Fall in Utah

We spent FHE in the mountains but as you can see there just wasn't quite enough time to really enjoy ourselves so... I checked the kids out of their classes and we PLAYED, I mean had SCHOOL in the mountains! Too bad Dad couldn't do his work in the mountains!

The kids collected leaves and took some great photos along the way. Emily even found a new little friend that we named "Sir Fuzzy Fro" He is extremely active! He crawled across 100 pages of a magazine on our drive home. Now, if we can just figure out what kind of Caterpillar he is...hmm...

We are extremely blessed to live so close to such beauty! The colors are amazing! I think the Lord knew we needed this kind of beauty so we would embrace the changing weather:)

Who needs a stuffy classroom when you can have HANDS ON learning like this?! For at least one day anyway :)

Camping with the Boys

Thomas was so excited to go with his dad on his very first Scout Camping trip!

The boys stuffed their gear into their packs and hiked a mile into camp for a night underneath the stars on Timp which is about 10 minutes from home!

The boys started the fire and cooked a meal for their dad's all by themselves. They had Chili Dogs which tasted wonderful! anything tastes good when your hungry right?

The boys had a great time playing games and enjoying the great outdoors. They came home VERY TIRED and STINKY:) I wonder if they will ever have a Mother/Son campout?? I'd be an excellent camper don't you think? Especially if I didn't have to cook!

Grandma Pink

It is always a special day when we get to visit with Grandma Pink. She has been so ill the past few years and she is very ready to see Grandpa again. This has been a huge trial for her because she is such a "go getter". These days it's a huge feet just to get herself out of bed! Every movement brings excruciating pain. It's amazing how she can still greet you with a smile and have positive and encouraging things to say.

Thomas has watched his dad give Grandma messages many times so he was more than happy to fill in for him. He was so tender and soft; it is great to see the love he has for his Grandma.

I know where my dad gets his sweet tooth from; his mom!

My mom on the other hand, still prefers Fiber One bars for some crazy reason:) The kids tease her that when she dies she will be buried with her running shoes and some Fiber One bars! This of course, will not be for a VERY, VERY long, long time!

"They say it's your BIRTHDAY"...

It's hard to believe that 11 years ago I was racing up and down the stairs at the hospital trying to get Thomas to come :) Our lives have been very blessed ever since! He always had big open eyes and a grin to match, not wanting to miss a thing!
Thomas struggled with a lot of ear infections as an infant and no one would believe me until they looked inside his ears. "He is too happy" they would say. This has always been true for Thomas. You rarely see him without a smile. He is more then happy to give you a big bear hug when your day may not be going so well.

A few fun memories of Thomas are:

1. Pulling on his Dad's and Grandpa's ears whenever he had the chance
2. Grabbing my face in his little hands, giving me big kisses!
3. Carrying around his dinosaur EVERYWHERE!! and always having his hand in a claw shape and one eye closed... very ferocious
4. Cowboy boots, Woody, then of course, Buzz Lightyear
5. Singing in the Subway bathroom at the TOP of his lungs!
6. His BIG heart :) He is never "too cool" to tell me"Love you Mom"

Thomas is in the middle of two sisters. Living with no brothers has bothered him at times, but thanks to the Jones who have 5 boys he gets a feel for it there! Maybe being the only boy isn't so bad after all:) Having sisters has given Thomas the opportunity to show his sensitive and caring side. He is such a great brother to both of them. He has definitely learned patience and how to be "softer" (the word we had to use with him when he was little) Jac and Emily are very lucky to have Thomas as their brother. They enjoy playing with him and hanging out together.

Thomas has a love for MANY activities. He loves all sports; especially soccer at the moment:) One great thing about Thomas is that it doesn't end there. He LOVES to SING any chance he gets:) He loved learning how to play the piano too. I never had to tell him to practice. Our neighbor would comment how she would see him practicing at 6:00 a.m. when she was leaving for work!

Thomas also LOVES to READ. If you don't hear Thomas singing, most likely it's because he is cuddled up with a great book. He enjoys learning new things and challenging himself. He pushed me to let him be in the accelerated learning class at school even when he didn't know anyone else who was doing it. He has never been one to do something because "everyone else is doing it!"
Thomas is very dedicated, hard working, LOVING, fun, dramatic, enthusiastic, loud, intelligent, kind hearted, strong, creative, athletic, responsible, polite, a leader, faithful, and of course CRAZY! He has a way of lighting up the room with enthusiasm and happiness wherever he goes. It has been a wonderful 11 years :)

Happy Birthday Thomas ~ WE LOVE YOU!

The "Y" tradition

On Labor Day we hiked the "Y". We asked the kids where they wanted to go hiking and Emily was actually the one who pushed for this hike. I think she forgot how "HARD" it was :)

Thomas kept us entertained and distracted by telling us stories from the Timpanogos Storytelling festival. They were very good stories and, as you can imagine, Thomas is a very good story teller.

We did make it to the top and enjoyed the beautiful view of Utah Valley. We live in such a beautiful place!

On the way down Matt recognized Bronco Medenhall, the BYU Football coach. Thomas was in awe (and so was Matt!) Matt told him,"We are your biggest fans." I wonder how many times he hears that one. It is true; when it comes to football games we ALL enjoy them because it means going to Grandma and Grandpas house!

What would I do without these 4? I don't even want to think about it :)

GREAT MEMORIES!

Provo Marathon

We have been preparing all summer long for this day and it FINALLY came! Matt started out with a knee injury in May; but after fixing his stride he was ready to go. His Africa trip made him miss two big runs but he was feeling strong.

I thought my knee was going to be an issue too, but it is amazing what correct form can do for you! During the last month I have fought tendinitis around my ankle bone. I went to the doctor last week. Knowing I would run the marathon no matter what; he suggested shoe inserts, lots of icing and 800 milligrams of Ibuprofen 3 times a day! I wanted to run so I did as I was told. About 3 days ago my lower back began to hurt. Not until this morning did it dawn on me that my kidneys were reacting to so much medicine!

It was a beautiful run with 75 runners (I know... lot's bigger then any race we've EVER seen!) It was very professional I must say! Ha Ha! We all looked at each other as the race director was telling us where we would be running. Our #1 goal was NOT to get LOST! We started above Vivian Park in Provo Canyon. At mile 8 we got to turn back UP the trail for 1 1/2 miles and then headed back down the Canyon. At mile 14 we got to do another crazy detour so we could stay on trails and not run on the roads. We ended by running on the trail to Utah Lake.

It was so fun at mile 18 when we saw Jac and Ashley jumping up and down and cheering for us. It's amazing what a lift it gives you! Matt needed it because he was hitting the "wall". After stretching for a while and walking now and then he was feeling great by mile 24.

I had decided to take my Narcolepsy medicine at mile 14 hoping it would give me an extra boost along with another 800 ml of Ibuprofen. At mile 21 my head started to spin. Now I was dealing with a tired body AND a horrible sensation that I was going to pass out! Every time I stopped to walk My eyes would roll back and my head would start spinning and I'd try to walk some more to feel better but it never quite helped. When we hit mile 23 which was a very hard time for me; my parents were sitting on a bench waiting to cheer for us! It was so wonderful to see them :)

Even though Matt could have come in sooner and a lot stronger he stayed by my side the entire time! It was so sweet of him to stay with me. He kept telling me, "We've come this far together and we are going to finish it together! I don't care about our time!" He is always amazing me with the strength that he empowers me with. He sang songs and kept me going when I felt like I couldn't run another step! We went from 8:10-8:30 minute miles to 11:00-12:00 minute miles UGH! We came in at 4 hours 16 minutes, my worst time yet but hey who cares right?! What matters is that we FINISHED!

The best part of it all was crossing the finish line holding hands with my best friend! 26th place overall. We don't have to tell people how many runners were in the race do we? We still finished the top half; not too shabby.

Not many people can say they have ran a marathon with their spouse. We feel pretty lucky! It made it all worth it. Even feeling like I was going to pass out for the last hour of our run! (oh yea, and for an hour after) I know this sounds absolutely crazy to non-runners but for those of us who love running; it just makes sense!

Leesa and Jessica have been so much fun to train with. They are amazing friends! We have had LOT'S of bonding time :) Matt got a kick out of listening to us when he would join us for our long runs. "Wow, I have learned soo much about women!"

This may not have been the best planned marathon but we still had a great time doing it! We will have lot's of great memories and I learned a very important lesson... DON'T take too much medicine!

Will we do another marathon? YOU BET! not for a while though, give us a month or two! As long as Matt's by my side :)

Bad Fat???

Jacqueline was going running last night. Emily took her to the side and this was their conversation:

Em: "Jac, can I go with you? I really need to go because I need to get rid of my bad fat"

Jac: "Em, you don't have any bad fat on your body and I don't either. Me, Mom and Dad like to exercise to be healthy not to get rid of fat.

Em: "OH.... Well, can I come anyway?"

I was so sad when Jacqueline told me this! I have always tried to be so careful with how I talk about our bodies and why we exercise and eat healthy. It is sad that my little 7 year old who has too little fat on her body, is worried about her "bad fat!"

Last week Matt was talking a lot about good fats and bad fats because he had his cholesterol checked. He is a little high in the bad fats so we were discussing what changes he can make in his diet. (This is actually quite the challenge since he is already such a great eater!) Could this be where Emily got this idea? OR was she just trying to think of an excuse to go running with her big Sis???

Emily rode her scooter to the end of the street and then ran with her about 3 blocks! This was enough "getting rid of bad fat" for her :)

Can I just tell you how grateful I am to have a daughter who wants to be healthy for the RIGHT reasons! She is the perfect example that Emily needs right now. She looks up to her in everything she does. If Jac is exercising and eating good foods to be healthy than that's what she wants to do too!

I am taking this as a reminder to show our kids that we LOVE who we are! We are all different shapes and sizes and we are NOT our bodies. We ARE the amazing person that is inside...let's share this person and embrace this person. Let's not get fooled by the rest of the world who would like us to think that all that matters is the number on the bathroom scale.

We may not be able to control what messages our kids are getting outside of our homes but we definitely can inside! Let's show them what REALLY matters :)

Clinic Day

Emily wasn't happy when I checked her out of school today because she was going to miss all the fun stuff like pizza day and recess! This is actually very nice to hear since school isn't her favorite thing :)

Emily is still doing really well. They took TONS of blood today for a bunch of tests to see how her body is handling Jacqueline's bone marrow. They even took blood from me for one of her tests. I had to be very brave! I was wishing Matt would have been there...Emily would have loved to see him cry!

Just for the record, Emily's WBC is 2900, her ANC is 1700 and she weighed in at 18.3; a little lower from 18.7 but not a big deal. These counts have stayed in this range pretty much all summer. They don't act concerned so even though they are lower then normal they must be in the OK range.

It has been 3 months since her last dose of steroids so they are taking her off the rest of her medicine! She has been on 3 different antibiotics to keep her from catching things. To tell you the truth, this makes me a little nervous since she has been getting more ear infections since the doctors took her off her other medications. Taking her off everything will be a HUGE test. Especially since she is being exposed to so many germs at school. It will be very interesting to see what happens. Cross your fingers everyone!!

FALL SOCCER

Emily was sooo excited for soccer...until the first practice that is. "Did you have fun?"

"NO, all you do is KICK!"

After comments like these I was very pleased to see her work so hard at her game. Thanks to her cool pink soccer shoes(Thanks Jessica) and big brothers tips on how to kick the ball she was a real trooper!

After staying in for 15 minutes she was pooped! I have seriously never seen her so tired. She went in again for about 6 minutes and she was done. It was so fun to see her running after the ball and kicking it whenever she had the chance!

The coach is so patient and understanding. He is so willing to work with the girls and help them learn and have fun at the same time. I am excited to watch Emily's stamina increase as well as her confidence in knowing she can do hard things.

When we got home she flopped down on the floor and stayed there for the next 45 minutes not moving an inch! It was hilarious:)

Thomas is on a competition team this year which has already been really fun! the boys are working so hard! They even run 2 miles on the days they don't have practice.

We are lucky to have a professional photographer taking amazing pictures (AKA Angee) This will be the reason Thomas will have much better action shots! (I keep telling the kids that I would LOVE to have a camera that would take pictures like this...it could be for my birthday and Christmas...for the next 3 years!)

He has a great team with some great coaches who love what they are doing; it's a wonderful opportunity to challenge and push him!

Thomas is such a go getter! It's a blast to watch him in action. He never stops going and he never gives up. He loves a challenge and loves to improve. I've always been impressed with his determination to always do his best!

Airport Drive party

Our street enjoyed an end of summer fun night with a blow up water slide that EVERYONE loved!

After great conversation, yummy food, watching the kids (and some great dads) have all the fun; the moms decided to join in. Who needs a swimsuit?

We are officially, the BEST MOMS EVER! That's what we tell our kids anyway :)

A Weekend On Top of the World!

We woke up and started to drive up the canyon around 5:00. Kenzie, Ellie, and I had to peel our eyes open but we were energized with our 5 chocolate chips! We started the hike out with a potty break, but got on the trail around 6:00. We all kept our eyes out for the rabid deer. They are very ferocious you know. We were prepared though- we had our gas stored up. You see, it is very deadly. We never came upon a rabid deer, but we did come upon a rabid moose disguised as a rabid deer. If you ever go to Mt. Timpanogos, BeWArE!

Another note of caution: Don't use the actual toilet on the 'toilet trail'. Just use the toilet tree that is provided for you:)

The mountains are so beautiful! Especially when the light hits them just right.
I have never been on such a pretty hike before. As a family we can only go as far as the little dinky shrubs go. I've never seen so many wildflowers in my life! They brought so much color into the scenery.
It was a momentous day when we made it to the saddle! You could see the whole valley beneath you. You could sense the top was near, and it was exciting!

We climbed the Devil's Staircase, crossed the tumbling rocks, and ended up on the top! It felt like we were literally on top of the world!

We spent some time on the top and then started the trek back down. We decided that walking was overrated, so we ran most of it. We weren't tired at all:) ha-ha!

We had a blast on this hike! It sure pooped us out though. We all got a good sleep -Guaranteed!

~Jac

Matt's trip to Africa

Park City 1/2 marathon

Grandma and Grandpa Whiting came with the girls on a little Park City getaway. Thomas had to stay with his friend Mason, which was such a HUGE sacrifice :) so he could play in his soccer game; and Matt missed out since he was still in Africa :(

We were grateful to have Grandma and Grandpa there to watch Emily and cheer for us when Jacqueline and I came in from our race.

It was a beautiful day, perfect weather and beautiful scenery. I didn't realize how much the higher altitude would affect me. The first 7 miles were a gradual uphill climb. I struggled to catch my breath the entire time! Jacqueline felt great though :) After watching her go up ahead, realize I wasn't by her side, then slow down for me to catch up to her for the 20th time, I told her I loved having her by my side but since she was feeling so good and I could barely talk; I wouldn't mind at all if she felt like going ahead. She finally agreed at mile 7 and within 2 minutes she was out sight! She came in 8 minutes before me, passing 43 people along the way! She was on fire!!

When she crossed the finish line with 1:45 The announcer read, Jacqueline Heaps Lehi...then in shock read, 13 years old! She took 1st place in her age division and came in 60th overall!

When I finally crossed the finish line at 1:53 I was totally exhausted which seems so comical since my goal was to run a 7:45 pace. Instead it was an 8:45 pace! I felt better when I kept hearing other people talking about the altitude making it so much harder to run in.

The highlight of the day was being able to run with Jacqueline! She is a very determined and strong young woman! I love watching her take off with her long legs going so fast :)

After the race we went back to the hotel for a swim. This made coming up worth it for Emily! Even Grandma joined in the fun and almost drowned a few times when Emily would guide her to the deep end! It felt so great to soak in the hot tub and play in the cool swimming pool.

Before heading out we ate lunch at Cafe' Rio and just HAD to check out the Outlet stores. How can anyone go to Park City and not go to the "Outlet" stores? Grandma excitedly told us she wanted to go inside every store and this is exactly what she did!

We missed having Matt and Thomas with us but we definitely had a great time with grandpa and Grandma. They know how to make everyone feel like they are #1 in their book :) Thanks for being such wonderful Grandparents!

Coming home!

I am traveling home and am very excited to be with my family again. This trip has taught me so much about so many different things. I think it would be impossible to write them all down. I wish everyone could make such a trip. I'm convinced that the world would be a better place if we all understood each other more and believed in each other more.

I have been thinking of an analogy that helps refine what I've learned on this trip. If you were to take a picture of each person and in the camera lens you could see all their inabilities and abilities, what would you choose to focus on? You can't ignore the inabilities because they are part of the picture but if you make their abilities the focal point and their inabilities the background, as a person helping you can assist them in a more productive way. The focal point determines how you talk to them, treat them, and develop strategies to help them.

I believe this is how Christ sees us and works with us. Throughout this trip I prayed that I would see the poor and needy as the Lord sees them - through his eyes. As I laid in bed last night this one was planted in my mind. As I'm writing this I'm realizing it is an answer to my prayers. The Lord knows all our strengths and weaknesses but he works through our strengths, the gifts he has given to us.

As I left Liberia I had somewhat of a sad feeling, knowing that the likelihood of me returning to these two countries would be very small. I hope for these people that their governments will stabilize, the gospel embraced, and that they will prosper. In my jobs with the Church I have had the opportunity to work personally with those on exact opposite ends of the spectrum. I've seen people on both ends maintain their spirituality, but I've also seen that the majority on both ends are very fragile to various influences from Satan. Perhaps that is a big reason why we will have greater spirituality when we more fully live the Law of Consecration, in essence the Law keeps us from the extremes on either end.

Love ~Matt

sights in Liberia

Today we visited pumps that were installed earlier this year around the Monrovia and Kakata areas in Liberia. The look of the country is very similar to Sierra Leone. The war in Liberia ended when Charles Taylor took over the government and then three years later the country wanted him out so they had to have a bloody civil war again to get him out. That fighting ended 5 years ago and you can see that the people are beginning to rebuild. Mr. Bundor, our contractor on this project has a 19 year old son who is in 7th grade. Elder Greding asked him why he was only in 7th grade and Bundor said they had no school during the war so all the kids are behind. It is little things like this that we don't know about and that contribute to the crumbling of a nation. They are literally starting over.

We drove by a soccer field and saw two teams playing each other. All of them had one leg and one cruch. They were in the military and lost their legs from acts of war. It was really cool seeing them on the soccer field. As we drove down the main road and through the market place I saw hundreds of wheelbarrows that were full of goods to sell. This country uses the wheelbarrow for everything. A person's entire shop can be contained in his wheelbarrow. Not a bad idea because of the ease of moving goods back and forth and being able to search for the better selling location.

In both countries I've been in this trip the Chinese government has been doing massive reconstruction projects. It is a gift from one government to another, but it also comes with an interest in the countries natural resources. After seeing how much money China is pouring into other countries I have lost a lot of interest in supporting humanitarian projects in China. You would think that if they have enough to give millions to other countries that they would also be supporting their own people with basic necessities.

We did 100 pumps in Liberia. One we visited had been taken over by the person who donated the land. He lied and told people that he bought it back from us so that allowed him to charge people money for the water. We gathered the community around and told them the truth. The man wasn't home at the time and he will be surprised when he returns and his neighbors know that he has cheated them out of their money. I hope it is civil but there is a strong chance it wont be. The other sites we visited were functioning great. The water committees were meeting monthly, paying a monthly fee, putting it in a bank account under the communities name and observing the hygiene training they had learned about.

One of the sites that was working well was an orphanage. Most of the kids lost their parents in the war and they were getting drinking water out of an open well that was contaminated and would dry up in the dry season. We walked through the orphanage and played with the kids. This was one of my favorite visits on our trip. They kept the orphanage clean despite it being very simple. I was impressed with their work and the kids seemed happy and content. It was a blessing to be involved with bringing these little angels clean water.

Love ~ Matt