Great Friends

This is Hannah and Abram. Hannah lives down the street from us and is in our ward. She likes to draw pictures for Abram and Abram likes to take rock treasures to her.





This is Hannah's little brother Benjamin. (Also known as 'in the men' as Isaac says it.) Isaac adores Benjamin! They have helped each other do well in nursery.

Here's some flowers and plants we have planted as a family. Many we got from neighbors and friends.




Craig loves his new grill! He couldn't wait to put it together! It sat in the middle of the kitchen floor for a day while he put it together and admired it. The problem was we bought it a week before our deck was done. So, here's Craig grillin' on our front walk.








Here's Abram's best friend, Sophie. She's really his girlfriend. She plays like a boy. She loves Diego, wonderpets, dolphins, dinosaurs, and sharks. She bosses Abram around like crazy, but he follows her like a puppy! They've been caught playing house with him calling her 'honey' and her calling him 'sweetie.' I have about 50 of these blurry pictures on my camera because Abram found the camera and was taking pictures of Sophie modeling.
Here's a better picture of Sophie. Of course, she's wearing boy's swim wear because that's all we have in our house. Her brother Colton is behind them. Isaac loves Colton too! We play with Sophie and Colton almost every day. They live down the road. I adore her whole family. We've really loved being able to hang out with them. In case you're wondering, Sophie has cancer. Abram doesn't even know. The first time we met them, we were going to the elementary school to play on the playground when she ran out to the sidewalk and said, "You wanna play hide-and-seek?" We played all sorts of fun things for about 2 hours. That night Abram was telling Craig all about Sophie and the fun things they did. I was surprised that he didn't mention that she didn't have hair. Then I said, "Abram, what color is Sophie's hair?" He said, "I don't know." Me: "Abram, does Sophie have hair?" Abram: "Um...no." Then that was it. He doesn't even notice she looks any different than other girls. He has since told me that he thinks Sophie is pretty. I think Sophie is pretty too. I think Abram and Sophie have had some conversations about the cancer though, because today Abram told me that medicine doesn't always make you feel better. I asked him who told him that and he said Sophie told him that sometimes medicine can make you feel sick. Interesting that they've talked about this. Anyway, Abram loves Sophie and asks all day long everyday to play with Sophie. He wanted her to go to church with him today and informed the Primary chorister that Sophie was his best friend in between a few songs. Sophie feels the same for Abram. She wanted him to spend the night at her house last night...of course that didn't happen.

We're glad that our boys have found such good friends here! Thanks Hannah and Benjamin, and Sophie and Colton!

Private Pooper

An Emotional Week

This has been a very emotional week to say the least. My friend Brittany Kunz lost her baby boy, Daxton, this week to a freak accident. (See the post below.) Our community is being ravished by the river. (See pictures below in this post.)

I just really feel a need to share with you all the love that I've seen this week. Beside the tears I and my family shed for Brittany's family, I have seen so many women make comments on her blog, women that did not know her. Women who just wanted her to know that they care. Mothers all around me are praying and crying for her family. I can see the people who "mourn with those who mourn." I have seen so many reach out to their family and I am grateful. I am grateful to be a mother and to share in that bond that comes with motherhood. I am grateful for the gospel and the knowledge that families can be together forever and that little children always, always return to Heavenly Father. What a blessing we have in the gospel!!

We also have been blessed to be a part of this community where I am currently living. Throughout the week Craig and I have had the opportunity to sandbag and help out in our community. There was a point where we ran out of sand and had to wait for the truck. I looked around and saw so many people there helping. There were people in wheelchairs, men and women of all ages, and older children. Strangers were hugging. I had the thought about all of us uniting as one and working toward something greater. At that moment, we were all brothers and sisters. I loved it.

I just wanted to share these wonderful experiences with you. I know that it's in the most difficult times in life that our blessings become the most apparent. I am thankful for my blessings, and the blessing for others that I have seen around me all week.

NOW FOR THE PHOTOS

This is my town.



















This is the park at the bottom of my hill. There was this cute little carnival area that only cost $0.60. We hope we can get it back.

















This is Abram's preschool. This picture was taken several days ago and now the preschool is completely under water. This has been a difficult experience for Abram. He's had a hard time seeing his school, the park, the playground, and the library suffer damage. He spent some quality time crying over it. The other day he went outside in his 'Super Abram' outfit and yelled at the rain and said, "I'm gonna make it stop rainin'!!!" We had a good lesson about prayer that night.
























This is the road the Bascoms will live on. His school is underwater currently. Keep us posted Bascoms.
8 of the University of Iowa buildings are under quite a bit of water. Brandon's school is under a large amount of water. This is the largest flood Iowa City ever has record of. We went past the 500 year mark with this flood.

















This is a neighborhood we almost bought in. The house we looked at is underwater. We're thankful for renting now.


















This not suppose to be a river, but the lake spilled over making a 5 ft deep river running through our already flooded town. To say the least, this is a disaster zone.

Realize that most of this pictures were taken days before our river crested even, and these places are under even more water now....probably 8 feet more water. Craig went to sandbag on Friday, walking into the area, and 3 hours later had to be hauled out in a big truck. He said the water was up to his waist. The water was rising that quickly. It's awful to see the damage, but watching the river itself is just amazing!! I have never seen water do the things that are happening here. I can somewhat see why some tribes have worshipped the river. It's powerful and beautiful. The mayor of the town above us wanted to use the river to bring more business to the area, and last year in a town meeting say that "this should be the year of the river." Whelp...now it is for sure!!

Brittany's Daxton

My friend Britt lost her little one year old boy this weekend. He was found in his crib wrapped up in the cord from the blinds. They tried everything to revive him, but it was too late. Please, please pray for their family and be very careful with blind cords.
We love you Brittany and will be praying for you and your family.