Here is Mommy painting it the night before:

And they got Granny's gift of an All Terrain Radio Flyer Wagon. We got to take it out Christmas morning in the neighborhood (as you can see we did not get a white Christmas. The snow came the next day).

With love to you all!

Benjer, Jennifer, Bethany & Samantha

Asking for Help, part 5

2010-12-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

4. Guard Your Hearts Above All Else. Prov 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." While guarding your heart can seem somewhat subjective, I think we can easily see that the word "guard" means to watch over, keep safe, protect, defend, safeguard, and shield our hearts in this broken world, especially because our actions come from our heart. Matt 6:21 says, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." So, we need to make sure that we are protecting our hearts when we are in relationships with one another, when we are asking for help, and when we are accepting it. Just because it is a blessing to be helped and to help others does not mean we should abandon prudence in the matter.

One question I received was, "What do you do when you ask for help and get it and then, later down the road, it's thrown in your face?

This question is one reason why I have put a foundation in all of these posts about being rooted in a Christian community when you are asking for help. When you are in a healthy Christian community, asking for help should never be thrown back in your face. Or if it is, then the conflict will be dealt with honestly and with the purpose of reconciliation. I also know that not all churches are always healthy, and some churches are just too broken to be ministering the way they ought to be, so be wise and prudent - and guarding your heart - when selecting the Christian community you are in, too!

I am wary of asking for help or advice from persons that I do not know very well, especially if it is to take care of my family in some way. I am responsible for their care and well being, even if someone else is helping me with that responsibility. So, I have to be intentional about building up a group of people I can trust to call on when I do need some help. For example, I have purposefully gotten to know several young women who can babysit for us when we do need a sitter.

If are in a situation where a fellow Christian has tried to make you feel terrible for asking for help or accepting it, then I would tactfully and in love, point out some of the biblical principles I have written about. I would try to reconcile with them, but then I would also be guarding my heart in the future with that person. Yes, there is some risk in asking for help, that someone might see you in a way that isn't true, or someone might judge you, or it might make you vulnerable to being hurt. This is true of living in our world. But, I do not think that means we need to try to pretend everything is fine when it isn't, or pretend we don't need help when we do. Just be wise and discerning who you ask for and accept help from, and if it ends up not being what we need, then I hope forgiveness and reconciliation will be roads we go down.

Asking for Help, part 4

2010-12-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

3. Bear One Another's Burdens. This goes along with #2 on helping one another.

"Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" ~Galatians 6:2

We can get caught up in the language of "burdens," as in thinking that we are burdensome to another person when we need some help, but I want to call your attention to how it feels when you get to help someone who is in need. If a person is truly in need, then it will not seem like a burden, but we feel satisfied and blessed. Let's take a look at this more by reading the rest of this passage in Galatians 6.
"³ If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. ⁴ Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, ⁵ for each one should carry their own load."

[I'm not sure you all want a lesson in word studies here, but in case you are concerned about the apparent contradiction in this passage, I will just tell you that the greek word for "burden" used in v. 2 is different than the word for "load" or "burden" in v. 5. In v. 2 the word is referring to a heavy, crushing load, (such as failures, temptations, testings, trials, sorrows or suffering, as well as financial burdens). But the word in v. 5 is referring to our responsibility or burden towards God. Meaning, we must be responsible for our own spiritual intentions, heart, actions, etc, and not do it by comparing ourselves to one another.]

When we look at all of this in context, the ideal is that we would carry one another's afflictions, burdens, trials, etc by helping one another in need. When we do this we are fulfilling the whole law of Christ, which is to love God with all we have and love our neighbors as Christ loved us (Deut 6:5, Matt 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27, John 13:34). AND we need to do this without comparing ourselves with one another. I think where we get in trouble is in comparing ourselves to one another.

When we compare ourselves that is when we can worry about whether we seem weak, or as a friend of mine put it, whether she seems "needy" or like a "mooch." I would encourage you all to realize that this is EXACTLY what we are to do! We are supposed to let other people know when we are in need, when we are facing trials and have heavy burdens.

I need to wrap this post up, but I do want to just remind us of what I posted originally about pride. There is a difference between self-respect, feeling satisfied in what you have done, and being boastful (even in your heart), which is the pride I am speaking of here. This pride is primarily rooted in comparing yourself to another person. If we are ready to help another person, but we are too prideful to accept or ask for help, then what are we saying? The message is that we somehow are "above" being helped, but other people are not. This is the pride I am talking about. Pride is a most awful thing and it gets in the way of a lot of what God would have us do for each other. Slay your pride. Tell people when you are in need, in a safe Christian community, and you will see the love of Christ through the Body of Christ. This is one way that Jesus' yoke is easy and his burden is light (Matt 11:28-30).

Asking for Help, part 3

2010-12-19T22:06:00.000-07:00

2. Help One Another. One thing I think we often forget is that we are called to help someone whether they seem to deserve it or not! Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:27 quote Jesus as saying, "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" In Luke, He goes on to say,"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back."

We are to love, serve and help even our enemies and those who would do us harm. We are to love and serve them without expecting anything back. I know this is hard, and we can't expect everyone to be able to do this, but this is the example Christ lived and the command he gives us.

One of the questions I received was this:

"I feel afraid to ask for help because maybe I'll ask for too much or too often...I wish there were social rules around them, like 'No more than 3 small favors, or only 1 big favor every month, except in times of crisis'. Maybe Miss Manners should have a go at this."

I have no idea what "Miss Manners" response was, but I know that the biblical expectation is "I will help you, no matter who you are, no matter for how long, no matter the cost to me, and no matter if you can pay me back or not. Period."

Even though this is the ideal, we should also be considerate of others, their schedules and families, et al, as well. So, be wise in asking for help, but know that when you are asking for what you need, you are doing exactly what God would have you do. He wants us to take care of each other. While no where in scripture is the exact quote, "God will never give you more than you can handle," I think this concept is true when someone is plugged into a Christian community. This is one very big way that God takes care of us: through the Body of Christ. We are to bravely ask for what another person can give to us, knowing that it is exactly the way it is supposed to be...whether we feel we "deserve" it or not.

Asking for Help, part 2

2010-12-18T20:49:00.009-07:00

Several days ago I posted an entry about asking for help and how when we do this, it really is a blessing to both us and to those who want to help us. However, I really should have entitled it, "Accepting Help is a Blessing" because what I was writing about was more focused on situations where women are not accepting the help that is being offered to them in times of need. Some great questions were asked of me about the subject that I would like to address here, and they have more to do with this issue of asking for help when we need it and it is not already being offered.

There are five biblical principles I'd like to look at as I answer these great questions. So, I will write on and post one a day for the few several days.

1. The Community of Christ (a.k.a the Body of Christ). This is a metaphor used in Scripture by Paul in three different letters to describe how we are called to live in unity with one another, as a body has unity within its members (the hands and the feet agree and function with the heart, liver and kidneys, etc, all working towards accomplishing the same thing, whatever that may be). And Jesus Christ is supposed to be the head: the part of the body or community that leads and instructs what the members of the body should be doing. (Please see Rom 12:3-8, 1 Cor 12:12-31, and Eph 4:1-16 for the specific references and more information on this.)

While other people are supposed to help us no matter what (more on this in the days to come), we have some responsibility in getting the help we need. First and foremost, we need to be in a community of people who can help us. Now, obviously I highly advocate being involved in a Christ-based Christian community, but even if you aren't or don't want to be, you still need a community of people to pool from in times of need. This can include a list of babysitters, addiction sponsors, or even crisis hotlines. But, if we don't purposefully connect to people who are equipped to help us, then there's not much they can do for us.

Secondly, we need to let people know that we need help in order for them to give it to us. As much as women like people to read their minds, it just doesn't happen. In one of my favorite movies, Sliding Doors, a woman tells her boyfriend, "Gerry, I'm a woman! We don't say what we WANT! But we do reserve the right to get [upset] if we don't get it. That's what makes us so fascinating!" (I made the quote more family-friendly). This makes me laugh out loud because it is so ridiculous and true sometimes. But, people cannot "just tell" what you want and offer to give it to you.

One question I received was, "What do you do when you do ask for help and no one responds? Do you keep asking until you find someone to help or do you just do whatever is needed on your own?" YES, if you need something, keep on asking until you get it. Jesus tells us this is how we are to pray, too! (Luke 18). Do not be timid; be bold. They may not say yes, but they will have heard you and probably can suggest another way to get help, or talk to someone else who might be able to help you. I know this is hard if you are afraid of rejection or are focused on what other people think of you, which I will get to more in depth later, but if you really want help with something, you have to ask for it, in a way people have heard you, in a community that is equipped to help you.

Overflowing Cup

2010-12-17T21:35:00.002-07:00

Today I, Jennifer, read a post by a youth pastor's wife on her blog (www.marriedtoayouthpastor.com) who said that she struggles to have a cup that overflows. She writes,

"...my cup should always “overflow”. The overflow is the outpouring to others. The full cup is mine and God’s to share. I so often allow myself to “get empty”, have to refuel again, dump it all out and fill up again, dump out, fill up, etc…"

Here is some of my response to her that I thought I would share with everyone:

I see women running around, looking exhausted, having a little bit of a short fuse with their kids, and trying really hard not to show it at all. I grew up with a mom that tried to do everything and please everyone such that her cup was bone dry on occasion. It is because of watching my mom, among other women, living a life so spent they have nothing left for themselves, that I have commmited myself to never having a completely empty cup. There are three main ways that I see being successful for me and for other women in accomplishing this:

1. Keep a Sabbath. It certainly doesn't have to be Sundays! And, it probably shouldn't be if you are a Pastor's wife. Mine is Saturday because that is when my husband is off (most of the time) and when I am not expected to do much for our community. But, maybe for you it could be a Tuesday. All this means is that one day a week, every single week without fail (unless you something catastrophic happens) you do NOT do any WORK for the entire day. If you are a stay at home mom, it doesn't mean you can't play with your kids, but it does mean that you can't work on anything at home. You don't get anything "done" except for resting. On my sabbath, I don't even do the dishes. I truly believe that even if this is the only change a person makes in their lives, they will see improvement everywhere: relationships with kids, husband, colleagues, etc. Trust in the Lord that it will all get done.

2. Say "No" or "Not This Time." I know, I know, this is kind of a "duh." People say this all the time, and it sounds so simple! But, it isn't. One thing that has revolutionized the way that I look at this issue is something Benjer says, "Not all good things to do are necessary to do." Just saying, "no" right now, does not mean that you are saying you won't ever do it in the future. It means that you are looking at all the awesome things in front of you that you could do and saying, there are only a select few that I am going to do. For heavens' sakes, you could be a deaconness, join the choir, volunteer in the nursery, lead a table at MOPS, lead a small group for youth, and run the silent auction, which are all good things! But, you would have nothing left for your family, your self, your God and probably be so exhausted you wouldn't do such a great job at any of them anyway!

3. Stay Connected to the Source of Being Full. Again, this may seem obvious and simple, but it isn't for a lot of people. Staying connected to the Lord looks different for everyone. If you are in a bible study, and therefore in the Word, it may not FILL you the way you need to be filled, because for you, it may be more about pleasing others or doing it "right." Similarly, being in nature may be fun and awesome, but not necessarily bring you closer to connecting with God. Everyone is different and I think that it is important for everyone to figure out what this means. However you seek to be filled, it really has to be about being fed. From my own experience, it can't be something that you simply "got done" for it to fill you. Recently I read Beth Moore say, "You can't have a drive-by relationship wtih God and expect to behold His glory!" So, if it is nature that connects you to God, then be committed to it and go there to BE with Him, not to walk your dog and exercise, etc. If it is really studying the Word, then delve in! But do it to find Him, not find approval from someone else. This is the issue I have had to work on the most: thinking I am pleasing Him and growing with Him because I did something, when really it was all about how I might please someone else.

I hope this is helpful and not too preachy! But, I am telling you, just do the Sabbath. Just try it. Just trust in God that He will provide enough time the rest of the week and you will be filled so much by it. He designed us this way for a reason....

Jennifer

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever. ~Psalm 23:5-6

Asking for help is a blessing

2010-12-10T15:54:00.000-07:00

I have something very heavy on my heart that seems to be a universal issue among many women in my life, no matter where they are in life. (It is probably just as big of an issue for men, but I cannot speak to that or the reasons behind it). The issue is: asking for help.

Why is this so incredibly hard? Why do most the women I know prefer to run themselves into the group before they will ask for help? Where did we get this idea that it is better to be exhausted, irritable, and even depressed than have someone else just help us? Even if it is something small for them, like making a meal? I have known several women this fall and in the past month or so who have had seriously difficult and draining situations...and yet they wait until the last second to ask for help. I have some thoughts on why.

1. We don't want to seem weak. I have another "why?" here. Who says asking for help makes you weak? For example, with my two little ones, last spring I needed to have help in order to get anything extra done around the house. I wanted to have my windows, window sills and baseboards (the extra stuff) cleaned before my parents came to visit. I put it out on facebook to pay someone and a number of deaconesses from our church came to do it for free. It was a fun afternoon where I got to know some of the women leaders in our church better and they felt blessed by being able to help me. Now, how in the world did asking for help during that time make me weak? It wasn't even a real necessity, but it still didn't make me any weaker asking for the help. And, as I said, it ended up being a blessing to both parties.

2. We want to be in control. Does this statement resonate with anyone? I suspect it might. I know a lot of amazing, wonderful women who don't want to give up control for a second. Especially about their children. Especially about their house! But, however uncomfortable this may make you, just sit with the thought for a second, that it might be better for you, your children and your house if you were willing to accept help when it was offered. Sometimes my children have the most fun at another person's house with other kids to play with. Sometimes it's okay to let someone else come in and help, even if they do it a different way. And, as unpopular as this next statement is, I have news for you: we aren't really in control of things anyway. There are only two things we can control: our minds and our actions. That's it. We can't even control our own bodies. When was the last time you were able to tell your body not to get tired and have it work? Or not to get sick? Also, one thing that really shocked me when I first had children is that we can't control them for a second either! :) You have the least control over a newborn. You can't make them sleep, eat, stay awake, stop crying, poop, not poop, or anything! As a person who has really struggled with trying to stay in control and have things a certain way (Benjer exaggerates a little when he says everything in our house is labeled, but only a little ;), I have been blessed by such freedom by learning to let go a little and let someone else bless me when I need it.

3. Pride. Yep, I said it. We are first and foremost very selfish, prideful people by nature. (If you don't agree with this, then I encourage you to check out any toddler nursery room and see how many children are freely offering toys to share and saying, "no, no, you go first." You won't find it. You will see many 2 year olds insisting certain toys are "mine" or insisting "my turn first" with toys that belong to none of them). I encourage you to slay your pride and let someone else bless you the next chance you get. It may sound like an excruciating exercise, but I have found that it also brings freedom and understanding. Proverbs 11:2 states, "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom."

One of the biggest problems with not asking for help, is we miss out on letting other people feel blessed. Letting someone else help us is not just a blessing for us, it blesses the other person, sometimes even more. Think about the times that you have been able to help out a friend who was in the hospital or had a really sick child. Didn't you feel good knowing you could do something? Didn't it feel great to know you helped? Doesn't it also feel pretty frustrating and crummy when you feel like you can't help, or they won't let you? This is how others feel, too. Some people truly, honestly love to clean (not me :). Others love to cook (me!). Others love to garden or bring a gift. Whatever they can do, certainly everyone loves to feel the blessing that comes from being able to be useful and needed. There is almost no greater gift, because it tells them that you:
1. Love them, like them or care for them
2. You trust them
3. They are needed and/or wanted.
These are very important things for the people in your life to feel.

A year ago we had just brought home our newborn, Samantha, from the hospital after a month long stay in Primary Chidren's Hospital for a rare condition that the Lord miraculously saved her from. During the month she had been in the hospital, we did only the bare minimum of laundry, mail and housekeeping, and now it was Christmastime! Benjer and I had to swallow some pride, give up a LOT of control and perhaps seem weak to some (although I do not have any reason to think that is true) in order to get through the bills, have a clean home and give our children a good Christmas - Samantha's first! People gave us money so we could buy christmas presents, a good friend sent us 100 stamps so we could send Christmas letters out, the same good friend had our birth announcements made, and people offered to help with anything else we needed. We even invited ourselves over to some good friends' house for Christmas dinner because I could not imagine trying to make a nice meal on that day.

So, I have had to ask for a lot of help in the recent past and know that it can be hard. But, the alternative is living in exhausted fear of what other people may think, while believing we have control, and not giving the blessing to others who want nothing more than to do something nice, and feel wanted and useful.

First SNOW! Well, kind of.

2010-11-13T16:05:00.000-07:00

One of the interesting things about living around the great Salt Lake is that the altitude where people live differs drastically, even in the same zip code. One of our very good friends here is Aunt Diana (affectionately known to Bethany as "Aunt Danana" and Samantha as "Dananana"). She lives up by "the bench" which is higher enough elevation from where we live that she got enough snow in her backyard to be able to build a snowman, when we did not even have a frost on our front lawn! Yep, same zip code. So, we packed up the girls in their snowsuits and took them out back to make Bethany's first snowman. It was kind of funny, because apparently the boots I have for her are way too big, so she fell in the snow a few times (joyfully), and Samantha just hung out and wondered why she was wearing a giant snowsuit (not pictured below). Also, we did not have carrots or other things for the face, so we used MnM's for the face. (Apparently the color runs in the snow. Who knew? :) It was a great time.

Below is Diana with the girls.

First Pumpkin Carving

2010-10-30T14:04:00.000-06:00

Bethany experienced her first Pumpkin Carving today! Well, she didn't really carve today, but she got to do a lot! She even got to go with our local MOPS group to a farm and pick out her very own pumpkin from the patch. At first she said she wanted the pumpkin to look like Balloons, but in the end decided a Kitty Cat face would be good, too.

First we scooped out the seeds

Then we drew on it what we wanted the kitty to look like

Bethany, proudly hold the "nose"

Samantha was a part of it too. She didn't think the top tasted very good, though :)

The finished product (you can see the face better when it is lit up of course)

Um, I'm not sure why, but Samantha is apparently very embarrassed of us here...

Fun day! We're going to the church's fall festival this afternoon to have a grand time with games and prizes! :) Happy fall everyone!

Samantha's Birthday, too

2010-10-30T13:45:00.000-06:00

Hello family and friends. Our good friends, the Sullivans, hosted the birthday party for Samantha and they took some photos, which I got today. I thought you might want to see some more of the party :).

Our family all together

Samantha is SO close to walking. She stands and stands and giggles and thinks about it, and then wobbles and decides to crawl instead.

You all got to see how much she loved the cake in the last post, but not the succession of what happened after her awesome first cake!

All Done!

Taking off the clothes at the table...

Shaking off the extras on the chair...

And, impromptu bath in the laundry room sink!

It was great fun!
Love to all! :)

Samantha Joy McVeigh: One Year Old

2010-10-27T06:45:00.000-06:00

Samantha was ONE yesterday! Her party was Monday, and it was a lot of fun. Here are a few glimpses of the festivities:

Really fun cupcakes made by Mama!

Mmmm...what could be better than eating bugs?

Bethany loves her friends Bethany and Leah

Opening presents...Bethany, of course, was happy to help.

Time to sing a song!

Samantha wasn't really all that into blowing out the candle.

But she WAS into eating the chocolate cake!

Quite into it, I'd say...

And of course, what would be a birthday without a birthday song:

Happy Birthday, Samantha! We love you!

More Summer Fun

2010-08-24T19:37:00.000-06:00

This one will be all pictures! :)

Cassy and Abbie DePlato on their visit out here holding our girls. Bethany and Samantha had a lot of fun with them!

At Pioneer Days (Utah holiday) parade with (from left to right): Jennifer, Bethany, Aunt Joelle, Madeline, Joshua, Uncle Jeff, Samantha and Emma.

Aunt Molly having a blast with Samantha

Benjer and Samantha enjoying the park

Cousins Caroline and Charlie with Bethany. She just adores them.

For Benjer's birthday we went bowling (the first time for Bethany). It was a ton of fun. Bethany actually beat her Mama, with bumpers and a ramp of course :).

then we went to Red Robin for dinner. Want to know how to make Samantha smile and laugh like this?

You have to get really close to her face and laugh, like this:

Bethany helped Daddy blow out his candles. Samantha was intrigued. Happy 30th Daddy!

Nana and Poppy took us on the train at Belleview Park in CO. Then to the petting zoo. SO much fun!

Summer Fun & 4th of July!

2010-07-03T20:24:00.000-06:00

It's been a fun week for us! Last week, Bethany got to go to her first ever baseball game in a stadium! We went to the Ogden Raptors single-A game last Sunday afternoon. Mykel, our friend who works at the church and also works at the stadium during the summer in the souvenir stand, got Bethany a Raptors baseball:

During the week, we cooled off in some hot weather by playing in the sprinkler:

And today, we celebrated Independence Day (since the 4th is on a Sunday) with a parade and a carnival! Here's Bethany with one of her favorite people, Ms. Nicole, who heads up the nursery ministry at our church:

We got LOTS of candy during the parade. Lots.

At the carnival we got to do lots of fun stuff, like ride a train:

And of course, we couldn't go to a carnival at the park without stopping at the swings on our way out:

We can't wait until next year when it's a little more fun for Samantha. The sirens woke her up at the parade, and there wasn't really much for her to do at the carnival. I wonder how they'll sleep with fireworks going on tonight...

Benjer at the Baseball Game

2010-07-02T13:26:00.000-06:00

Well, I finally got to be on the field during a professional baseball game. But it wasn't quite what I once dreamed. Our church, Washington Heights, had service at the local minor league ballpark Sunday morning to celebrate our church's week-long in-town mission trip, and so it was Washington Heights night at the baseball game later that day. Chad (our church's student pastor for grades 6-8) and I had the prestigious honor of...playing the bat race game. Chad will say that it was a tie. Unfortunately, he is mistaken.

A better view of the race was posted on Facebook; it clearly shows that I was the winner and the deserved recipient of one free pest control session.

Fun in Colorado

2010-06-25T15:16:00.008-06:00

Hello all! We had quite a vacation this month, with Jennifer and the girls spending two and a half weeks enjoying friends and family. We didn't take quite as many pictures as I would have hoped (with absolutely none of Jennifer or Benjer, and none of our whole families), but we have lots of pictures of the kids. Isn't that what you want to see anyway? ;)

Granny (Benjer's mom) took the girls, Grace, Charlie and Caroline (all cousins) to the Botanic Gardens:

Samantha spent most of the time in her stroller and was not too thrilled about the hat mommy put on her :)

And we were able to get to know our newest cousin Cayden (Jennifer's brother-Jonathan's baby):

Samantha had a different time getting acquainted with Cayden...

Apparently, this is how Cayden says "I love you!"

Samantha loved it, too :). She was happy to get to play with another baby.

We spent so much time at the park, Bethany was in heaven. Here we're swinging with Grace:

Time with "unca Jon"

We were also blessed to spend some time with our good friends, the Frazier family, before they head off to Kenya for a minimum 2-year mission. (We have posted about them earlier this year, feel free to check out their blog at http://fourfaithfulfraziers.blogspot.com/). We were blessed to get to spend about 3 days with them, just relaxing and letting the kids play. We had nothing planned it was everything we could have wanted.

The lovely faith and handsome Joel playing in some fountains:

Bethany having a blast! And the three kiddos together :)

Jim and Heather enjoying some relaxing time with Faith:

That's it for now! We love you all :).

What will $15,000 get you?

2010-05-09T14:45:00.004-06:00

Alternative to this post:

Yeah, that and $15,000 will get you a couple of shaved heads
That's one expensive haircut
I gave it to the Peach, because well, he's got hair!

The junior and senior high students at Washington Heights raised $15,876 for last weekend's 30 Hour Famine. Since they raised over $15,000, Chad and I (Benjer) had our heads shaved this morning in church. Here's what it looked like:

March Family Fun

2010-03-28T19:35:00.005-06:00

Hi family! There isn't much to update about our family these dates, except that we have such wonderful girls we can hardly stand it. Bethany is almost completely potty trained and says so many words we can hardly keep up. She is currently in a phase of loving her baby dolls and wanting to do everything with her babies that Mommy does with Samantha. And Samantha is just growing so much! She is just now 5 months old and is already in her 6-9 months clothes. You might picture a really chubby baby with that information, but she is just pretty long. She is rolling from her tummy to back and back to tummy, so we are having to be extra careful these days with what is on the floor (or in Bethany's hands). We went to the park today, since it was such a lovely day here in Utah. Samantha is old enough to enjoy it, too, which is quite a lot of fun:

Sweet sisters

We finally got Bethany's porch swing up too!

Bethany loves to feed her baby when Mama is feeding Samantha...

And then we burp them together too!

Lots of love from Utah!

Benjer, Jennifer, Bethany and Samantha

Samantha's Dedication

2010-02-01T20:36:00.004-07:00

Yesterday, we dedicated Samantha at church. It was a pretty meaningful day for us, especially since there was a day when we were not sure that we would be able to bring Samantha home, let alone to church.

The life verse we chose for Samantha is Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Proud parents and the sweet girl

Samantha was one of twelve children who were dedicated at Washington Heights Sunday. It sure was a lot of fun!

Bethany's Birthday

2010-02-01T20:10:00.005-07:00

Last weekend, we celebrated Bethany's Birthday with a great party!

Bethany chose a train cake for her birthday!

She turned two!

We weren't really sure about the hat, though...

Chad, on the other hand, was quite sure about his hat!

Bethany got a birthday piggy back ride from Makenna.

Everyone played fun games...
...everyone.

It was a great time with friends,

even Samantha had tons of fun,

and so did everyone else.

Happy birthday, Bethany!

Missionary Friends

2010-01-12T20:38:00.005-07:00

We are blessed to have some wonderful friends who have been called to serve God in other cultures as missionaries. We pray for them regularly and are always encouraged by their willingness to go where God has called them, and we though we'd take a minute to introduce you to these friends of ours:

Jim, Heather, Faith, and Joel Frazier
I (Benjer) met Jim and Heather when I was in college. Jim and I were roommates for two years while I was young in the faith, and it has been fun for our growing families to continue our friendship even as the years have passed. They are a couple of years ahead of us in the adventure we call Marriage and Parenting, and we always have a great time when we get together. Heather was kind enough to come visit us for a few days while Samantha was in the hospital.

Jim and Heather have been called to serve in Kenya at a school for children of missionaries through African Inland Mission. They have been preparing for their move this past year by taking online Bible classes, meeting with other missionaries, preparing for their move, and raising prayer and financial support. They will depart for Kenya this July. Jim and Heather will provide valuable support and care for children of missionaries. Jim will teach high school biology, and both Jim and Heather will serve at the school in various capacities. You can read more about them at fourfaithfulfraziers.blogspot.com.

Clint and Missy Kirby
Jennifer and I met Clint and Missy in seminary. Clint and Missy moved to Gdansk, Poland this past September with a team of people through Avant Ministries. Their goal: to plant a fully functioning church there within five years. While many in Poland would check "Catholic" on a census form, few know much about who Jesus is or ever even attend a church. Clint and Missy and their co-workers in Christ hope to share about the Good News of Jesus with a culture that has long forgotten about who Jesus is and their rich Christian history. They arrived with no infrastructure in place and no permanent housing. However, they have confidence that they are part of something much bigger than they are and look forward to seeing what God does in Gdansk. You can find out more about them at http://www.lincolnberean.org/ministries/global-outreach/poland.

As you find out more about our friends by clicking on the links, please seriously consider whether God might be leading you to support them by committing to pray for them regularly, financially supporting them, or both. They both send out regular updates via email, so make sure you sign up for those as well. And if you have any specific questions about their ministries, just let us know, or contact contact them directly!

Visit to Colorado

2010-01-12T20:09:00.003-07:00

Well, we just got back late Sunday night from a trip to Colorado. Jennifer drove out with her mom on December 28th, and I flew out on December 31st after work to join her. It was an action-packed couple of weeks, but it was wonderful to spend time with our families and see some friends we hadn't seen for a while. We still miss everyone, but it's a good reminder that we are fortunate to be only a half-day's drive away. We're still organizing our photos from the trip (my sister Nan has loaned me her digital Canon Rebel, and I go a bit overboard with all the photos I take). However, here are some highlights:

Granny got out Daddy's rocking horse he had when he was a kid and loved it!

Cousin Emma had fun feeding Samantha!

We visited many old friends, including James, Rebecca, and Anna, friends from our old church and nursery playmates. We really wanted a photo with Bethany in there, too, but it just wasn't gonna happen...

...because Bethany was being goofy!

Some good old fashioned Colorado snow. Yummy!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T10:57:00.006-07:00

Merry Christmas from Utah! Our first Christmas in Utah finds us enjoying time together, missing our family and traditions in Colorado, listening to the Chapel of King's College Nine Lessons and Carols, and going to our friends' house, the Holladays, this afternoon.

Last night was a great night. We had four candlelight services at church. It is fun to know that many people who may not know God were there singing His praises and hearing about the Gospel, perhaps for the first time. The music was beautiful, though I must admit I miss the incense. The girls dressed up in their beautiful matching Christmas dresses from Granny, and today, they get to dress up in their beautiful matching dresses from Nana!

This week, we visited the Christmas Village in downtown Ogden with Bethany and Samantha:

We enjoyed the lights and the hot chocolate!

Of course, what would Christmas be without baking with Mommy:

Bethany loves being on the counter helping.

Mmmm...cleaning the spoon is my favorite!

And then there was Christmas fun this morning:

Bethany's new play kitchen. She loves it and can cook just like Mommy!

Bethany helped Samantha by opening her presents, too!

Some Christmas cuddles!

So, wherever you are today, Merry Christmas! May it be a wonderful day of celebration of God's love. I believe the great theologian Linus put it best:

-Benjer

Christmas Time and Other Photos

2009-12-21T16:24:00.004-07:00

It's been fantastic not to have anything to blog about recently. Samantha continues to do well, and hopefully her X-rays taken today will show that indeed no fluid has reaccumulated in her lungs. At her last check-up, she was 9 pounds even.

I know that the main reason you've come to this blog is for cute pictures, so here are some photos of a fun night we had Saturday with our friends the Holladays. We went on a hayride around Layton City Park, which was decked out with Christmas lights. Since my sister Nan is the pro photographer in the family and not me, I did not get any good shots of the lights, but we did get some good photos of us enjoying the ride (and the great hot chocolate the Holladays provided!):

Bethany, Bethany, and Leah getting ready for the ride

Yep. We're pretty cute all bundled up.

Chad, Leah, Bethany, and Tami

All of us before the ride

Today, Bethany, Samantha, Jennifer and I headed to the local mall in hopes of riding their train they have set up for the holidays. It wasn't running. And no hours were posted to find out when it would open. And the information desk and business office didn't know, nor did they have any way to find out. We really tried to get Bethany on that train. But we did have a good time:

Bethany ready to go with her cute pigtails

Bethany eating a hard-earned sucker after punching lots of rubber duckies at the mall arcade. Life is good. It was tough, but I was able to successfully communicate to my 22-month-old that we had to play a game and punch some duckies to earn tickets to turn in for her sucker.

Bethany rode a horse on the carousel. She takes her horse-riding very seriously. She didn't smile once, but she did really, really want to go again when it was over.

So, that's about it! Oh, and Jennifer and I celebrated our third anniversary this past Wednesday. We had a good time, and it was good to reflect on our three years of marriage and realize, once again, that I married way out of my league.

-Benjer

One Week Home

2009-12-09T04:39:00.002-07:00

It has been a wonderful week. Samantha came home a week ago today, and I thought I'd give you an update on how she's doing and what our life is like these days.

Many people ask if she has to be hooked up to anything still. Thankfully, the answer is no! Part of the reason they kept her a bit longer at the hospital is so that she would not have to have a PICC line or anything else when she came home. In most respects, it's been just like bringing her home from the hospital the first time: getting used to feeding and sleeping schedules and letting Bethany get used to having her around.

Samantha is required to be on a special formula called Enfaport for eight weeks after coming home (so for seven more weeks from today). Basically, this formula does not contain any of the fatty acids that would be absorbed by her lymph system. The idea is to continue to give the leaky duct some more relief so that the leak does not occur again. We are very grateful that Jennifer found a family online giving away the rest of their Enfaport they had left over from their son's chylothorax (he came by his honestly: heart surgery). Our insurance company has initially denied the pre-authorization for the Enfaport, and we don't really have the energy to write letters and request reviews, so it is definitely a blessing to get almost half of what we'll need for free. The son's name is Luke, and he is a little boy on the waiting list for a heart transplant, so please pray for him.

Samantha goes in for pretty regular check-ups at our local pediatrician's office to check how her lungs sound and to weigh her. She's now gaining weight! As of yesterday she had gained about 3.5 ounces in four days, which is almost on track for average wight gain in an infant. This is a blessing for her mom and dad, because we are no longer required to wake her up every few hours in the middle of the night to feed her (she usually sleeps about six hours at night, which we are very thankful for!). She now weighs 8 pounds, 6.5 ounces; she was 7 pounds, 12 ounces at birth. So, she's still a bit on the skinny side, but she's headed in the right direction and should get that baby fat back in no time at all.

In addition to her check-ups, she'll go in for X-rays back at Primary Children's Medical Center within the next week or two, then again at the end of the eight weeks. If everything looks good after eight weeks, she'll be able to transition to regular formula and breast milk, of which we have a freezer full. And a friend's freezer full. Really. In addition, her immune system is getting back to normal, and we are able to take her places as long as she isn't held by everyone (sorry, Jennifer's eighth grade GO Group girls; I know that's no fun).

So, life is in many ways pretty normal these days. Jennifer and I are tackling all the things that we did not get to for the past month while Samantha was in the hospital and enjoying every minute we can with our wonderful girls. Bethany is SO glad that our family is back in the same house. She now sleeps in her "big girl" bed, and Samantha sleeps in the crib. Bethany is super-helpful, too. She loves to take Samantha's empty bottles back to the sink, and she gets a little too much joy out of helping to burp her baby sister by smacking her on the back. In short, we have gleefully and gratefully traded in the chaos of the hospital for the chaos of our home.

-Benjer

Hallelujah! Our precious Samantha is home!

2009-12-02T15:34:00.005-07:00

We are so wonderfully thankful for her recovery and the ability to have her home, where all four of us can spend time together after a full 4 weeks at the hospital. A good friend has asked us to fill in some details about how life will look for us in the recovery period now. So, I will describe what we know. I left Primary Children's hospital around noon today with Samantha and headed straight to our pediatrician's office to have Samantha weighed. (She will need to go in for periodic weight checks with her regular doctor and we needed to have a base-line weight using his scale). We will be taking her in for a check up on Friday morning, and then once a week for 8 weeks, depending on how she progresses and gains weight on this special fat-free formula. However, everyone is very pleased with her progress so far and think she will do quite fine! We also will take her back to Primary's to have a chest x ray mid-december and then again 8 weeks from today, to make sure no fluid is re-accumulating in her chest.

She is currently sleeping in her swing at home (the joys of something as simple as a swing! :), attached to nothing and no one! We will not require any home-health care, and for the most part she will be a normal baby from now on. We are encouraged to limit our outings and seriously limit how many people get to hold her, but I can take her out when I need to go somewhere, like the grocery store. (Bethany and Mama would go pretty crazy if we couldn't leave at all). However, this restriction is pretty standard for any 1-month old during flu season. I feel very blessed to write that this is our situation. Benjer has taken the afternoon off of work so he can be home with us, which is a huge blessing as well. So, we will just enjoy being a family all together again for the next several hours.

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good and his mercy endures forever ~Ps 107:1

Home today?

2009-12-02T06:40:00.002-07:00

The attending physician has given the a-okay this morning! All that's left is for the surgeon to sign off, which could happen late this morning. Samantha might be going home! We'll continue to update as we know more...

Samantha Joy Update 11/30/09

2009-11-30T19:41:00.003-07:00

Well, we continue to move towards going home. Unfortunately, she threw up again today, and they would like her to go another 24 hours without throwing up. That means that if all goes well (including a chest X-ray in the morning), she will get to go home tomorrow afternoon. I am hopeful for tomorrow, but in light of the past few weeks, I would not be surprised if the surgeon decides that perhaps we should simply wait until Wednesday morning, just to be sure that everything is okay.

She's doing a pretty good job at eating, and she's now allowed to eat as much as she wants. She's really chowin' down on the formula, even though we're told it's pretty nasty stuff. Her Mom and Dad are ready to be home with her, and it's tough to keep waiting. But we don't have much of a choice, except to choose to wait on the Lord, which we are doing our best to do.

Bethany continues to be a trooper. I think she's a bit worn out, too, especially after a fun weekend with her cousins! Here's how her car ride to the hospital this afternoon went:

We will update the blog tomorrow when we have some news. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement; we're almost there!

-Benjer

Samantha: Home on Tuesday?

2009-11-27T13:48:00.004-07:00

Maybe! I (Benjer) just got to the hospital, and learned that we have a plan! They will continue to give her higher amounts of formula: today 30mL every three hours, tomorrow 45mL every three hours, and 60mL on Sunday, which is what she'll have for the next eight weeks. I'm still not clear if we are allowed to let her sleep through the night when she comes home, or if we can let her sleep. The TPN (nutrients) she's been getting through her PICC line will continue to decrease until they turn it off on Sunday. They will take a chest X-ray on Monday to see how she's doing and continue to monitor her, and if she continues to do well, we'll go home Tuesday!

The formula really tastes awful, and now that she's getting more, she's having a hard time finishing it, and she is supposed to have the whole amount to stay healthy. So, they may give her a feeding tube through her nose that will be in for the next eight weeks. She will be allowed to eat when she wants to, but then the "leftovers" will be given to her through the feeding tube rather than force-feeding her. The benefit of this (besides getting the food she needs) is that she still can eat and won't learn to hate eating.

This weekend, much of my family is visiting from Colorado and Minnesota. It's not the laid-back carefree family Thanksgiving weekend we had originally planned since Samantha is in the hospital, but there's not much I enjoy more than giving my mom and sisters a hard time and hanging out with nieces and nephews. Oh yeah, and watching the Broncos win. :-) Plus, Bethany adores her cousins. She wants to do pretty much everything they do, which makes for interesting Monopoly games! So all and all, it's a pretty good day! My sister Nan (a professional photographer from Minnesota) took some amazing photos of Samantha, and we'll have them up with a cool video soon.

Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement! Everyone says that they wish there was more they could do, but we hope you know that the occasional texts and emails really have gone a long way in helping us through this. I was telling my brother-in-law, Rich, how lucky we are to have such great friends and family, including our new friends out here in Utah. We have a lot to be thankful for!

Thanksgiving Breakfast: Mmm...

2009-11-26T10:44:00.004-07:00

After her three-week fast (she's very spiritual, you know), Samantha got to eat this morning! She got 15mL (about one tablespoon) of formula consisting of medium fatty acids. Sounds yummy to me! She took about 12mL of it, and she's still trying to remember how to swallow. Apparently she's been watching her sister drink, because half of it ended up on her shirt. But, she did get some down, and she seemed really content afterwards and didn't even want to suck on her hand or a pacifier. I can't imaging what it was like to be hungry all that time! She is now having her breathing checked every hour in addition to her monitors, because if she is going to start reaccumulating fluid in her lungs, it will happen fairly quickly. So, pray that there are no leaks! The best-case scenario is that they will let her go home in 48 hours (Saturday) with her PICC line, but there are a lot of factors involved, such as protein levels, blood sugar, chest X-rays, the list goes on. We'll keep you updated; enjoy your Thanksgiving!

-Benjer

Happy Month-day, Samantha!

2009-11-26T07:24:00.002-07:00

Today, Samantha is one month old. When I look at her, I can't believe it's already been a month, even though it should feel like a really long month. It is fitting that we also celebrate Thanksgiving today, because we have so much to be thankful for in the first month of her life. We are thankful not only for Samantha's recovery and healing, but for the friends and family who have loved us each step of the way.

I will update more later this morning, because she is scheduled to eat this morning for the first time in three weeks, so there should be much to report. So until then, enjoy your Thanksgiving morning!

-Benjer

Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T07:20:00.003-07:00

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
-1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, ESV

"I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."
-Philippians 4:10-13, NIV

Samantha Joy Update 11/23/09

2009-11-23T10:21:00.002-07:00

We finally have a plan :).
The x rays look good and so we are moving forward with getting our Miss Samantha out of the hospital and to being a typical baby. Today and tomorrow they will decrease her medicine until she is completely off of it. Then on Thursday they will start her on fat free formula and observe for for 48 hours on that. She will continue to have x rays each morning to make sure the fluid is not building up without the medicine and with beginning to have formula. If everything stays on track, then we will be able to take Samantha home on Friday morning :). Praise the Lord. We are so, so excited for this!

I do not imagine we will have much more to post in the next few days, except maybe about how she enjoyed eating after 3 weeks without having any food! We will let you know as soon as we get to take her home, though :).

Samantha update 11/21/09

2009-11-21T21:37:00.002-07:00

We are quite pleased to announce that Samantha is tube-less! :) Yay! Today, they took the left tube out of Samantha's chest and are now monitoring her for the next day or so to see how her lungs do. If it stays as good as it has been, then they will take her off of her medication. Then they will observe her for a few more days without her medication and if all goes well with that, then she can go home! She will still have medical care, via home health care, and we have a few months ahead with some very special formulas and periodic x rays to make sure that her condition does not come back. However, we have so much to be thankful for right now. It is pretty miraculous how this whole situation just turned around unexpectedly when it looked like it was at it worst!

Did you know that one reason why we chose the name Samantha is that it is the female version of the name Samuel, which means "God hears"? (Samuel literally sounds like "heard of God" in Hebrew). Thank you all again for your continued love and prayers for our strong little girl. God has heard them.

Samantha Joy Update 11/20/09

2009-11-20T10:47:00.004-07:00

Before this quick update, I want to take a minute and thank everyone for your notes, texts, and emails. We get so many that it's become difficult to respond to them all (we even got a card from a friend of a Staley in Tennessee, just to let us know she has been praying for Samantha!), but know that each one is another shot of much-needed encouragement, and Jennifer and I are so grateful for them. We have also been blessed by many Colorado visitors, some already scheduled before Samantha was in the hospital and some who have been/are coming out to see Samantha. This weekend Heather (of Jim and Heather fame) is here to be with us.

Today has begun with good news. The past two weeks have included a couple of "false starts" in Samantha's healing, so I am doing my best to not be too cynical waiting for the other shoe to drop. Samantha's right lung (initially the worse one) has been without a chest tube for over 48 hours, with little re-accumulation of fluid. The blessing is that the chest tube did not come out by doctor's orders, but they took it out in the middle of the night Tuesday/Wednesday because it had become dislodged with the intention of putting it back in the next morning as soon as they could. When they discovered that there was minimal fluid in the lung (they had expected lots with the tube out) they decided to wait and see how things went. Now, the left lung is showing improvement, and the surgeon is considering removing the chest tube there tomorrow if it continues to improve. There are still many steps to go (such as stopping medication and reintroducing special formula) with usually 24-48 of waiting to see how she does between each step, but it appears that she is headed in the right direction as Dr. Rollins, the surgeon, put it.

Another fun update: Samantha has started smiling! It's happened enough times to confirm they are indeed authentic smiles. We will try to catch her in the act and post pictures of it this weekend.

This morning, I read through the book of 1 Peter, and the following was a great encouragement to me (1 Peter 4:13):

But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

Peter was talking specifically of the persecution that his audience was experiencing because of their belief in Jesus, not about time in a hospital room. But I think it also applies to any time when we experience difficulty in this world, because we know that things are not as they should be. As much as we would like to believe otherwise, and as much as pastors such as Joel Olsteen would like us to believe that we can have "total victory" in this life, the reality is that Jesus himself told us that in this world we will have trouble (John 16:33). What a strange religion that celebrates the suffering and death of the one we follow, and strange even more that we would be called to rejoice when we share in that suffering. I wonder if this is something Samantha can understand at her young age...

To finish, here are two stories that are a couple of highlights from the past two days.

Story 1: On Tuesday, Jennifer and I had dinner at the hospital, wonderful tamales provided by a woman I work with and her family. We needed a microwave to heat our dessert, and we were granted access to the food room on the floor. Apparently, the nurses and young patients at our hospital are well cared for:

They even have a Slushy machine!

Story 2: Samantha had been moved to the Pediatric ICU early Wednesday morning, and I still had not seen her as of Wednesday afternoon. I came down to the hospital and had only had a lot of sugar and caffeine to eat/drink that day and really needed something nutritious, because I really didn't feel well. There was a line in the cafeteria in the middle of the afternoon, and a mom who saw that I was anxious to get something and go told me to order first, saying "we've got time, I've seen my little boy today." It was a small mercy and a very welcome kind gesture from another parent who also was trying to eat and go upstairs to see her child.

Well, it appears I've taken a bit more time/space than I thought I might. Students in Oasis on Sunday mornings are quite used to this.

Waiting on God,
Benjer (and Jennifer)

Samantha Joy Update 11/19/09

2009-11-19T17:14:00.002-07:00

I would just like to start this update by saying Samantha is quite loved and admired here in the hospital. Everyone who comes in, whether nurse, tech, doctor, surgeon, chaplain or other, says she is quite cute and wonderful. She is a very well behaved baby, too :)

After an ultrasound showed that only a little fluid had built back up in her right lung, they decided to keep the chest tube out of her right lung. Which I think is a praise, but I am just a little hesitant yet because her respiratory rate has increased throughout the day. Also we're not sure how her left lung's chest tube is doing; we're waiting for another x ray in the morning. Since her respiratory rate is high they are keeping her in the PICU another night. The surgeons are keeping a close eye on her, but we just don't have any more answers yet. Sigh.

Samantha update 11/18/09, continued

2009-11-18T20:06:00.002-07:00

They decided not to put another chest tube in her right lung, and see if the fluid accumulates, which they are hopeful it won't. However, since there is a decent chance that the fluid will come back, which would mean she might need a new tube in her lung overnight, they are going to keep her in the PICU as a precautionary measure. We will reassess in the morning after seeing her x ray and talking to the doctors & surgeons again.

Samantha Joy Update 11/18/09

2009-11-18T08:58:00.002-07:00

Miss Samantha is having a terrible time with her chest tubes. Yesterday the right tube got dislodged somehow (perhaps during an x ray) and they had to replace it (again). Then last night, they noticed that the replacement tube was not secured they way it should have been and was coming out. They became very concerned because where the tube was and where the holes in the tube were, she was getting some air in her lung. They took her down to PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) last night to remove it and be able to keep a very close eye on her. With the tube out, she could re-accumulate enough fluid to put her back into respiratory distress, and they couldn't just replace it easily because Interventional Radiology (where she has had the tubes put in) are not in the hospital overnight. However, she had a good night and the x rays have shown that she isn't re-accumulating fluid right now and the little bit of air that she did get into her lung has absorbed. She is doing very well right now.

I spoke with the surgeon in charge of her case this morning and he is speaking with some of his colleagues about which course of action they should take. He is hopeful that they will not need to replace the right chest tube because the x ray didn't show fluid build up in the 5 hours the tube had been out. I am not as hopeful because she has not had even one day of the right one decreasing in the amount of fluid, never mind stopping altogether. However, it is possible for this to be an answer to prayer. Meanwhile the left lung has doubled in its fluid output over the past day. Sigh.

I am waiting to see what the surgeons will decide to do, but when our surgeon left our room this morning he was leaning more towards leaving the tube out for a day and seeing if it will re-accumulate. If it does, then they will put in bigger chest tubes (so hopefully they won't get clogged again) and suture them to her chest to secure them. And they will move towards surgery. He may decide, however, to put tubes in no matter what this morning, because he agrees the chances are pretty high that she will re-accumulate the fluid. We will keep you posted. We are pretty certain that she will go to surgery probably on Monday at this point. it is in the Lords hands.

We are in the PICU until they decide what they are going to do (tubes or waiting). If we are waiting, we will go back up to our regular room, and if they put tubes in, then will go back up to our room after they put the tubes in.

A day in the life of Samantha

2009-11-17T08:30:00.003-07:00

A good friend of ours from Colorado suggested that we write about what our day is like with Samantha, as people have questions like if we can sleep here or if we can hold her as much as we want. So, this is what it is like for us here at Primary Childrens Hospital:

The hospital is on the side of a foothill of the Wasatch front and overlooks Salt Lake City. It is very gorgeous to drive here and they have a courtyard we can go out on and look at the mountains and the city. Samantha is in a private room with nurses who have a very low ratio, either one nurse to two babies or one nurse and one tech for three babies. She gets excellent care and has avery attentive doctors and nurses. She usually gets her blood drawn at least once a day, if not more, and almost always has one chest x ray. With all that and her vitals being checked every two hours, our room seems to be pretty busy!

We are able to have visitors that are 14 and older, but they must wear a mask and a gown. All the staff who enter her room, especially if they are going to be touching her, must wear a gown, gloves and mask. This is because she is put on what is called reverse precautions, which means that she won't infect anyone but they could infect her very easily. Her immune system is pretty much depleted at this point because of type of fluid they are draining from her lungs, so everyone has to be very careful. However, she is able to be held whenever she is not having medical care done. It is a bit tricky, though, because she has about 9 tubes and wires coming out or off of her [medicine, nutrition (TPN), fluids, two chest tubes, O2 reading, heart rate, respitory rate]. However, as long as we pick her up carefully and don't get the wires too tangled, it's pretty easy to hold and cuddle her as long as we want. There is a very comfortable rocking chair and a fold out chair that is somewhere in between a cot and a fold out couch for us to sleep on at night. Benjer and I are taking turns sleeping here, so one of us is always here with her at night. Two of us cannot sleep here in the room, though; there just isn't room and the rocking chair is very bad for sleeping on, Benjer found out one night.

Our church family here has been amazing in helping us figure out meals. A lot of people have been either giving us money to buy meals here at the hospital, giving us gift cards or making us really good homemade food. (Benjer is bringing me some tamales and chocolate cake for dinner tonight, I've been told :). Since the commute is about an hour one way, this is helping us enormously. I don't have to worry about shopping, dinner OR doing the dishes now! The cell phone coverage in the hospital is spotty, but in our room we have enough coverage to send texts and talk if we stand by the window. If you all have any more curious questions please let us know. We'd be happy to let you know more about our life here, and how and what Samantha is doing.

Samantha Joy Update 11/16/09

2009-11-16T14:09:00.003-07:00

Jennifer had the distinct pleasure of getting to meet with Samantha's attending doctor, pulmonologist (lung doctor), and surgeon all at once! This hasn't happened before and sometimes when I talk to one they will say they have to check with another doctor to be sure of something, so it was nice. Well, Samantha's left lung is back up to outputting a decent amount of fluid and the team agrees that she is just not responding they way they would like to see. They are continuing to increase her medication in hopes that things will dramatically change soon, but the surgeon said that generally if people are going to respond to this type of treatment, it will be in the first two weeks. The surgeon said that if it doesn't improve a lot by Friday they will then be looking at surgery, probably for the weekend or early next week. We won't have answers to specific questions about surgery (like when, how, recovery period, etc) until they are sure that is what they want to do. So, we are asking for your continued prayers this week that things would change and her body would start to heal itself in the next few days.

Meanwhile we have decided to send Bethany home to Colorado today to spend a week with her grandparents and extended family. She flies out this afternoon with Jennifer's sister-in-law and will fly back with Jennifer's dad this coming Sunday. We feel this will not only allow us to spend the time with Samantha that we really need to, but will be less stressful for Bethany -- she's going to have a blast! :)

Samantha update 11/14/09

2009-11-14T21:59:00.002-07:00

Little Miss Samantha does not seem to be having a very good time with her chest tubes (not that I can imagine someone really enjoying them!). Both tubes were clogged again today and the attempt to unclog them was unsuccessful, so she went down to surgery again and got new ones put in. However, they have changed a couple of things about her care, including giving her a medication that goes in the tubes every day to keep them from clogging. Hopefully this is the last time we will have to go through this.

A little bit of good news is that the left lung has significantly slowed down how much fluid it is outputting, so perhaps this week we might be able to look at shutting it off and possibly taking it out :). We will see...

Thank you again for all of your prayers and kind words you have sent us during this time. They have meant so much to Benjer and I. Much love to you all!

Bethany Visiting Samantha

2009-11-14T21:05:00.003-07:00

I had forgotten to post this earlier; last Sunday, Bethany was allowed to visit Samantha. I was in Ogden with her and Jennifer called me from the hospital to let me know the charge nurse would allow Bethany to visit for a few minutes. I'm glad we took advantage of the opportunity, because now that Samantha is at a greater risk of infection because of her lymphatic fluid being drained out of her, there will be no more exceptions.

Fun with Cousins!

2009-11-14T20:56:00.006-07:00

I (Benjer) got to spend much of the day with Bethany and her cousins Emma and Madeline. They are out visiting from Colorado with their mom, Joelle, which is a lot of fun! It was great to have a fun day and to catch up with Joelle during dinner.

Here are some photos from this morning. I took the girls to the Treehouse Museum, and we all had a lot of fun.

Trains! It's the first place Bethany asks to go when she walks in the door. That's my girl!

Emma and Madeline playing the huge drum.

Emma and Bethany having a great time making lots and lots of noise.

Craft Table! Yay!

Cowgirl Madeline!

One last photo after a fun morning...

Season

2009-11-12T21:02:00.003-07:00

Since today's update didn't have much to it, here are some thoughts for today. I (Benjer) have found that I enjoy the drive back and forth to Salt Lake City each day (about 45 minutes). It gives me some time to process what's going on, pray, and catch up on sports radio. (I know, the last one's not very spiritual, but I tell our youth they don't have to pretend to be something they aren't, so why should I pretend?) Anyways, two songs that I have enjoyed this past week are "Season" by Jenny and Tyler (www.jennyandtylermusic.com) and "Blessed Be," originally by Chris Tomlin. I loved the songs before Samantha came to the hospital, but now they have a special meaning for me.

The Psalms are some of my favorite passages of Scripture, because they are honest songs written to God, often times asking God tough questions about difficult situations the authors and/or the Israelites were facing at the time. I've never been one to sugarcoat things, and as a believer I've always felt a bit raw and really rough around the edges. That's why I love the Jenny and Tyler song mentioned above. I don't know the situation that this song arose from, but it reminds me that we can bring all questions to our God and ask him to use every situation--even the tough ones--to help form us more and more into the image of Jesus.

Well, before this turns into a full-fledged sermon, here's "Season" by Jenny and Tyler. I hope it's a good break for you.

Season - Jenny & Tyler

"Season"

after eeg’s and mri’s, i can’t explain why You’d put me through this
and when hamlet’s lines are filled with rhymes,
i have a hard time seeing what Your plan is

You say all things work together for my good
You say be patient but i wish You would

show me what this season in my life is for
i’ve been trying to seek You, seems You're shutting every door
show me what this season in my life is for
‘cause i want so much more, so much more

the doctor called to say today the medication isn’t going my way
Your paper doesn’t speak to me, reads red ink in every margin I see

You say ask and seek and knock and you will find
why won't You calm the worries on my mind

show me what this season in my life is for
i’ve been trying to seek You, seems You're shutting every door
show me what this season in my life is for
‘cause i want so much more, so much more

work your renewal through my soul
bring me through the fire as gold
Living Water come and pour over me
wash me clean

show me what this season in my life is for
i’ve been trying to seek You, seems You're shutting every door
show me what this season in my life is for
‘cause i want so much more, so much more

Samantha Joy Update 11/12/09

2009-11-12T20:57:00.003-07:00

Not much to update today. I wish I had more to post, but we're just kind of waiting. We get several visits from doctors each day and learn about the many possibilities, but essentially we are just waiting and praying. Specific prayer requests include praying that the fluid decreases (which would help her go home earlier, maybe by Thanksgiving!) and strength for Jennifer and me. We continue to be grateful for everyone's texts, calls, notes, and kind words at church. Thank you all for your encouragement!

Fun Pictures

2009-11-11T07:04:00.006-07:00

Many of you have been wondering about how Bethany (above outside the hospital near the water feature we frequent), Samantha's older sister, is doing in all of this. She is doing remarkably well. She picks up on everything very quickly, and now knows that when she's with Mama, Daddy's probably with "Baby." For the week or so that Samantha was home, she loved, hugged, kissed, and forced pacifiers upon her so much that we were worried how Bethany would do with Samantha not in the house. Well, Bethany asks about her all the time, and we make sure to draw Samantha pictures and bring her leaves from Bethany's favorite park. She's an amazing toddler, and he laid-back personality is making this a whole lot easier on us. (She even recovered from seeing a deer that was hit by a car, but that's another post.)

Yesterday, Bethany and I went to the aforementioned favorite park, Beus Park (our family calls it the "duck park"), one of Bethany's favorite places on Earth. I'm sure she enjoyed the outing, but it was also really good for her Daddy to spend some fun time with here:

Many, many different kinds of birds are apparently flying through northern Utah as they migrate. I couldn't really tell Bethany too much about it, but I told her that her Uncle Jim would have been able to explain all the different kids of birds and what they're up to. We did learn, however, about how the leaves are falling. (Bethany points at an empty tree above, "up!" then at a leaf on the ground, "down!")

We sure love swinging! We would go swinging in just about any type of weather. In fact, I'm sure we will bundle up and head to the park this winter no matter how cold it gets, as long as it's not wet.

A beautiful scene from the pond. We have a routine. First, check out the birds. Then, head to the park to swing and slide. Next, come back to the pond and pass a stream that we have to put our hands in to see just how cold it is. Finally, we finish off our walk at this site collecting rocks and throwing them into the pond. Today, with so many birds, the rock-throwing attracted many visitors who swam over to disappointingly discover that we were dropping rocks, not bread.

So, continue to pray for Samantha's sister, Bethany, who is certainly concerned, but provides a lot of laughter and comfort for her parents.

-Benjer

Samantha update 11/10/09

2009-11-10T19:58:00.003-07:00

Well, Miss Samantha did not have a great day today. She is fine now. The fluid coming out of the chest tubes really started to taper off last night and this morning it seemed hopeful that at least one of the tubes might be ready to be shut off. So, they tried it and discovered that both lungs were filling up with fluid when turned off. Then they discovered that at least one tube was clogged and they were unable to get it unclogged. Meanwhile little Samantha's breathing became quite labored again and she was put back on oxygen (her least favorite thing in the world, I think). Our doctor talked to the surgeon and they decided to sedate her and change out her chest tubes. When they were changing them they did find quite a bit of fluid in one lung and some in the other that they were able to drain and now we're starting again. So, as I said, Samantha had a rough day! But, she is now sleeping very peacefully and no longer needs oxygen.

I wish you all could see how beautiful she is. She is just perfect. Every nurse, tech & doctor that comes in talks about how cute she is and what a good baby she is. We're proud parents :).

(I should also let you all know that now that we are doing this treatment and mostly playing a waiting game with it all, we may not have much to post in the upcoming days. We promise "no news" means that everything is still okay and we are just waiting to see if it heals on its own.)

Samantha Joy Update: 11/9/09

2009-11-09T07:54:00.002-07:00

We have some good news and somewhat bad news about Samantha this morning. The somewhat bad news is that her medication (which she is currently getting through a peripheral IV) is incompatible with the TPN (the nutrition she gets through the PICC line) they are giving her. Normally what they would try to do put in a double lumen (a double PICC line) so that she could get both through the PICC line, but her veins are too tiny to put one in. So, she has to keep the peripheral IV in, and they won't send her home with a peripheral IV. So, no matter what, Samantha will have to stay in the hospital for a minimum of 2 weeks (so perhaps coming home around 11/21).

The good news is that the fluid has finally started to slow down a lot! Yay! If it continues to slow and eventually cease, then we can take the chest tubes out and have a much more comfortable baby girl. Also, the charge nurse yesterday made an exception to let Bethany come and visit her sister. It was really good for her to see where she was and give her lots of kisses (no hugs yet, though :). That was a blessing for Mama and Daddy, too.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers!

Samantha Joy Update: 11/8/09

2009-11-08T13:17:00.003-07:00

Hey, all! This one's just a quick update. Samantha's doing well, and she's resting today better than she has since she got here. She's a lot happier now that she has nutrients coming through her PICC line! Before they'll even consider sending her home, Samantha needs to have only about 5 or 10 mL or less of fluid coming out of her lungs during a 24-hour period. She's an over-achiever; she has that much coming out every hour! ;-) We wish we had some prospect of going home within a few days, but are thankful that aside from the many tubes she's attached to, Samantha is just hanging out and feeling okay.

We'll keep updating!

Thanks everyone for your prayers!

-Benjer

Model Train Show with the Holladays

2009-11-08T09:13:00.007-07:00

Chad and his girls Bethany (Faith) and Leah came down to Salt Lake yesterday to go to a model train show with Bethany (Grace) and me. (You think trying to read a blog post about two Bethanys is confusing? You should try to chase two Bethanys around a convention hall!)

Bethany and Bethany in the train! Definitely the highlight of the day.

The three girls Leah, Bethany, and Bethany in the train.

They had a really cool Lego exhibit. These photos are included for Neil's benefit. :-)

I so would love to have a Lego train.

Bethany Grace, the youngest of the group, somehow managed to lead Bethany Faith and Leah around!

Leaving after a fun afternoon!

So, I'm now motivated to get out my LGB (G Scale) train and set it up for Bethany and Samantha. You know, since we don't have much else going on in our lives right now... :-)

-Benjer

Samantha Joy Update: 11/7/09 (Updated)

2009-11-07T15:00:00.004-07:00

Here are some updates that we have today on Samantha, many of which are very positive:

The doctors are almost sure that she has a condition called chylothorax. Essentially, a duct is leaking lymphatic fluid to the lung, which is what made it difficult for Samantha to breathe. This is a pretty uncommon disorder in itself, and it is even rarer that they do not know of a cause, such as complications from a surgery or lymphoma or leukemia. In this case, not having a cause is a very good thing, compared to the alternatives.
The surgeon and Samantha's doctor believe that the thoracic duct can heal on its own. So, to reduce the lymphatic fluid, Samantha has a PICC line (an IV that snakes from her hand to her chest) that will give her nutrients, because not ingesting anything will reduce the lymphatic fluid. If all goes well, within two weeks it will become clear that the duct is fixing itself. If after two weeks, however, the duct is still damaged, they will consider some more aggressive forms of treatment, such as surgery.
Samantha currently has chest tubes in her draining fluid from her lungs. She cannot go home with these tubes in, but her doctor thinks there is a chance that within a few days she will no longer need to have fluid drained away from her lungs, and that we can take her home and administer her medication and nutrients through her PICC line ourselves. However, this all depends on whether she stops having so much fluid accumulating in and drained from her lungs.
The results from her CT scan this morning will confirm all this for the doctors, but they are pretty confident they have an accurate diagnosis.

The great news is that now that the fluid has been drained away from her lungs, she can breathe without oxygen. They have removed the tube, and she is sleeping peacefully as I type. She looks as good as she has for the past few days. We are praying that she gets to go home sooner rather than later, but we are glad we finally have some answers and a way forward.

There is so much to be thankful for right now, even though there are a few uncertainties in the next couple of weeks as we see how Samantha's body starts to heal. Thanks to all for your prayers, calls, texts, emails, and visits. We will continue to give updates as we get new information, so keep checking back here!

Update on Saturday Night: The CT scan showed a normal heart and lungs, so everything's on track at this point!

Samantha Joy: Photos

2009-11-06T19:46:00.004-07:00

Well, Jennifer said I would make people cry, which is not my intent, but I thought people would like some photos of Samantha Joy, some from before Wednesday:

Bethany is a huge huge help when it comes to brushing Samantha's hair!

Well, this picture wasn't as huge of a success as we probably wanted it to be, but here are Samantha and Bethany in their sister shirts!

Thanks for continuing to pray!

Nana with Samantha. It's so nice that she's able to be held a lot!

Bethany picked out a doll for Samantha to have with her in the hospital.

Daddy with Samantha. She sure is a good patient!

Prayers for Samantha Joy McVeigh

2009-11-05T11:26:00.004-07:00

Last week was a "Joy"-ous event as we welcomed Samantha Joy into our world, then welcomed her into her home two days later and introduced her to her big sister Bethany (see below for the video). Early this morning, Samantha Joy returned to the hospital--albeit a different one down in Salt Lake City, about 45 minutes away from our house in Ogden. She developed noticeable breathing problems yesterday, and we took her to urgent care at 11:00pm. By 12:00am, Samantha was on her way to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City in an ambulance with Mom in the front seat, and Daddy following behind in the van. We've had a long morning of lots of tests, and to make a long story short, the doctors aren't sure why she has some fluid in her lungs, but they are today looking at whether it's a lung infection or a heart problem. We will be here at least until tomorrow, but probably into the weekend.

So, we covet your prayers, and we are thankful for the calls and texts we've received so far. We'll do our best to keep everyone up to date.

Bethany Meets Samantha Joy

2009-10-29T22:56:00.001-06:00

Here's a couple of minutes of footage of Bethany meeting Samantha. It was a fun homecoming!

Better safe than sorry, I suppose...

2009-10-29T22:06:00.002-06:00

This outfit was originally given to Bethany when she was born from some good friends of Jennifer's parents who live in England. Notice what the tag says; and I was about to light it on fire!

More Photos and Samantha's Homecoming!

2009-10-29T21:30:00.007-06:00

I can't believe Samantha's only a few days old! It feels like she's always been with us, and we can't imagine life without her. Here are a few photos, including some pictures of Bethany meeting her.

Chad with the new girl. I think he has the baby bug.

Tami (Chad's wife) with Samantha. She has the baby bug, too. Cute newborns will do that! We are so blessed to have these guys as friends here.

Mommy enjoying some time with Samantha in the hospital.

Daddy loves sleeping with our new girl!

Allyse loves Samantha, too. She pretty much loves all babies.

Nana (Jennifer's mom) meets Samantha! She was very patient at the airport waiting for her son-in-law change the minivan's tire, delaying her first meeting with her newest granddaughter.

Mommy and Samantha are ready to head home from the hospital!

Kiss! Bethany is a bit concerned about our new addition, but adores her and LOVES to kiss and hug her...and shove pacifiers in her mouth, whether Samantha wants them or not. :-)

Happy family!

Bethany loves to hold Samantha. She is the BEST big sister.

Yep. Proud Nana!

Bethany insisted on eating snack today next to Samantha, who was hanging out on the floor.

Big sister makes sure everything is okay with the squeaking baby in the crib.

Leah meets Samantha!

Bethany (Holladay) meets Samantha. Bethany had such a great time with Leah and Bethany Faith tonight. I think she needed some friends to play with after a very confusing two days with her new sister.

Bethany is enjoying Mommy always being available for lounging on the couch as she recovers!

Nana and Samantha

I don't think there has ever been a cuter post-bath time look.

Introducing Samantha Joy McVeigh

2009-10-26T15:37:00.013-06:00

Yes! Samantha Joy McVeigh was born today October 26th, 2009 at 7:59am. She weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces and was 20 inches in length. Thanks everyone for praying for us. Here are some photos!
Jennifer before...

So, this is us waiting for a "professional" to admit Jennifer to the hospital. I kid you not, the really nice gal in the E.R. couldn't find Jennifer on her list, and finally said, "Well, I'm not really sure what I'm doing because I don't usually do this, so if you'd like a professional to check you in, you can go back to the admitting area and someone will be there by 6:00am to check you in." We got a good chuckle out of that one.

Benjer in his really, really cool outfit ready for surgery.

Jennifer, ready to go!

Photo number one!

Stop poking me!

Yep! 7 lbs. 12 oz.!

Can I keep her? Pleeeeeaaaaase?

Yep, that's my girl! I sure do love her already...

A proud Mommy and Daddy!

Granny sure is proud!

For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.
How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
I try to count them—they are more than the sand;
I come to the end—I am still with you.

-Psalm 139:13-18

Pumpkin Pie!

2009-10-15T20:37:00.003-06:00

Happiness is going with Mommy to meet Daddy for lunch at Village Inn by the church and getting pumpkin pie for dessert!

Recent Fun Times

2009-10-01T06:52:00.005-06:00

Here are a few photos from some nice down time our family has been able to enjoy in the midst of home improvement projects and preparing for Bethany's baby sister:

Bethany playing Logan's drums

The McVeighs at Snowbasin

One quick note: It's taking me a little getting used to shorter mountains here. I really confused a worker at the resort when I was asking about how much snow they would have for a youth event we would have at the top of the mountain there on September 19th. Then I found something out: the top of Snowbasin (where the Olympic downhill events were held in 2002, no slouch of a ski area) is about 9,200 feet in altitude. Dillon (where I lived in middle school and high school and about the) had an elevation of 9,087 feet, and is was a few thousand feet up from there to the top of ski areas. I didn't know it was possible to have good snow for skiing below 9,000 feet!

Bethany playing with rocks at Snowbasin

Bethany loves the creek at our favorite park!

And here's Bethany feeding ducks and geese! She loves to go see the ducks at the park.

Mommy and Bethany walking in our favorite park

Yes, she really did climb up that all by herself; she only got boost on the first step.

There is...

2009-09-30T06:52:00.004-06:00

...nothing much better than making pancakes with my little girl, no matter how little sleep I got!

There's nothing better than a baby laughing

2009-09-28T20:22:00.002-06:00

Benjer is the best Daddy ever :)

Trains with Daddy!

2009-09-13T21:23:00.005-06:00

Bethany and I (Benjer) had a fun day together yesterday at the train museum. Union Station in Ogden, once a major junction in the West, now houses a train museum, as well as a car museum and a gun museum. I liked learning about things like the bridge that used to span the Great Salt Lake, and Bethany loved the big trains:

And Bethany got to hang out on the train that carried the Olympic torch from Atlanta to Salt Lake City:

We had a great time!

Bethany fun

2009-08-25T19:57:00.006-06:00

Hello family and friends. We thought you might enjoy seeing what fun things Bethany has been up to. So, here are some photos from this past week:

Nothing like painting with shaving cream! At first she wasn't too sure...

Then we got some tools out to help and then she went to town!

Even the clean up was fun... getting rinsed off in the shower by Daddy!

We also finger painted this week

And Bethany is learning how to master the art of swaddling her baby.

Step 1: Lay out the blanket

Step 2: Put your baby on the blanket (gently hopefully)

Step 3: Fold both sides of the blanket over the baby (the bottom one is optional for her :)

Last: Snuggle!

Much love,

Jennifer, Benjer, Bethany and Baby Girl

2009-08-08T17:12:00.005-06:00

We know a lot of you are curious about our new house, so I finally am posting some photos of it :). We have not put up any of our decorations or pictures and not everything has been put away, so this is a rough draft of our new house! Our new address is 720 29th Street, Ogden, UT 84403. (I am new at this and the photos have uploaded out of order, so it might seem a little odd the way it's done :).

Here is our front porch and next to it is one half of our kitchen...

Here is the other half of our kitchen and then our dining room...

The front of our house, the drive way and our garage...

And, here is our living room!

Have a great day!

Love, Jennifer, Benjer, Bethany and Baby girl

Washington Heights on the Radio

2009-07-29T15:17:00.002-06:00

A quick prayer request: tomorrow (Thursday morning the 30th), two of our pastors, Roy Gruber and Jimi Pitts, will be on a local radio show entitled "Radio From Hell." Each week, they bring in someone for an "Ask a..." segment (last week it was "Ask a probation officer"), and listeners can call in and ask just about any question they would like. This will be a great opportunity to share Christ's love with our community. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would lead Roy and Jimi as they answer lots of questions, and pray that God would plant seeds among any who will be tuning in. If you'd like to listen, you can tune into 96.3 FM in Ogden, or listen online at www.x96.com. The segment they'll be on is from 8am to 9am Mountain Time. You'll be able to download a podcast of the segment online after the show as well.

"Let My People Go" or "What In the World Does Benjer Do All Week?"

2009-07-24T14:59:00.008-06:00

I'll never forget when an incoming 6th grade student who was about to become a part of our youth ministry asked me on a Sunday, "So, what do you do the rest of the week?" Well, now I have an answer for her...

It was a fun week at VBS at Washington Heights last week, and I had a good time one morning being Pharaoh. I work with such a fun group of people, and the children's ministry staff and their fantastic group of 80 volunteers loved the children of our church and community very well. Jennifer was with the 6th graders all week, and she had a great time, too.

Financial Security

2009-07-23T21:16:00.002-06:00

During the past few months I (Jennifer) have begun to realize that finances, and the idea of "financial security", is largely an illusion. At the end of the day we have very little control over what will happen with our lives, things, cars, houses, jobs, etc, which means we have very little control over our ultimate financial situations. This may have some of you reacting with acute disagreement, but hear me out. At any time we can lose our job, have a ridiculous car/medical/house bill, or any other kind of financial need can come about, no matter how careful we are or how responsibly we have planned our lives.
In the last three months Benjer and I have experienced:

a loss of job
major household financial problems (mold namely)
a reliable car breaking down beyond it being worth to fix
a major medical bill from Bethany's hospital visit in February
no place to live for 7 weeks
Benjer's computer breaking down
and several other financial strains that have drained our savings and equity almost completely dry.

But, we have also experienced unbelievable blessings! We have had:

a new job (just in time of the old one ending, so no loss of income or benefits)
a grant towards our new house in Ogden
a major financial gift from loved ones who were able to bless us in this way so that we could purchase another car
several friends and family members giving us gifts in kind so that we could have a place to stay without expensive hotels
Apple replacing Benjer's hard drive for free
help with our cars, rides, food, etc,
and we have had several other blessings in the way of discounts when people find out our situation.

All of these events in such a short time has taught me that it is really up to the Lord as to what will happen, and up to us to seek him in these situations. Now, I'm not saying that we have no responsibility to our situations or that we should not prepare ourselves accordingly; what I am saying is that no matter what we do, it is ultimately up to the Lord to provide for us and bless us. This has been a very, very difficult journey for me in the last few years, particularly since we found out we were going to have Bethany so early in our marriage. I have struggled in trusting the Lord, and trusting that it will be okay. And, if we were all honest, sometimes things just aren't okay. Sometimes life is just not okay, but the Lord is still there, knew that it would happen and is waiting to bless us again in another way. I realize I have stumbled upon a much bigger topic than can be addressed in this post (the issue of suffering), so for this post it will be enough to say that if we are dependent upon our finances for security we will be nervous/insecure knowing all the things that can happen and it will eventually let us down, but if we are dependent upon the Lord, we will not be afraid and we will be able to see our blessings as blessings when they come.

...and perseverance produces character

2009-06-23T15:04:00.002-06:00

It seems that our move to Utah, and all that it entails, is not going to be blessed with a smooth ride or ease. It has been remarkable how many events necessary to moving have been temporarily thwarted in small and grand ways. For example, when I, Jennifer, went to see my new doctor (a very important thing to do when half way through your pregnancy and haven't seen a doctor in a month), the entire insurance company's system was shut down for the morning and they weren't able to process our information, so they weren't going to see me. However, since we were leaving to come back to Denver to close on our condo, it was a big deal to try to post pone the appointment (which would have been another three weeks). In the end, after giving them enough information to steal our identities, they decided that they would see me. Little and big things alike have been happening like this for the past few weeks. Yesterday was no exception...

Benjer and I started out our road trip to Colorado so we could load our condo in a u-haul truck and get Benjer back on the road, driving a 26 foot van back to UT the very next day, so that he could help lead a trip to L.A. with about 50 youth at our new church. We were making great time after leaving at 3:30 in the morning. But, about half way through the trip (8:30 a.m. around mile marker 241 on I-80 in Wyoming) Benjer's car stopped accelerating. It was kaput. We were amazingly blessed at this point because not only were we within cell range right there so we could call a tow truck and our insurance agency, etc, but we were also only 20 miles outside of a town called Rawlins. We could have had to walk miles to find the next cell or been very far away from the next town. Very long, long story short, we were able to get a tow truck within an hour and then he took us a U-haul/gas station in Rawlins where we were able to rent a trailer hitch to tow our own car back to Denver. Apparently there are no car rental companies willing to do one way rentals there, and the cost of a tow to Denver would have been about a thousand dollars or so. We were in conversations with friends in Denver and along the front range hoping we could figure something out when a friend, Cassie, who just miraculously had the day off and no major family obligations was able to drive up with her Trailblazer so we could hook the trailer up to her car! God is so good to us. We still needed to wait for about 5 hours before Cassie could arrive in Rawlins to get us. If we hadn't had a one year old with us, the day might have been a little bit easier, but Bethany was such an amazing trooper! She was willing to play with the rocks in the awesome terrain that Wyoming has to offer and was delighted with a ball we bought at the City Market there. She was such a great little girl since we had no where for her to nap or be comfortable during this whole time of waiting. We were also blessed with good weather (it could have rained the whole time), and we even had a McDonalds with a playplace!

Meanwhile, we were supposed to be picking up the big truck from a u-haul in Parker during this time. My wonderful father drove out to get the truck, where they informed him that Benjer had not paid (which he had in advance), and they were missing some of the things we had reserved. Benjer spent some time on the phone with u-haul sorting this out while my father waited patiently and then drove to get the other things we had reserved. At this point we decided this had become a comedy of errors :). During the day we also found out that very, very few people were going to be able to help Benjer load the truck the next morning, which has never happened to us. Since I'm 5 months pregnant, I was going to be of no use here whatsoever either. So, Benjer and I decided to hire some movers to come and load the truck instead.

Once Cassie arrived, then began the difficulty of hooking up the trailer to the hitch. It took two trips to car part stores to get two parts we needed and a very nice old man helping us hook up the car so that we could get it on the trailer to get it down to Denver. Another blessing in this was that Cassie's teenage daughter, Abby, just so happened to want to go on an impromptu road trip to Wyoming and also loves Bethany, so Bethany had a someone to love her and play with her during a lot of this waiting time. The drive back to Denver was quite a bit longer than normal because now we had a truck trailing another car on Wyoming hills with Wyoming wind. Abby was amazing and played with Bethany in the back the whole way home, helping keep her from completely losing it. I don't know how Bethany did it, to be honest. I would have thrown in the towel a lot sooner if I were her yesterday. After dropping our car off at a garage, we finally arrived at my parents house around 10:00 p.m. Bethany had only had two 20 minute naps all day at this point and was still awake!

Today worked out much better and Benjer ended up being able to leave Denver by 2:00 after loading up the u-haul with all our stuff and even stopping by the hospital to see our brand new nephew born this morning (yay!!!). He drove the whole way back to Ogden, WY (about 550 miles) by himself and I have just heard that he has made it safely with no lightning hitting the truck and no plague of locusts had come...

A New Home

2009-06-11T15:28:00.005-06:00

When we realized we needed to move out of state for Benjer's new job, we also realized the process of selling our condo in Denver and buying something else might be very difficult and costly at this time; however, as we continued to see so many ways God has called us to be here in Ogden we knew the Lord would help us find a way to make the move possible financially and otherwise. It seems like each step of the way has had us waiting to the last minute or the last day to have things work out in our favor, stretching our trust in Him and teaching us patience (really fun lessons to learn, too :).

Here's how it went/is going [if you want the short story, skip this paragraph :)]: This past Friday was the last day that we could get an offer on our condo in Denver without having to rent for the month of July (and past, since most places require a minimum of a 6 month lease) in Ogden. We got an offer on Friday and then we countered it and they accepted it! We got in touch with our mortgage broker to get a pre-qual letter so we could put in an offer in Ogden this week, but as of Wednesday we were still waiting to here about it. I found out at 3 p.m. that the entire mortgage department at the bank we were trying to go through will shut down on June 30th, so we weren't able to secure a letter through them. I started praying that the Lord would step in and help us work this out. So, I called our real estate agent out here, got a recommendation and called the mortgage broker here. Thankfully he was willing to work late Wed night to approve us, which he was able to do! :) Yesterday we had planned on looking at houses in Ogden and at first it seemed as if things weren't going to work out very well here, either. The first two houses we went to look at we couldn't get into (problems with the locks) and then it started pouring on us. I prayed again that the Lord would help us work this out. Pretty soon afterwards we drove down a street that had a house for sale on it that was not on our list of houses to look at originally, but our real estate agent stopped and said we should take a look. It was a house that another agent, who works in her office, had bought and updated to re-sell, so she personally knew the agent/owner. This house is perfect for us! She was able to call the agent and see if he would be willing to accept our offer and after a little finagling today we have settled, and it's a great deal for us :). The last big issue for us was that we were going to have a period of time between having to move our stuff out of the condo in Denver before we could move into the new house in Ogden. He is even letting us store our stuff in the new home before we occupy it so we don't have to figure out storage (for two weeks) and renting a truck to move it twice!!

So, for those of you who are interested in the details of the house...

It is in the heart of Ogden, near 29th and Monroe, but a safe neighborhood :). It has 1900 sq ft with 2 small bedrooms upstairs and 4 small bedrooms in the basement. The downstairs has a separate entrance, full bath and a living area as well, so we think it will be pretty easy to rent the bottom floor out to 1-2 college students. We can also choose to use it ourselves later if we need to. The upstairs has a nice kitchen, two bedrooms, a big mud room, full bathroom, and a great room. The great room is about 25 x 12 and has hardwood floors, which Benjer loves. It has a garage that is painted like an old fashioned barn (red with white trim) and the yard is pretty big (the lot is .17 acres). The yard needs a lot of work, but rest of the house has very little work needed, so I think it's a pretty good deal. We basically need to buy some appliances. The man who updated it updated all the plumbing and electricity, put in new cabinets, counter tops, paint, carpet, finished the basement, etc. So we are getting a great deal! It's a cute bungalow type house, with a porch, too :)

Two Days and Counting...

2009-06-07T20:23:00.002-06:00

The past couple of days has been a whirlwind. Lots of going away parties and such. God is good, and has blessed us in so many ways. We are thankful that he has been guiding our steps and putting the pieces in place according to his timing. No pictures to post and not much to say (we our off to bed before a big day of packing), but I definitely wanted to take a minute and give thanks for what he's doing in our lives.

Friends: Good Food for the Soul

2009-05-28T21:06:00.010-06:00

Our family has been blessed to spend some great time with friends in the past week. Over the weekend through Wednesday, we had some really good friends, Jim and Heather (and their fun kids Faith and Joel) up from Woodland Park to hang out before we move to Utah. I (Benjer) have known them since college, and it's been a blessing to grow in life and families with them. The were married a few years before us and had kids a few years before we started, so they have taught us much, and we will miss them dearly. And tonight, we had a dinner at the Denver Seminary apartments with good friends and former neighbors/roommates. Most of us are "in transition" right now, and it was great to get together with them and remember how much they mean to us, and how our relationship was a huge part of seminary for Jennifer and me. We joked that four short years ago, there were two marriages among us, and at the dinner tonight, we had four married couples, four kids among us, two on the way, and one of us is working on his third degree. Friends are certainly a blessing on the journey.

Without further ado, here are some pictures of Jim, Heather, Faith, and Joel's visit:

Bethany, Joel, and Faith at the Zoo:

A bit more of an interesting photo of the kids at the zoo:

Us finding shelter from the rain at the zoo:

Bethany loves fishies! She says, "fffsshhh."

Mother's Day (One Week Late)

2009-05-23T13:50:00.004-06:00

Last Sunday, we celebrated my (Benjer's) mom's mother day one week late by going to the aquarium with her grandkids. It was a really fun time!

Here's Bethany looking at some fish with Daddy:

Charlie, Grace, and Caroline had a fun time:

The girls hanging out:

Here's our family at the end of the event:

It's so fun to see the wonder of the kids looking at some of the really cool fish (and even a tiger!). Perhaps we have a thing or two to learn from their wonder...

Utah?

2009-05-18T20:09:00.006-06:00

Well, we're not quite in Utah yet, but we are experiencing what it means to get ready for such a move. We're sad to leave Colorado, so we thought we'd start a blog to keep our friends and family up to date! There are a lot of pieces that need to fall into place in order for us to transition out of state. We still need to sell our condo (which has been on the market since April 24th), so any prayers you would be willing to commit to that would be very much appreciated. However, everything else that we have been praying, concerned or unsure about has been falling into place in a miraculous way. Benjer's official last day at Holy Apostles will be 5/31 and his start date at Washington Heights is 6/1 (praise the Lord!), although he'll be back and forth to Utah during that time, going out for a staff retreat at the beginning of June, then going with Jennifer for good by June 10th. This means that we will not be without insurance (especially for the pregnant Jennifer) for even one minute! Also, should we need it, there has been a generous offer to give us temporary housing just until we figure out our housing situation in Ogden. God is so good.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. Keep visiting often! To give you an incentive, we'll post pictures of Bethany on a regular basis.

Don't think that we don't know everyone calls her the cute one of our family!