The Stubblefield Family

We made it! We had a good (though tearful :) last day in SC and a great trip across the country, full of church history sites and visits with family. We decided to drive the whole way together, instead of the kids and I flying out separately like we had planned. I'm so glad we did. It was an awesome trip and a great time for our family. Then, less than 24 hours after driving into town we found a house! It will be ready in 3 to 5 weeks, depending on when the owners close on their new home. We are resting and enjoying visiting here at Grandma and Grandpa's house until we move in. Jared is working on getting things set up at the office and the kids are spending just about every moment playing in the back yard. More details on the past couple of weeks and lots of pictures to come!

Well, we did it! We loaded the truck, vacationed in Charleston, Jared Graduated, the kids had an awesome Birthday/Going Away Party, we had a great big farewell dinner with our dear neighbor friends, Mike, Diane, April, Kyle, Tristan and Delia, and now our kids are asleep for their last night in our SC home. Tomorrow morning I'll give a talk in Sacrament Meeting, Jared will give his last Sunday School lesson and then we will be on our way. We are planning on visiting Nauvoo, Jared's brother Josh's family and his Grandpa Stubblefield. The kids and I will fly out of Omaha Friday morning. Jared will continue through, in the car with the dogs, and should be to us by Saturday night or sometime Sunday. I will post pictures and stories of our latest adventures after we get settled in CA. We'll be staying with Jared's parents while we look for our new house. 

Jared took the kids to the book store earlier this week and brought home "The Swiss Family Robinson." So far, I highly recommend this book as a first classic to read to little ones. It is so exciting and fun and it is filled with lessons of family and faith. We have been reading it to the kids and acting out the story, like our Book of Mormon stories. Hannah is "Fritz" and Ben is "Jack." Elsie and Rhynnie are "Turk" and "Juno" of course. It has been a lot of fun! :) Any suggestions for other classics that would be fun for young children?

Well, the kids and I started acting out some of the stories from our family Book of Mormon study during the day while Jared was away at clinic. After reading the story of the people of Zeniff's battle with the Lamanites, Hannah decided we needed some good swords. Nothing in the house was sufficient so we head out for our walk, hoping to find some good sword like sticks. We were successful. Hannah was a Nephite warrior for a while and fought the ruthless Benjamin Lamanite. We talked about how the people also used sling shots, but since we didn't have any we just threw rocks. (We were all Nephites for that bit. :) They loved it. Then she decided that Mommy should be the Daddy and she would be the Mommy and Ben would be "the children." I piled them up in the wagon and "hid" them in the "woods." :) Then I took my sword and went out to fight the Lamanites, a few feet away, in the road behind our house. I really let those guys have it. I swung my "sword" like a crazy girl and threw rocks with all my strength. When I felt like I'd done the job, I looked up to find, our neighbor friend, Mike. He was standing outside starring at me. He thought I'd lost my mind and had a good chuckle at me. :) He drove down to say hello. I wasn't too embarrassed and told him not to worry because we wouldn't be having any more trouble from those guys. :) He said, "Well I guess not!!" :) And then kindly offered to give our little band of Nephites a ride around the block on his golf cart. :) The moral of the story is...pick your battles wisely AND pick where you engage in those battles wisely too. :) When I told Jared he had a great laugh and told me I had to blog it. :)

Here's what he looked like about two years ago...





Our Benjamin is light and joy! He is hilarious and fun, caring and tender!

What a fun season to be finishing up our time here in South Carolina! June is a month full of wrapping up activities and looking forward to summer vacation. Here, it also happens to be a month full of birthday parties and early summer fun..a good chance to visit with and say goodbye to friends. So, for the kids, this big transition is being marked by very tangible moments of accomplishment and letting go. I am so thankful for that. Here are the highlights from this week...

I'm so happy to report that Jared's ear is just about 100%. He is relieved to have the ringing gone and his hearing back. 

Well, Jared's ear drum has ruptured. An MD, professor, at the Sherman Clinic re-examined his ear today and called and conferred with a friend of his that is an ENT in Myrtle Beach. The good news is the infection is gone and, today, he is feeling a lot better and has even begun to regain some hearing. We're hoping it will just heal right up!