TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Dear neglected blog,

Someday I promise to get back on track. Someday life will calm down enough to allow me to come back. If anyone is still out their - I'm working on it. Not sure if anyone still looks at this - or even cares, but I really need to get in gear for my journaling purposes. I have a lot to post. A LOT! Life is just crazy! Someday...someday.

Love,
Melanie

DIVISION LINE

**Journaling post - something I just wanted to jot down to remember.**

There is this sweet, sweet lady in my ward that I've really come to respect & love over the past year. She's the Family History Leader in our ward & has taught me A TON!! I love family history & couldn't have asked for a better teacher. She has such a strong testimony of this work & you would not believe the amount of work she has done & the stories she can tell!

We were talking today {she always has some wonderful insight to share with me} about trials. She's had a fair share of trials in her life & we were just talking about kids in general. We were also talking about loved ones we know going through difficult times. I expressed concern for someone I know going through some rather difficult times right now. Well, this dear woman always knows the right thing to say!

She told me she was just talking with one of her daughters about this same subject & that she's decided that those with difficult trials are on the balancing line, so to speak. Everyone has trials & life is hard. Some really do get handed some really hard things, though. These trials make you stronger. We all know that. But, stronger for what? She told me her theory was that they make you stronger to know which side you're on.

For some reason this made total sense to me. Something that is common sense if you think about it, but it struck me. This is something I really needed my specific loved one to hear. Trials make you stronger, yes. They challenge you to decide beyond a reasonable doubt which side you'll be on in the last days. Could you really be strong enough to stand up for what's right without gaining the strength to do so from your trials? This sister told me - she's had her trials. She's done her duty & she knows without a doubt which side she's on.

Through tough times we should all remember that we're becoming stronger. Sure it's hard & flat out sucks at times, but in the end, we'll know what side we truly stand on. If the opportunity arises to stand for the truth against something extremely difficult - will we have the strength to fight for what's right? Will we know what side of the fence we're on?

PRAYER

Sunday night I had a RS Auxiliary Training Mtg. Erik had to leave town that night, so I was now left with trying to figure out what to do with my girls. Given the nature of my calling I couldn't just say, "Oh well, can't come." At church I asked my friend Bonnie if the girls could come hang out at her house during the mtg. She, as always, was so kind to say yes. She told me she had a dinner at her mom's, but they could still watch the girls.

When the time came around I text Bonnie to see if they were home yet. I didn't hear anything, so I told my girls that if we didn't hear from her that they would just have to sit in the hallway & color or something for a bit. Apparently, that idea was not appealing. I was gathering up my things & trying to rush out the door when I heard a faint, "Just a sec" in the background. I look over & see Jay saying a prayer. My heart melted!!

When she was done she looked up & gave me a little smile. I smiled back & said, "You really want to go to Bonnie's don't you?" (They really love Bonnie & her kids!) She replied with a yes. Well, I couldn't just let it go. I called Bonnie once we got in the car & we got it worked out.

Thanks to my awesome friend Bonnie my 7 year olds prayers were answered! Thanks again Bonnie!!

JOSH & JILL

I'm not sure how I missed this post in the scheme of things, but hey! Better late than never right? And it's not in chronological order - oh well!! Anyhoo, here's the story...

The beginning of August I went on a little trip to Colorado with my Dad & Mignon. It was a blast! My sister-in-law Jill got married & we were excited to go support her. It started with me being asked to create their invite. This one was the funnest one yet because she wanted it really girly with lots of fun things. Including birds! It was way fun for me to create & luckily they quite liked it. (At least, they told me they did & sent them out.) Here's the invite...
We flew up to Denver on Thursday the 5th & then drove down to Colorado Springs. Friday we spent the day just kind of hanging out, getting to know Josh & his family. {His mom is mine & Mignon's new best friend, by the way.} We took Elliot swimming at their hotel & then prepared for the "rehearsal dinner" that night. We went to an Italian restaurant & again just enjoyed the evening!

On Saturday we headed to the church building to set up for the wedding & reception. Mignon & I were sent to wash table clothes at a local laundromat. I'm sure you can imagine the fun that was. On a Saturday no less. ;) All in all the ceremony & reception turned out lovely. We have a little bit of a joke in the family about how my Dad will find someone he knows {even if in a round-a-bout way} no matter where he goes. Well, he even found someone at the reception. Didn't know him personally persay, but he went to Arcadia & they knew some common people. Hilarious! Can't take that man anywhere!
After the reception my parents & I took Elliot home & watched him so that Jill & Josh could have a little honeymoon. Unfortunately for them, it was only one night. I got a crash course on bolusing Elliot. I even woke up in the middle of the night to check his sugar while he was asleep & bolused him. He didn't even wake up. {Bolusing is telling his pump how much insulin he needs.} I was quite proud of myself that I could wake up to do so. I was so worried about it though that I didn't get much sleep. I just wanted him to be safe. Apparently, I bolused him too much because his sugar dropped later that day. He was ok, but I felt bad! We took Elliot to church & then came home to visit some more with Josh's family.

Later that day we drove back up to Denver to help take Josh's family to the airport. We stopped at a restaurant called Craves that has become Josh & Jill's favorite place to eat. It was very delicious hamburgers & we had a ball watching a guy make beautiful shakes. Seriously, they were works of art the way he presented them & they looked yummy!! We were too stuffed to try one. After we dropped off Josh's family we said bye to everyone. Even Josh, Jill & Elliot. We then headed to a hotel for the night in Denver. There was an amazing rainbow in the sky as we pulled into our hotel. The best picture of the trip came from this evening....
We were laughing at ourselves! All of us snuggled in a bed with our snacks. {Don't worry - there was 2 beds.} The next day we went to the movies & saw Salt. Then it was time to head to the airport & head home. It was such a fun trip & I loved being able to have a little trip with my parents by myself. Not to mention getting a chance to spend some time with Elliot, Jill & Josh. It was a great weekend. And I need to give my Dad & Mignon a HUGE thank you again for the funnest trip!! I love you guys!

STUCO SECRETARY

Kylie decided to run for Student Council Office again. I definitely don't want to discourage her on this, so we obliged again. I like that she's so confident - yet she doesn't stress if she gets picked or not. She told me that if she didn't get chosen it was ok - she'd just try & run for class representative. I also love that she doesn't get overly stressed giving her speech in front of everyone. Still not sure where that one comes from. Not myself - or Erik that's for sure! She definitely was one of the more energetic kids giving a speech.

The thing I love most is that each STUCO officer has to get a signature from there teacher each month saying there grades are good enough to stay in office. That pushes Kylie to try extra hard because she loves being in STUCO. She's such a cute little thing & absolutely loves her school! I only hope we can continue this through high school so that her college applications look good! ;)

CONGRATS Kylie we love you bunches!!!

**Sorry Mom. I tried & tried & tried to upload the video of her speech & it would not work. When you come down for J&A's baby I'll show you then.

CABIN

Thanks to us bidding on the "Cabin Weekend With The Wiscombe's" item at the YW fundraiser we were able to have a quick getaway to a cabin. It couldn't have come at a better time. The previous week was a really crazy week. That may even be an understatement! It was so nice to get away - even for a night. To spend time with friends & just relax.

And relax we did! Erik & I had a hard time staying awake. We felt like the laziest people on the planet. We were beyond exhausted from our week. The girls had a blast playing with the Wiscombe kids. We should have just called it the gathering of the cutest kids on the planet. Because, it basically was!

Fun times included:
**Rummikub on the porch while it rained (Gorgeous!!)
**Watching Stardust (Ok - Erik & I slept through it.)
**Eating of yummy food
**Watching the kids be silly
**Me getting to hold a sleeping baby
**Enjoying cooler weather
**NO CELL PHONE SERVICE!!
**Being with friends

Thanks again Wiscombe's! We had a blast & hope we weren't too boring for you while we slept! ;)

STREBECK's

Due to a series of events we were able to have a little family gathering of sorts.

It was good to see my stepdad since we feel like we really don't see him very much - now that he's spending a lot of time on Africa. It was also good to see my sister Alayne who lives in Vegas. She & Allison are both pregnant, so we couldn't resist the baby bump photos. I especially love the photos of my girls wearing Alayne's shoes. Nice that Kylie looks taller than Alayne. I'm guessing my kids don't have a chance at being on the shorter side.