Warning: Vacation Recap Ahead

Last week we took our annual summer vacation. It was filled with fishing, hiking, running into co-workers and students and coming home with extra passengers. It was a great week.

Last year we hiked into the headwaters of the St. Joe River; St. Joe Lake. It was an absolutely beautiful hike and the fishing was phenomenal. The only disappointing thing about last year's hike was we made it a day hike so the boys (Dave and Carson) had to stop fishing long before they wanted to. We decided to remedy that situation by making this year's visit to St. Joe Lake an overnight camping trip.

So Monday morning we set off. Dave and Carson did the heavy packing and I was left with the day pack which contained not much of anything, but enough that I could feel it when we hit the steep parts of the trail. The trail this year had many more fallen trees across it so the hike was a little harder than it was last year. Oh, and there was more snow. The snow should have provided a clue about what the fishing might be like up above. Also on the trail this year were many more animal prints then we saw last year. So many moose prints, elk prints, deer and I can't forget these

That is a huge cougar paw print and a big old bear print about a mile from the campsite. Yikes!

So the fishing wasn't great; well not great when compared to last year. Carson was super disappointed. He felt like he had been ripped off. His "carrot" for carrying that 40 pound pack up the mountain was the thought of how great the fishing would be. He decided that we didn't need to have this adventure again; a day hike would be OK but no more overnight camping.

After seeing the cougar print and bear print a mile from our campsite, I totally agreed with him on not needing to make it an overnight camping adventure. The combination of  sleeping on the hard ground, being 3 across in a 2-man tent and listening for wild animal activity led to a very disrupted night of sleep for me. There is a funny story to tell about the night.

I had finally drifted off to sleep about 3 a.m. when I was awakened by these weird snorting sounds. My eyes popped wide open and my heart started pounding as I strained to listen for the sounds again. Just as soon as I had convinced myself that I was imagining things, the snorting sounds came again and sounded like they were right next to our tent. Oh my gosh I was trying to so hard not to freak out and was trying to generate a plan in my mind on what I would do if these noises were from a bear or cougar.

Then another series of snorts happened and I began to laugh at myself. The snorts were coming from David! In our almost 24 years of marriage I have never heard him make those particular sounds. I guess sleeping on the ground without a pillow and not being able to sleep on his stomach caused him to make different sleeping sounds. Plus, my overactive, sleep-deprived imagination probably caused me to misinterpret the sounds. Oiy!

The sun finally came up and I felt a little more comfortable. Dave and I enjoyed sitting by the lake and watching the sun rise over the mountain peaks. We roused Carson's sleepy head about 8 and broke down camp. We headed down the trail about 9 and 3 hours later we were safely back at the truck.

How about a few more pictures from this adventure? Here they are:

At the trail head

Away we go

Funky caterpillars covering a web

Once you see the waterfall you know you are almost there

Beautiful campsite with the lake in the background

Enjoying a campfire and cooking dinner: cutthroat trout, carrots, onions and potatoes

Tomorrow's blog post: Recap of our Glacier NP visit

I Wish I Had Taken a Picture

I have been working a big project for the last 9 days. I worked on it little bits at a time and it has been a process, let me tell you. But today, I declared completion and success.

The project started on my birthday when I discovered, about 5 minutes before my parents picked me up for lunch, that a blue ink pen had leaked onto the family room carpet. An earlier, younger version of me might have just pulled the couch over the stain and called it good. But, now with kids being grown and not needing constant attention, I had no excuse for not having time to deal with the ink. I initially tried to dab the ink up with a damp washcloth, but all that did was bring the ink up from deep down in the recesses of the carpet. So it went from being just a barely visible blue streak to a royal blue, quarter-sized very visible spot on the carpet. Not good.

Next I called a friend and asked for her suggestion. She has this stuff called "absorb it" that she uses for her carpets. She was nice enough to give me some. I followed her directions and wetted the area around the stain with water before applying the powder. You want to know what happened? That ink stain went from being quarter-sized to small dinner plate-sized. Oh yes it did. I am not even kidding. Continuing on...I sprinkled the powder over the newly enlarged stain, placed a towel over the powder and let it sit for a couple of days, per my friend's instructions. Two days later I removed the towel, vacuumed up the now dried powder and Viola! A Seahawk blue small dinner plate-sized stain on my carpet.

Yes, of course, I am freaking out at this time because now there is no way possible to just pull the couch over the stain. So I do what anyone does now and  I Googled "how to remove ink from carpet". Almost every suggestion said hairspray. No way was a I spraying hairspray on the carpet. I didn't want the sticky residue of hairspray left on the carpet.

So I  used the next best thing

Rubbing alcohol.

Over the course of a week I went through 3/4 of a bottle of rubbing alcohol to try and lift the stain. Oh and white vinegar. Can't forget that.

Here is how the stain was finally lifted (and the carpet survived)

I don't have any spray/mister bottles so I would lay a white towel over the stain and then pour the alcohol directly over the stain. I would let the alcohol seep through and onto the carpet for about 10 to 15 minutes. Then I would spend the next 30-45 minutes dabbing at the stain, always working from the outside towards the center and in an up-down dabbing motion.

Let that dry completely, usually overnight and then rinse with warm water. Soak up water with towel. Repeat the dabbing process because the ink seemed to be coming up pretty good. Keep dabbing until no more ink comes up. Then I let the carpet dry again overnight to see where things were at.

I used this method for about two days before I added in the next step...white vinegar.

So alcohol, dab, let dry. White vinegar, dab, rinse with warm water. Soak up with towel.

Repeat the next day. And the next day. And the next day.

On day 7 I had the brilliant idea to borrow my MIL's carpet cleaner. I only used this for the rinsing and sucking up the water part.

Adding the carpet cleaner the process went like this...

Alcohol, dab, dab, dab. Let dry completely.
White vinegar, dab, dab, dab.
Rinse with warm water and suck up water with the carpet cleaner.

And today, on day 9, TA DA! No more blue ink stain on the carpet!

She Wanted This in the Ensign...

But until she gets home from her mission and can submit it herself, publishing it on my blog will have to suffice.

Challenges and Blessing in Trusting in the Lord.

Being on a mission has by far been the best and hardest time of my life. Each day causes stress and joy, depression and satisfaction. Sometimes being out here can be downright miserable. There's no work, no referrals, no less-actives, and no members to help. Each day you feel defeated and like a failure. You can't figure out what it is you're doing wrong. I've never prayed as hard as I have serving in Arizona than anywhere else.

I know a lot of people think that missionaries are super inclined to the spirit and are these huge spiritual giants with no problems what so ever. True we have been set apart to do the Lord's work, but we're just normal kids. The only difference between us and members is a name tag. We get discouraged, frustrated and overwhelmed. Not being able to write home and say exactly what's going on is hard. Heavenly Father is the only one we can turn to in this time of need. But there are times when we feel that are prayers aren't being heard. More frustration. But at this point something happens. We have a new found determination to find work. We plan more effectively. We get members to participate more. We get less-actives more involved with activities. And slowly, but surely, we get more work.

Before I came out on my mission I never really grasped the concept that The Lord has a plan for everyone, members and non-members alike. And because He has a individual plan for each of us; work must be done in His time until both of us are ready. In a 2005 General Conference talk Henry B Eyring said, "decisions now to exercise faith and be steady in obedience will in time produce great faith and assurance. That is the spiritual preparedness we all will need. And it will qualify us in the moments of crisis to receive The Lord's promise that 'if ye are prepared ye shall not fear'" and most of the time that is exactly the reason why there is not a lot of work. The Lord needed to prepare both the missionary and the individual. Just like we can't go to battle without a weapon, we can't try to bring someone unto Christ if their heart hasn't been opened and we haven't learned patience and found humility in our difficulties.

I've always had a great love for my Savior, but until I left for my mission in Tempe, Arizona, I've never felt Him so close and relied on His atonement so much. I know that my Savior Jesus Christ lives and it is because of Him all things are possible. I love being able to talk about Him and bring others closer to Him every day. The knowledge that our Heavenly Father has a plan for us brings me so much joy and comfort. I don't know what I would would be like if I didn't have this gospel in my life, but I know for a fact that I wouldn't be as happy as I am now. I've learned for myself that if we rely on The Lord and pray to Him every time we're in need, He WILL help us. When we put our full trust in Him and rely on Him 100% He will never let us down.

 As I've allowed myself to trust in The Lord I have been able to witness how much He trusts me and how much He is able to soften the hearts of the people around me. The most incredible transformation I've seen on my mission was a man named David*. David wasn't a member but had gone to church for 15 years! He paid his tithing and even had a calling in scouts, but there was a time when he questioned if God even existed. Then randomly one night my companion and I get a call from our bishop asking if we would be able to do a baptism the next day. To our surprise we found out it was David. We quickly got permission from our mission president and set up the baptism for the next day. Unfortunately, when it came time for the interview, he didn't even make it through the first question without throwing a chair across the room. My district leader said he wasn't ready and that the baptism wasn't going to happen today. Boy was everyone mad! Here was a man who had come to church for 15 years, then all of a sudden wanted to get baptized and it wasn't going to happen. So the bishop set a temporary date for the following Saturday and my companion and I would teach him every day that week.

When Sister Davies and I went to our first lesson with him, we were terrified! David had been so rude to us before and slammed the door in our face many times before. We didn't believe he was being baptized for the right reason. That is, until we started teaching him.

Turns out David never had the missionary discussion. When people asked him if he'd had the lessons, he thought 'lessons' meant Sunday School, so he was like, "yeah I've had 15 years worth of them." After our first lesson with David we could see that he was, indeed, different than how he had been before. He had a different kind of light about him and he actually had interest in what we had to say. Witnessing The Lord work on this man's heart was the greatest sight I have ever witnessed! As each day passed we could see him carry himself differently and by the end of the week he already looked like a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This transformation that I had the privilege to watch was the best part of my mission thus far. David was baptized that Saturday, received the priesthood on Sunday, and baptized his daughter later that very day. I can't tell you how touching it was to watch a man, who a few months previous question if God existed, baptize his daughter.

Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways and in His own time. He worked with David for 15 years, and had David been baptized anytime before then, I don't know if he'd be as strong of a member as he is now. Putting our trust in Heavenly Father can be very difficult and challenging. Sometimes it can take years before our prayers are answered! But The Lord has a plan for each and every one of His children. It's when we allow ourselves to trust in Him and let His plan commence that miracles happen. So please. Trust your Father in Heaven and never for one moment think that He has forgotten you. I can testify to you that He hasn't. His plan for you has already begun. Be patient and trust Him and you'll see the wonderful things He has in store for you.

~Sister Katelyn Graham

Oh, Hello July!

July, so far you are off to a really good start!

I have been greeted with beautiful sunrises every morning. I love starting my day seeing the beauty of the world that Heavenly Father has created bathed in the golden hues of the early morning sun.

Carson had his broken nose fixed on the second day of July. He did great. The facial swelling was a little more than he anticipated, but at least it seems to be resolving quickly. The best part? He wasn't grumpy! Not even one day. That in and of itself is a small tender mercy from Heavenly Father.

The third day of July was another birthday for me. 43 years. And how did I spend it? By doing many of the things I enjoy most--biking with a friend, followed by a run with other friends, lunch with my mom and dad, taking a nap, and then finishing the day with dessert at the Melting Pot with my honey. It honestly probably one of the best birthdays in recent history. I removed all expectations for the day and just enjoyed every single moment.

July, you are going to be jam packed with even more activities and before I know it, you will be gone and we will be moving into August. I guess that is why Carson refers to you as "the Saturday of summer." But I will follow the plan I followed for my birthday, I will remove all expectations for the month and just enjoy the journey each day takes.