Summer Miricle

I've been meaning to post this for a while, but you know how I am.  Anyway, we had an incident where we all (the whole Burnah family) recognized the hand of the Lord in our lives.  It goes something like this:

The Burnah family went to the cabin in the Uintahs this summer.  Tavish's grandpa and grandma were there too.  Tavish's grandpa- Grandpa Bay- wanted some work done by the young strapping boys.  (By young, I mean in their 30's.  Grandpa Bay is 87 I believe.)  You have to know Grandpa Bay- he is a great guy who has lots of energy (especially for his age), is a hard worker, and has done many crazy things in his lifetime.  He wanted to cut down some trees up at the cabin.  They were HUGE, I mean HUGE, pine trees that the swing is on.  The trees had gotten a disease and were dying.  He wanted to cut the top halves, that were dead, off to prevent accidents in the future.  Anyway, this meant that the boys would have to use their climbing gear to get way up, and chainsaw the branches and large portions of the trees down. (An alarm is going off in my head right here, and probably yours too, saying, "Don't do it!")

This didn't seem like a good idea to me, but I'm known as being a paranoid one in the Burnah family, so I didn't say anything.  Some of those boys are crazy risk-takers sometimes, my husband included.  But, Tavish wasn't going to climb up there, so I just thought, "Whatever- as long as it's not my husband doing something dangerous high up in a tree".  I just wanted to keep the kids far, far away and not watch what was going on.  Colin and Phil climbed up the tree- with the chainsaw (Again the alarm is going off, "Don't do it!").  Grandpa Bay and the other boys directed from the ground.

They made a bunch of cuts, and huge trees were falling.  It was scary.  Then, they cut one huge part of the tree that fell the wrong way, not the way anticipated.  I was off with the kids, and heard the crack of the tree and then everyone gasp and saw Grandpa Art running toward the tree.  Immediately, panic set in- in all of us.  The tree had fallen right on Colin- way up high in the tree.  It pinned him against the tree he was in and was on his back and shoulders.  I can't begin to tell you the awful feeling this was for all of us- especially his mom.  No one worries more than a mom.  Everyone was so worried, Grandpa Bay even started to climb the tree to get him out, but I'm sure realized he wouldn't be able to help.  We were all praying as they tried to get him out.  Colin wasn't saying much, so we worried that something was seriously wrong.  Phil went up with the chainsaw to cut him out, then we were worried about branches flipping out and hitting him as well.  Phil made some cuts as everyone guided him from the ground, and soon he was free.  Colin climbed down the tree super fast with all limbs in tact. It was surreal.  We were all amazed and relieved.  We had just witnessed  a miracle.

His mom took him to the Dr. to make sure there weren't broken bones or internal problems.  They didn't find anything wrong besides scrapes, but he was really sore for quite a while.

I'm certain we saw the hand of the Lord that day.  If the tree would have fallen just over a few inches,  it could have been much worse.  I'm pretty sure he has a guardian angel (or two), and we're all so grateful he is OK.

Before the accident

It's hard to see, but Colin is there in the tangle of trees.  Phil is in the yellow.

Back to School

Back to school is always a blessing for us.  I love my children very much, but by the end of the summer it's best for all of us if school starts :).  Mac started Kindergarten this year.  I have a hard time sending kids to Kindergarten, but I know it will be so good for him.  He has a wonderful teacher, so I'm not worried.  I've already written how grateful I am for teachers and school in past posts, so- ditto to them.   Here are just a few pictures:

First Day of Kindergarten

First day of 5th grade and 3rd grade.  Will wanted to be in everyone's picture.

Teacher Appreciation Week- last May.  Tavish helped me make the little peanut kids.  I really do appreciate the teachers.

My Good Husband

Today I'm grateful for my sweet Tavish who got up early to put out flags with the scouts for Labor Day, then came home to take care of our sick baby so I could sleep.   Just had to jot it down, because I feel sooo much better after being up with little Will for a few nights.  And... I am sooo grateful for a dedicated, loving, unselfish husband. I hope Will gets better soon and that Tav can get a nap today! :).

No Tooth for the Tooth Fairy

A couple of weeks ago Sara lost a tooth.  She put it in a little baggie and was carrying it around the house for a while.  When it was time for bed, she couldn't find her tooth anywhere.  We all tried to find the tooth- it still hasn't showed up.  Sara was pretty upset.  She decided to write the tooth fairy a note that she lost her tooth.  She put the note under her pillow, and the very generous tooth fairy gave her a dollar even without a tooth, but left a note (written in very tiny, fairy- like handwriting) that said, "You owe me a tooth young lady!"  We were thinking that it would show up so she could offer her tooth another night, but, like I said- it never did.

Anyway, a few days ago Sara lost another tooth- yes she has many gaps in her mouth right now.  She left the tooth and this note under her pillow.  If you can't read it it says, "you don't have to give me eny money for this".  Oh- what a sweet girl.  It was so cute to see that.  I love it when my children are willing to make sacrifices to do what is right- all on their own.  I'm sure that was hard for her to write.   Sweet Sara- she's my blessing of the day. 

PS- The tooth fairy must have liked the note too, because she had compassion on her and still gave her $ for the tooth. 

Catch Up- Sara's baptism

I have a hard time keeping up on this, just like everything else in my life.  Sometimes I see these blogs of stay at home super moms that must have a caffeine drip going through them intravenously.... all day.  They are super organized, wonderful cooks, homeschool their kids (which sounds a little like torture to me), study their scriptures, magnify their callings, keep healthy and fit, and blog about all of it too- with nice pictures because they are photographers also.  What in the world?!  What's my problem?

Anyway, I was considering quitting the blog thing because I must move in slow motion compared to these super women, and have to prioritize my time.  I asked myself, "Is this worth my time?"  I guess you can see that I decided it was- even if I don't do it often.  I figure it may be of some worth to my children and grandchildren someday, and its better reading than my journals (that I don't keep anymore).  So, I'm sticking with it- for now.

A blessing that I need to catch up on and document is Sara's baptism.  She was baptized in January this year.  She's such a sweet, easy-going girl.  Her dad baptized and confirmed her, Grandma Sue gave a talk on the Holy Ghost, and Grandma Bobby gave a prayer.  I'm glad that she didn't ask me to do something, because I just sat there and boobalooed.  It was such a nice day with all of the family.  On Sunday, Sara even bore her testimony.  I was proud of her because she's like her mama- doesn't like the public speaking thing. :)  

So, this is for Sara- I'm so happy for your determination to do what is right, your easy going demeanor,  your patience with your brothers, and I love you!  You are my blessing of the day.

A Flip of the Switch #1

This summer, my Dad's twin sister passed away.  My dad's family has a history of mental illness, and my aunt Diann inherited it, so it was actually a relief when she left, because she is finally free and whole again.

A little history here: My dad's mom had mental issues and couldn't take care of the kids.  She had five kids in five years, the youngest died not long after birth (I think that right there is enough to make any mother go insane).  When she had my dad and Diann, the Riggs family in the ward took them in.  They had many teenage/young adult girls and one boy that helped raise my dad and Diann.

Anyway, at Diann's funeral one of the Riggs girls spoke.  She told of her mom's difficult decision to take the babies in to raise, stories from their childhood... etc.  I never have really heard my dad's stories from this family's perspective; it was interesting.  Then she went on mentioning several of the Porter family's trials- mental illness, the death of their dad and other family members... then she said something like, "There is a crown of glory in store for the Porter family."  And immediately, like a flip of the switch, I thought, "You're the one who will have a crown of glory".  And it came to me how blessed I am because of this family.  I honestly felt like God was saying, "Holly, look how blessed your life is because of them."  I always knew what a blessing they were to my dad, but I guess I didn't think much about how it affected me.

What a sacrifice they made taking in the twins of a dysfunctional family.  Now, as a mom, I can especially recognize what a sacrifice that would be.  Because of them, my dad had opportunities he never would have had without them.  He graduated high school and college,  had a mom write him letters every week on his mission, got a good job,  and actually met my mom through one of the sisters.  I have a wonderful dad and have had a good upbringing.  I'm certain a large part of it is due to the Riggs family.

I recognize the hand of the Lord in my life- he inspired a sweet mother of teenagers to raise my dad.  She will never know how she blessed his family's life.  I am forever grateful to her and her family.

A Flip of the Switch

Recently I watched one of the Mormon Messages by Elder Bednar that got me thinking.  He spoke in a General Conference about revelation.  He said that revelation generally comes in two ways. One way is like a light switch- the light turns on suddenly and the room is  lit.  To me it's like one of those ah-ha moments.  Of course, it could be even more dramatic like visits from angels- which of course I haven't had.   The other, more common way, is like a sunrise.  Gradually bit by bit you see the light.  The 'sunrise' revelation is much more common, but harder to recognize and generally takes more time.  Anyway, one of the things I was going to post about from this summer was one of those flip-of-the-light switch revelations.  And since those flip-of-the-switch revelations don't happen too often to me, I thought I should document it.  Who knows, maybe while I'm at it I'll document a few more of those flips of the light switches from the past that I've never written down.  Of course, you all know how good I am at keeping up this blog, so no promises.

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/mormon-messages?lang=eng&id=2012-01-012-patterns-of-light-spirit-of-revelation#2012-01-012-patterns-of-light-spirit-of-revelation