Facing The Same Direction

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elder Jordan...
Date: Mon, Sep 26, 2011 at 1:05 PM

Dear Family from above,

What a week right???  This has been my first real week as a senior companion.  Last change I was the senior companion but I was in a new area and didn´t know where anything was so I followed my companion around everywhere.  It has been a very big eye opener because my new companion does not know a lick of spanish either, ok I take it back, he knows a lick but that is it!  So I have to pay attention much more to what everyone is saying because sometimes I have to translate for him.  He is a wonderful friend and companion and we talk about Austrailia, even though he hasn´t lived there for ten years.  He still has a strong accent and so I told him that we will take turns, one day we will speak all spaninsh and the next we will have, speak like an Austrailian day.  OH MAN I AM SOOO EXCITED!!!!  

On Saturday we were teaching an awesome lesson with a lady that has been keeping all of here commitments and I think we just need to teach her the rest and she will get baptised.  I know that she feels something and she is always so excited to read.  Anyways we were at their house at about 8:30 at night and reading 3 Nephi 11 when all of the sudden the lights went out.  It was compleatly dark.  We helped them light some candles and find some flash lights and noticed that it wasn´t just their house but the whole city was dark.  We got out a radio to see what was going on and found out that half the country was out of light.  That was a little bit frightening.  We got calls from our leaders to just go home if we were not already in a lesson.  So after the lesson we headed home but it was difficult to find where we lived because we couldn´t see anything.  We made it safely and 2 hours after the lights turned on, but it is always a nice little reminder to remember who is really in charge of this small earth and all of our lives.
   

I also learned a cool lesson as we were walking back on the dark road.  I could barly make out the path with the cell phone light that I was using.  We were walking on the side of the road against traffic and every once in a while a car would pass by with its head lights on full blast.  I noticed that when ever the cars passed us it made it almost imposible to see the path.  Then to our luck a whole parade of cars passed and we just had to stop for a minute or two because I could not make out anything.  I also realized that when we turned around and faced the same direction as the cars, the head lights illunminated the street for many meters.  In that direction it was not difficult to make out the road one bit.

This is how I related it to our lives: 

We have been blessed with modern day prophets.  We have the scriptures as a guide which also tell us of commandments that we must keep.  We have a light to follow in the midst of the dark.  When we are walking against the light we only see them as a hindrance in our lives, and no matter what, even if we try running or hopping or skipping the will not be a blessing to us, unless we are facing the same way.  

I wish all you crazy hoodlums a most wonderful happy week.

I love you till the end of time
Elder...

HARVEST SEASON--FULL SWING

There are times when Heavenly Father blesses us with tender mercies that are so meaningful to us but seem so small in the eternal scale of thigs that I KNOW his hand is in my life and I feel his love so strongly. My birthday was one of those days. We communicate weekly with Jordan, but he sends birthday letters and mine  arrived ON the day. Knowing the length of time it usually takes for us to receive or send mail and the inconsistency of it all, I am positive that was no coincidence. It meant so much to me and absolutely made my fantastic day perfectly perfect! Fred made me breakfast in bed. Lori, Liz and Marg made a delicious lunch and I drove over with Mikayla and we celebrated mine and Renee's birthdays and were able to visit for over an hour and then Fred took me on a movie date to see Seven Days in Utopia. Upon coming home I was ordered to the hammock while Mikayla made dinner and sent back out while everyone cleaned up and prepared the kitchen for a party, complete with pie and whipped cream and thoughtful gifts and then we all watched "Goodbye Mr. Chips". I wasn't allowed to lift a hand the whole day which was a little uncomfortable but relaxing and everyone pitched in gladly to compensate. I had to play serious catch up the next day, but it was worth it!=)

Saturday was the general R.S. broadcast and I got to attend with Mikayla for the first time. Elder Uchtdorf's talk was AMAZING--as always. He knows the hearts of women! It was exactly what I needed to hear and from the sounds of all the sniffling in the chapel, what so many other women needed to hear as well. I loved his thoughts about the symbolism of Forget-me-Nots; I will never look at the flower the same again. I want to plant some in the Spring, so I will always be reminded of his message. I LOVE that we have living prophets on the earth. I can hardly wait for General Conference. Fred and I are plannning to drive to Twin Falls to attend the temple Friday, in preparation for alligning ourselves spiritually. I am trying to think of inspired questions--so I can receive inspired answers. October conference is such a perfect beginning to Fall and all of those feelings of family and gratitude and charity that come with the season. We are planning to travel to the conference center next October after the twins have turned eight and Jordan is home from his mission and we're all together again for a brief moment. I know it will have life long impact and be a forever memory. My only other experience with attending a live session of conference, actually inside the building,  was as a teenager on a youth Super-trip and I will NEVER forget the way I felt when President Benson entered the Tabernacle or the absolute testimony that was gained that day that he was a prophet of God.

The Harvest season is in full swing here. Our garden and yard are finally producing food faster than this non-canner can prepare it. I have frozen peaches, canned grape juice, made raspberry pies, cut up baskets of snack beans, peas, peppers, cantaloupe, cucumbers and tomatoes, made salsa and gaspacho and tomato soup and then we have sent the twins excitedly door to door delivering the excess to our friends and neighbors who are so grateful to receive it. I am glad that they can experience the joy of giving in that way and that we are so abundantly blessed that we have somthing to give and I don't have to have non-canners guilt!=) I am looking forward to our Harvest traditions, though that also means it is the time of year that I have to avoid town because of the influence of Halloween. I am constantly seeking ways to make the season more meaningful and less about what we are avoiding and more about what we are creating.  Each year we hope that Ben and Renee will host another extended family party and we look forward to our immediate family Jeopardy Night and Harvest deliveries.=). I know all of that pushing away from a widely accepted holiday and being different has sometimes been hard on my children, but there are consequences of having an overly sensitive mother=) and maybe someday our celebrations will reach such a height that the positives will outweigh the negatives. We're SO close!

Quote of the Week: 
"Let us not walk the path of discipleship with our eyes on the ground, thinking only of the tasks and obligations before us. Let us not walk unaware of the beauty of the glorious earthly and spiritual landscapes that surround us.

... seek out the majesty, the beauty, and the exhilarating joy of the "why" of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The "what" and "how" of obedience marks the way, yes, and it keeps us on the right path. But the "why" of obedience sanctifies our actions, transforming the mundane into the majestic. It magnifies our small acts of obedience into holy acts of consecration. "

(Elder Deiter F. Uchtdorf--Gen. R.S. Broadcast)




MY PERFECTLY PERFECT 42ND BIRTHDAY.
It's Going to be a GREAT year--I feel it in my bones!

My Happy 42nd Birthday

Cheese!

A Creative Birthday Pedicure From Lily and Sophie

Waiting For Dinner

21 x 2... And Make A Wish

Hours and Hours...

...Of Homemade Love!

The Budding...

...Artists

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Admiring the Scenery

From My Boy...ON the Day!

Sweet Dream Pie

He Felt Something Different

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Elder Jordan...

Mi querida familia,

Im sorry I didn't write you yesterday because it was a holiday, Chilean independance day and nothing was open.  It's so crazy here they celebrate for 3 days straight and have huge BBQ with every kind of meat you can think of.  Sooooo good.  We also had an activity Satuday we played soccer for most of the morning, after that we had a ginormous BBQ which had so much meat they had to use what looked like old bed springs to cook all of it.  After that our Bishop danced the cueca (the national dance of Chile).  We also had some relays and competitions.  The whole day was wonderful and I felt like I got even closer to the members of our ward.

It was super cool this week, on Wednesday we had some extra time and so we decided to pass by a contact that we did earlier on in the week.  When we did out came the dad of the kid we talked to the first time.  He told us that when ever he sees Jehovas Wittnesses or Evangelicos he doesn't leave, but when he saw us he felt somthing different and let us come in.  We shared the message of the restoration with him as well as shared with him the importance of baptism inthw correct manner with the authority.  The whole time he was agreeing with us about everything.  So we decided to invite him to be baptized and he accepted imeadiatly.  It was a beautiful experience to feel the spirit and Invite him to be baptized.

This week was changes and I was called to train,  so this morning we went to pick them up, my new companion his name is Elder Weaver from Austrailia, sooooooooooooooooooooo cool he has an accent and everything. 

President Monson, or one of the apostles doesn´t come until October 15 but I will be sure to tell you all about it.

I love you all so much
Elder Jordan...

The pictures are of our ward activity and the temple trip and an beautiful evening in chile

Stepping Out on a Limb

Mikayla is back and I'm so grateful! she got in late Thursday night and shared her experiences with us while I was in bed, tucked under my covers. It was so nice to have her home on Friday morning, that we were both still in our dog walking clothes at noon, talking about life and dreams. She had a great time but it was good to know that she did get a bit homesick.=)

Campaign week is over and Abe didn't secure an officer position (it seems that half the class had the same idea and over 15 of the 33 ended up competing for vice president.=). But, he met new people, opened his eyes to possibilities, invested himself (even if it was just for two weeks) and good has come from it. He seems to get off the bus now a happier boy.

Stake Conference was this weekend. Pres. Peterson, the first counselor in our Stake Presidency, gave us direction from our area presidency to get involved in missionary work by creating a profile on mormon.org and then linking it to any of our other social media sites like Facebook and Blogger. I created an lds profile when the church originally announced the proposed launch and was asking for the first 1000 entries before going public, but imagine my surprise when Pres. Peterson started his presentation and pulled up a few pictures, including mine, on the website on the huge church screen. I will admit that I was uncomfortably self conscious and was glad when he finally moved on. Why is that?

I have always had the extended family blog set on private, so I can post personal information and feel protected with our communications, but with so much encouragement and council from the church to get involved in letting our voices be heard online, I have felt a pull and prodding to step into that media ring and created a personal blog over a year ago with that intention but during the creation process an acquaintance just randomly found it and I suddenly felt exposed and panicked and without taking the time to re-write my entries for an unseen audience I have felt too vulnerable to make it public. However, I know it's a medium that I feel a passion to contribute to and with the extra nudge I am taking the council to heart and will spend the next few weeks editing and stepping out onto a limb.

I have come to the realization that I am a Facebook snob. I've never liked the forum and have a profile only to keep linked to my favorite youth, but after conference I linked my mormon.org profile to my Facebook and went "searching" for all of my long lost family and found dozens of cousins/aunts/uncles and added them. I will probably still not use the site much--it just doesn't fit my personality--but it's a step at reaching out and linking, which I am horrendous at. Many avenues of missionary work terrify me and though opening my heart to the "world" is scary, I feel compelled to share my testimony in a literary way, and knowing that I am an "open book" may help me refine my thoughts and feelings and the way I express myself. And though it is doubtful that anyone will actually read a blog that is just floating out over the computer waves, I will be demonstrating obedience, will most assuredly strengthen my own testimony and may well shorten the long, laborious battle of learning to speak with the "tongue of angels". I think the assignment to create a mormon.org profile might just push Fred to the brink of internal combustion =) as his weekly letters to Jordan seriously test his loathe of writing.

I'm have been weighing out my options for school. the Graphic Design program at Stevens-Henager starts on October 10th. the Master Gardner classes start in January and BYU Online classes start whenever I find the money and register. I spent hours on the phone yesterday gleaning information from counsellors and administrators trying to pin down the best path for me right now. I set a goal to have it all figured out by my birthday, which is today, and I have determined that the underlying most important thing to me is to finish what I started and that means getting my degree from BYU. It sounds selfish, when I have educational opportunity free in front of me, but there will always be that scar of dropping out if I don't do this and then I can always get more education for free, so we are just going to find a way to make it work. I admit that I am nervous...in fact downright scared of my capacity. I am scared of failure, Saturday night at the adult session of conference, Pres. Quenzer, the second counselor in our stake presidency said that commitment was like the full moon and the longer you wait, the more it diminishes and I don't want to be a "sliver". 

Jordan says an apostle (or possibly even Pres. Monson) will be visiting his area for a conference on Oct. 15. I am 3/4 of the way through his lengthy biography and though my confirmation of his prophetic calling was seared into my heart at the general conference in which he first presided as THE prophet, seer and revelator, it has not been until my reading of this book that I have felt that overwhelming personal LOVE for him that I had cultivated for President Hinckley. I have learned much about his life, but more especially about his Christlike quality of focusing on the one. I hope Jordan gets to look into his eyes and see the Spirit of God emanating there.

Kindred Spirits

Spiritual Lessons From Geese

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elder Jordan ... (Serving a mission in Chile)

...Wow for me this week was super good as well,  one of my highlights was that we went on a temple tour with a menos activo family that we have been working with to get sealed in the temple.  They have many kids and it was kind of hot out side and I could tell after the first 10 minutes the kids were bothered and the parents were preoccupied with there kids.  And then I started to worry about them because I wanted them to have a pleasant memory here.  Near the end we went into a room, the kids still fussing and wiggling around and then the Hermana said we were going to watch a small video about Christ. When the video started, all the sudden there was a hush that fell over everyone, and the spirit filled the room so strongly.  At the end of the video they asked if there were any comments or questions,  it was silent for a moment and the the Hermano said quietly "this is the third time I have been on the temple tour, but never have I felt the spirit so strong as I have today."   We left the room and got on the bus and I had a hard time not smiling.  I hope that feeling will motivate them to work together to get sealed as a family.

President Laycock always gives us amazing examples in life to help us become better missionaries, but I liked it so much, so here it is. I hope it helps you as much as it has me.

Geese make a remarkable yearly sojourn which is based on instinctive selflessness (Be a giver and a helper not a taker and a user).
• They fly for 1000's of miles with precision with a pinpoint accurate guidance system that takes them to a refuge of peace and comfort (Follow the Spirit)
• They fly in a familiar V shape formation (70% more efficient that flying alone) (Be United)
• As they move their wings, it creates an uplift for those who follow. (Be a voice of encouragement).
• Those birds that fall from formation feel immediate resistance and rejoin the formation. (Help those in need to improve).
• Leadership is alternated as one leader tires, another steps up to lead in his or her place. (Support and sustain leadership and do not aspire to positions).
• The Flock flies with its own rhythm (Be of good cheer)
o The Pulsating sound of the wings excites and energizes the Flock
o Those who fly behind keep careful watch and honk to give encouragement to those ahead
• If a goose becomes sick and has to drop out of formation, 2 geese accompany the one in need and stay with it until they can all return to the Flock together.
• Geese mate for life. They are faithful and true to the end. (Prepare yourself for all the blessings of the Temple)...

A Priceless Treasure

We fed the missionaries last night. One young Elder is brand new to the mission field and the other, who we know a little better, Mikayla calls "the English missionary". He's not from England, but she thinks he looks English and his mannerisms are very proper. Both of my older girls are impressed by him and he seems to be a neat young man, but last night after the new Elder had shared a simple, but profound message with us, the Spirit was strong and they lingered a few minutes before their next appointment. "The English Elder" picked up Mikayla's guitar and started playing a beautiful version of "If You Could Hie to Kolob" and it brought Jordan so near that I had to make a difficult and concentrated effort to keep my emotions in check so I wouldn't frighten the poor boy or have to go into some long mother-misses-son explanation. We love our associations with these young men. It has become like a 2 year trade. I love some other mothers sons for two years, while other mothers are loving mine. It's such a natural emotional evolution. Last week there was a bit of tension in R.S. opening exercises with discussion about the Elders not showing up for dinner appointments and I felt my mother hen feathers ruffle a bit in defence of these young men; like they were MY boys. I can imagine someone feeling the same about my Jordan and it gives me immense peace. These young men of the priesthood are so dear to mother hearts!

My Mikayla is now in Long Beach with her best friend, on their Disneyland excursion. Fred and I have been a bit of a nuisance, texting and calling them frequently and they are humoring us with return texts and forwarded cell phone pictures are so blurry you can barely tell who is who, but at least we have felt a part of their experience and it has kept them near. They sound like they are having such fun together and I am glad. I have had to fix all of my own technical computer difficulties for 4 days now, which I'm sure is good for me and relaxing for Mikayla,=) but the house is lonely without her. I am not cut out to be an empty nester and luckily I have many years ahead of me before that label can be appropriately attached to me, but I do not look forward to it.

My little Eden is feeling a little forlorn these last few days, struggling with figuring out these complicated boy/girl friendship relationships. Her enthusiasm for life extends to her enthusiasm for people and that can be a little bit confusing. I think she misses her big sister and their night time talks these last few days. Being 15 can be very emotionally difficult--I remember all too well-- but her heart is filled to the brim with righteous desire so she'll make it through--we both will, I'm sure, but she certainly keeps me on my mother toes. She's not the first to do that !=) The world loves Eden and she loves this beautiful world right back, but every once in awhile it all seems in a kerfuffel. She wants her "Sweet 16" party to be an all girl affair, which I think is a brilliant idea--less complicated she says--but I think she's getting wiser by the hour.=)

My Abe came up with some creative ideas for campaign posters this past week and we put our heads together and ended up with results that were a hit with his classmates. It's been fun to see him investing himself. This Thursday is the end of campaigning, so I imagine these next few days will get a bit more competitive, but so far I think he is feeling positive about his efforts. I'm just feeling pleased about the personality that seems to be taking embryonic shape. It has been quite a few years since we were watching him pick flowers and roll himself up in the goalie net on the soccer field and life was still all about him. Maybe his "team player" instincts are finally emerging. This opportunity is a good forum for that enlightenment because he'll learn quickly that he can get nowhere without the support of other people. I think this small scale experience will be a fine teacher for that. He is firmly on the path to becoming a young man.

My Lily and Sophie seem to be loving school. They are already planning their first twin tricks for April Fools Day; I guess their teacher is known to be an April Fools jokester at school. Their student/teacher relationship is more sparring than with a female teacher and I think their little personalities enjoy that with him, but they are going through a tedious phase with each other that seems independence based and argumentative. I am not very patient and tolerant about it but I am hoping it is a natural twin phase that will sort itself out with time; accelerated time! Sophie seems more desirous of liberation and Lily still tends to lean more toward duality...feelings can get tender. There is just nothing quite like those "Bloomin" emotions running high and deep!=)

Today is the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and I am enormously grateful for the gospel in my life. I am grateful to know that amongst all of the fear and chaos that there is a pre-determined plan and that we are definitely not on our own. Neither are we in charge... and luckily nor is Satan. I am so grateful for our freedoms and for this blessed country. I can almost hear Joseph Smith saying, "...the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done." Fred keeps hoping for the second coming=) but I know the work is not yet done...our work is not yet done. I am so grateful to be a part of it and to know how I fit into it all. That is a priceless treasure.

Bus Rides and Promptings

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Elder Jordan
Subject: ¡el fin esta cerca arrepiente todo!

     ...So this last week at least 4 people have come up to us and asked so what do you think about the world ending in 2012,  I have a feeling that people are going to be starting to look for the truth and salvation or just party it up because it is the last days.  We have had some good lessons though and it is so comforting to already know what is going to happen.  People have been talking about all kinds of crazy stuff,  Earthquakes and tornado's, shootings, protests, plane crashes.
     So something really cool is that President Monson is coming to Chile October 15 to come talk to us and the members.  I will possibly get to shake his hand ...wait what??????
     So I had a cool experience this week,  so to start off we ride buses here sometimes and you have to pay to ride, but instead of money we have a card that we charge in a story and then you just scan it when you get on.  So the other day we got on, I scanned my card and it beeped and then another person got on and sanned it but denied it so they went and sat down with a worried look on their face.  I had a feeling to scan my card again for the person.  So I did.  We were riding for a little bit and then the police stopped us got on and with their own scanner began checking everyones card to make sure they paid.  If they catch someone that has not paid there is usually a fine of 200 dollars.  They checked mine and I told them I had paid for the man.  They saw that I had paid twice and went on.  They checked everyone and then got off.  I was so grateful to have received that small prompting and to have gone through with it...

Constanza and Constansa who danced the cueca a chilean dance for the talent show.

Elder Romero and Catalina a recent convert that was baptised
last sunday and my boy Gasper

The Smallest Details of Our Lives

Hurray for school holiday! Abe was out of school on Friday and the rest of the kids are out today, for Labor Day. There is talk of doing something "fun" (Mikayla and Eden are already out shopping), but my most favorite days are ones like this past Saturday where everyone worked hard a good part of the day, cleaning and organizing and repairing projects, then made dinner together (individual pizza's) and the remainder of the day was spent with extended family and dear friends at a nephews baptism and the reception of one of Jordan's friend girls. I guess my lack of "yellow" personality is emphasized on those days=) but I do love them!

Friday, Fred and I went on a date to see another of Jordan's friend girls at her reception and then went to the "dollar" theatre to the T.C. Christiansen movie called "17 Miracles" about the Martin and Willie Handcart companies. It had it's mediocre moments in the first half, but it got better and brought back many sacred memories of Trek and renewed my appreciation for the sacrifices of the early pioneers and especially for Levi Savage, who I had previously learned to love, but was once again endeared to. I often forget how much impact one righteous, devoted person can make in the lives of people even many generations after they have passed on. His story teaches me some of the same lessons as Pahoran about humility and refusing to be made low by offence.

Abe came home from school onThursday all excited about upcoming class office elections and announced that he wanted to run for Vice President. My Abe?! I tried not to show my shock and was as encouraging as possible. I did try to positively explain that being a class officer would probably include socialization with other people and being in the occasional spotlight. He seemed aware and explained that he didn't want to run for President because they had to give a lot of speeches and he didn't want to run for secretary because they had to write "A LOT", but the idea of being involved in planning all of the "fun" activities seemed highly motivating. We will help him make posters for his campaign tomorrow (which runs through the 12th) and if nothing but the desire comes from this, I will count the Charter School a success for him. I am still a little shell shocked, but now all my children with "Yellow" personalities will have at least tried their hand at running for school politics, which is interesting to me. It seemed a natural extension of Jordan and Eden's personalities, but this is such a SURPRISE from my boy who I can't convince to continue in Young Artists, a community youth choir, even though he enjoys singing, just because of the once a semester concert stage fright factor--and that's in a large group. I will be so curious to see how this experience impacts him. One of the little girls that Fred home teaches, who is Abe's peer said he spends all his free time at school reading. I know he hasn't made any close friendships and doesn't seem that interested. After all books are friends and his 3 best friends, Leah, Charlie and William, who are all neighbors, are anxiously waiting for him when he comes home. For that reason, he won't have "public recognition" in his favor, but just the experience will be so good for him. I am really proud that he has decided to take a step towards contributing and being involved. I hope he'll keep taking those steps--no matter how the elections turn out, because those opportunities for responsibility and leadership are just around the corner for him as he prepares for the Aaronic priesthood next year.

Mikayla is headed off to Disneyland this week. She flies out with the her best friends family on Thursday and will stay until the 15th. Her best friend has been trying to talk me into this excursion since we moved here and now her dream to show Mikayla "the magic" is finally coming true! Mikayla has literally earned it but the house won't seem the same without her this week. Fred and I were talking about her going away to college on Sunday and were being all weepy when she came home from church and joined us on the hammock. She thinks we're wrecks. That would be true.

Mikayla and I had a sad experience on Tuesday. Last week during dinner clean-up, a mouse ran out from under the stove for a second. Being in a newer house has given me a comfort level that something that size couldn't get in, but I could hear him for the next few days whenever the house was quiet and the little kids were constantly asking if I'd seen the "cute little mouse" that day. Because of Fred's medical experience with Hantavirus, I know the real danger and disease that can be spread by mice, so I know we can't co-exist, but it is always a huge moral dilemma for me and as much as he hates it, Fred knows that he has to deal with the problem in private and in silence. However, this particular mouse was too smart for traps and was constantly startling me. Tuesday, I could hear him moving around, so Mikayla and I sneaked into the kitchen and found him on the pantry shelf. We spent the next forty minutes trying to trap him humanely, half the time with him staring at us from the back of shelves, but he was seriously like Houdinini and we finally lost him back under the stove. Only a few minutes later, I went into the kitchen and opened the dishwasher to load it and realized that the mouse was caught in the door. I wasn't sure what to do because I didn't know if shutting the door would hurt him or free him, so I yelled for Mikayla and with both of us traumatized, I slowly opened the door. and he immediately dropped on the floor with no sign of life, which was strange because he was very much alive the second before. I was so distressed at what I had inadvertently done, especially after spending almost an hour trying to be kind that I burst into tears. Mikayla told me that as soon as she had seen the predicament she had silently prayed that the little mouse would be okay and now he was. She hadn't intended him to be "okay" in that way, but without that prayer he most likely would have had a slow death and I am sure the Lord intervened to spare us and him. We had a little cry and then we buried him under the Willow tree by Mikayla's fish. Having had Chester (our guinea pig) and now Maunzy (our chinchilla), rodents seem more like pets than pests. We haven't buried any spiders yet, and some of those just have to go, though I did cry once, in the farmhouse, about accidentally killing one of those.  I'm no tree hugger; I understand that sometimes life has to be terminated and if I am conscientious about turning on my emotional detachment button, I can use a fly swatter without a problem =) but life is sacred and this experience reaffirms to me that Heavenly Father is mindful of us in the smallest details of our lives.