Spring Snow

We woke up Thursday to a "Winter" Wonderland. We had been dumped on, seriously. I'm really ready to be warm now. I'm a little tired of sweatshirts, piles of blankets, pellets for the stove, and baking dinners all afternoon, just to add a little more warm to the house. I'm ready for some serious, warm, enduring sunshine. To add to the snow, there was wicked blowing wind all day long. On Friday, the kids didn't have school due to Parent/Teacher Conferences. It was billed as a clean-up day. The boys were responsible for the entire garage, since they had neglected to clean up after we worked over some seriously cool pinewood derby cars. {another post} Well, to clean up the garage properly, they had to move their little snow machine, which had been parked there to free up some trailer space for moving Lindsey and company. This turned out to be quite the "job" for the boys. They took turns riding on the snow machine while the other "cleaned up." When Emma realized what was going on outside, she was dressed in a matter of seconds and out the door. She wanted to ride the machine. Maybe I should have cared a little more that they were not attending to their responsibility, but I honestly think that this is the first time this "season" that we have had enough snow in the yard to properly run the little snow machine...and they were having a good time...and they were outside...and they were taking turns...and the garage was eventually restored to a more reasonable state. So, the point behind this whole story is that Emma came in the house, after having been outside for a good amount of time, just distraught...MOM, you HAVE to come see this...MOM, our TULIPS! She was frantic. I couldn't get my coat and shoes {and grab the camera} fast enough to satisfy her. She led me outside...OVER HERE...THIS WAY...COME ON, MOM.

This is what she wanted to show me: Tulips, daffodils, crocuses, and hyacinths covered in snow. {I didn't tell her this, but they had been COMPLETELY burried the day before}

I reassured Emma that they would still be ok, and that the snow would melt {WILL IT?}. And that our little flowers would survive the cold. They are tough. Then I saw this crocus. It looked like a dark hole in the snow, so I brushed away a little fingerfull of snow and realized that it was a little purple flower.
Emma wanted to help. I thought her little mittened hand brushing away the snow from the little fragile flower {which was damaged a little more by the caring hand than the unforgiving weather} was just so sweet. It was a sweet gesture, and a clear indication of her nurturing personality.

Something a little more cheerful

Thought it was time for a more cheery update from the Lester house. Here are some random pictures from the last month.

Theses are the "wedding" dresses Nate brought back from Guatemala for the girls. They twirled and twirled, and Emma even set it out with tights and shoes to wear the next day. They've enjoyed dressing up, and they look beautiful! {if I do say so myself}

This was a day in February while Nate was gone. Sam was just getting better from "not pneumonia." It was actully nice enough to be outside. We enjoyed the sunshine that day.

Grandma, this one's for you. For the Cubscout Blue & Gold Banquet this year our ward was in charge of the food. I really couldn't stomach the thought of serving store-bought apple pie, so I volunteered to make pie for 100 people. Lara said she would help. Then Dana said she would help if she only knew how to make pie. And then this "fantastic" idea popped into my head. I thought...what a great idea for an enrichment activity for Relief Society. We get together, learn to make a pie, and then serve them all to the cubscouts. So we did that. We had nine of us around my kitchen table trying to piece together crumbly pie dough. {I still need to work on that a lot.} Taking suggestions now. So, it really was fun, and in two hours we had 6 pies. And it was really good!!!

And March would not be March without wrestling mania. It is all that we do in March. They eat, sleep, and breathe wrestling. Sam and Clay are really pretty good. Sam turned it on a couple of years ago, and has done pretty well until this year. Clay, not so much, but this year he is really coming into his own. He's not coordinated, and is a little clumsy, but he's strong and he's smart. We started out pretty slow with all the sickness going around, and we've had to miss quite a bit this year. These are pictures from one of the meets. Clay only wrestled once before he decided he'd rather be at Reid's birthday party. Sam lost, won, and then lost to Malek, his team-mate. They are pretty good for each other. They take turns winning. Malek won this one, and then Sam beat him last week. They were both really good matches. This weekend we went to Laramie for the WAWA State Little League Finals. They both lost all their matches. Sam's first match was against the winner of Reno and Denver, so he really didn't have a chance. On his second match he was too distracted and not in the right frame of mind. He gets a little freaked out by the enormity of the venue and the level of competition. He could have done better, but it was a great learning experience for him. Clay could have wrestled in a lower weight class if we just would have cut his hair. He was barely over, and had to wrestle some bigger kids. He, too, was distracted and spent more time playing with his headgear. He did some good things, but like Sam, just wasn't at his best. They had just both won 1st place at a different match on Thursday night, and I was hoping that would give them some confidence. They had been aggressive and smart and both of them had done really well!!! And Clay was the happiest boy you'd ever see. He was so proud of that medal. It was fun.

And look, Spring is really here. {although you wouldn't know it for the snow storm we had last night} I planted crocuses, tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths in front of my house last fall. They are coming out in full force. I hope they will blossom and not get trampled or eatten by deer!!!

I'm sick and my house flooded

I'm really not complaining. Just thought you might want to hear the story.
Yesterday afternoon, I had just picked up Clay from school...Sam came home earlier complaining of nausea. We had 45 minutes before wrestling practice and I was getting dinner ready to put in the oven. I noticed there was a little puddle of water under my kitchen sink. I peeked under there, not thinking much about it because I'm getting things from under the sink ten times a day. The cleaning bucket was 1/4 full of water. Hummmmm. I emptied it and situated it back where it was to deal with when I wasn't so busy. I went downstairs to get some tomatoes and beans for dinner and there was water dripping from the rafters in the storage room. Hummmm. I cleared away Nates hunting gear and mopped that up and set up a couple buckets to catch the drips {slow and random} until I wasn't so busy. Took Clay to wrestling practice. Thought when I got home, I should probably just check and see where that leak is coming from. We {can't do anything without the help of my girls} cleared all the cleaning things {yes, I keep my cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink...I don't have a toddler anymore} and the towels out from under the sink and noticed a much fuller bucket of water than before. I decided to turn the water off. The valve was too tight. I yelled at Sam to find me the pliers. In the mean time I decided to trace the drip and find the exact spot where it was dripping. I saw the spot and thought, well, maybe I should just tighten that spot. I reached up to turn the grey connector and it split in my hands. It was instant hot water geyser coming from under the kitchen sink. Now I'm screaming for the pliers, which Sam promptly brings to me and then promptly, with the girls, begins to freak out. Even with the pliers I still can't get the water off. After assessing the impending damage, I decided I had to leave the scene and try to get the water off downstairs. Maybe that valve would work. I run into the storage room and I felt like I was in a rain forrest. Water was dripping from everywhere. Now I'm trying not to lose it, but I initially couldn't find a valve to speak of. Found one, turned it, well, tried to turn it...it was stuck too. Back through the rain storm to the upstairs where Sam is getting Nate on the phone. I yelled at him like it was his fault when he told me, "Just turn the water off, honey."
"NO KIDDING!?!?!?!?!" I'm sobbing now because there is not a dry part of my body and I can see no end to the water which is still spewing from under the sink and quickly reaching the living room.
Run back to the rain drenched room, and think...hot water heater, trace the pipes, find the valve. Found the valve...couldn't turn it.
Now, I'm no body builder, but I'm not a wimp either. I can hold my own, but I couldn't get either of the three valves to budge.
Back upstairs where everyone is still crying. I took one more try at the valve under the sink, and after about four yanks with the pliers, it budged, and we were in business. Mind you, the water was just barely lukewarm at this point, and not scalding me like the first time I tried. But it was spraying me straight in the face nonetheless. Water stopped.
Hooray!!!!
So, operation clean up begins. I grabbed the shopvac and started getting water up. We had barely started when Boyd and Kathy showed up almost simultaneously. Nate surely had called them on his way home, and sent them over. The vacuum was full in a matter of minutes.
Nate got home promptly and Ron came over with his heavy duty shop vac that worked a tons better than ours. I love our neighbors. Craig and Terreck cam over and fixed the faucet and Chris brought Clay home and fed the kids dinner {which I was being so prepared to have made:)} while we cleared out the wet things from the basement.
OK, this is getting a little long now. Sam started puking. Amelia started puking. I woke up puking, and have laid in bed all day playing school and dolls and watching cartoons and kitchen renovations until I realized I really had to get my information emailed to my accountant. So, here I sit very still at the computer, trying to find the humor in the situation.
I guess it was kind of funny to see water dripping like a waterfall from the light in my office. And the bubble in the paint in the bathroom is kind of entertaining. I didn't really LOVE my kitchen floor...it is easy to clean...but I think the edges of the boards coming up around the kitchen sink won't be really nice once they start chipping.
I thought this morning that I feel like such a lucky dog that there was no more damage than there was...my computer and my computer desk/shelves {which I slurged on at PBTeen} didn't see a drop of water. My years supply of food that was under the rainforrest was in sealed plastic buckets and #10 cans. The boxes contiaining my financial records and family history/memories were drenched, but nothing in them was wet. Nate's hunting gear is pretty waterproof, and is currently drying out. We have quite a bit of work ahead of us, but I feel very blessed that so much was protected. Yes, we'll be tearing out walls, but so much was protected!
I gotta go lie down.

Nate's Adventures in Guatemala

Second try. I just lost everything I had written. Not cool.

So, Nate just got back from his annual trip to Guatemala. {Except for last year due to a little colon problem} It is always such a great experience for him to go and serve the people there. It is really humbling to see the way that they live...their courage, work ethic, and dedication to their families. They don't have running water or electricity, and most don't have the means to ever visit a dentist in their lives. The Guatemalans flock to the plaza or school, or wherever it is that the dental equipment is set up, to have someone take care of the pain they feel in their mouths. They see people on a first come, first serve basis, and often do not have the time to see everyone that has a need, although they work as fast as they can, often pulling teeth because that is the quickest way to alleviate the pain and see as many people as possible. {Children and women first} There is always one dentist in each group that does restorative work for those who need it. Nate got to do more of that this year. This is one man he worked on.


They put sugar cane between their front teeth and suck on it, causing awful decay. This man wanted Nate to leave a gap between his teeth so that he still had a place to put his stuff. Nate said, "No more gap, and no more stuff..." This man was so happy with what Nate did that he couldn't stop smiling.
This year Nate's cousin, Luke, went with him to assist. Luke is hoping to go to dental school in the next couple of years, and this was a good opportunity to have some dental experience, and to set him apart from the thousands of other applicants who try to get into dental school.


Every year, Nate goes down with the Hirsche Smiles Foundation. They split up every day and send 3 teams to different remote areas outside of Chiquimula. Nate's team this year consisted of Dave and Angie {friends from dental school}, Bryce {friend from here} and his hygienist, Lacey, Nate and Luke, Jose {pre-dental student from UVU}, and camera-man {forgot his name} who was filming a documentary on the trip. Here they are in one of the villages with the children they treated.
This is how they get around down there. They put the equipment in the back of the truck and then they all pile in for the ride...it can be up to 2 hours each way. Nate drove quite a bit this year. Mission friends: I'm sure you can only imagine.

This is a girl who had similar front teeth issues. She was very happy with her smile. Isn't she beautiful?
Nate had to pull ten teeth on this little girl. She still liked him afterward. How can you not like Nate?
Nate said last night, as he crashed at about 8:30, that the trip is exhausting...physically and mentally. It's just a lot of work, really fast. Obviously, Luke must have felt the same. He fell asleep while there was a patient in the chair.
Culturally, gratitude is a little different among the mountain dwelling Guatemalans. Except for a few, they generally do not say thank you, but go about their business when the procedure is through. One village they visited was very different. They cooked up a bird and served Nate and his company a meal to show their gratitude for being there and helping them. The men in this photo took down these old musical instruments and played some beautiful music for them. Nate said it reminded him of the poem, The Touch of the Master's Hand.

"The Touch of the Master's Hand"

Twas battered and scared, and the auctioneer

Thought it scarcely worth his while

To waste much time on the old violin,

But he held it up with a smile.

"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,

"Who'll start bidding for me?

A dollar, a dollar - now who"ll make it two

Two dollars, and who"ll make it three?

Three dollars once, three dollars twice,

Going for three". . . but no!

From the room far back a gray-haired man

Came forward and picked up the bow;

Then wiping the dust from the old violin,

And tightening up the strings,

He played a melody,pure and sweet,

As sweet as an angel sings.

The music ceased and the auctioneer

With a voice that was quiet and low,

Said: "What am I bidden for the old violin?"

And he held it up with the bow;

"A thousand dollars - and who'll make it two?

Two thousand - and who'll make it three?

Three thousand once, three thousand twice

And going - and gone," said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried,

"We do not quite understand -

What changed its worth?"

The man replied:

"The touch of the masters hand."

And many a man with life out of tune,

And battered and torn with sin,

Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd.

Much like the old violin.

A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine,

A game and he travels on,

He's going once, and going twice -

He's going - and almost gone!

But the MASTER comes, and the foolish crowd,

Never can quite understand,

The worth of a soul, and the change that's wrought

By the touch of the MASTER'S hand.

~Myra B. Welch

Talk about hard workers...this man carries this 150 pound bag of wood on his back, using a strap around his forehead as leverage.

This picture is priceless. Clearly, her work tires her out.


There are such beautiful people there. This is only a fraction of what I'm sure Nate has to tell, but it's some of what he told me...so here it is, second hand. If any of it is inaccurate, I'll be back to edit, and maybe I'll add some more, so check back.

Icy Morning

Last week we woke up to a "winter wonderland." The bushes, trees, and fences were covered with snow and ice. The sun was shining and it made a beautiful morning while I tried to catch a run-away puppy.

Conversation from the backseat

On the way to pick up Clay from school. {Sam's been home sick all week}

We pass one of the several fields that generally keeps cows.
{We pass them everyday and live across the field from a cattle ranch or three}

Emma "Wow! There's a whole bunch of cows."

Mia "And they're in a circle."

Emma "Yeah, they're praying."

Mia "No, they're just thinking. And some of them are eating."

I just laughed.

Going Digital?

My mom clued me in to a free download at http://www.littledreamerdesigns.com/. I really love the traditional scrapbooking method, but I thought that I would try the whole digital thing out. This is what I did!

It was fun, quick, and there was no mess to clean up when I was through. I can't say that I 'm converted, but I'm pretty sure I'll be trying it out again.