2015 Thus Far

After 10 years of being called to serve in Cub Scouts I have a new calling.  (This actually took place last October, but my new calling has me setting up a new blog so I decided to update this one first.)  It was hard to let go of Cub Scouts. I love the boys, the program, planning/holding camp, and the people I have to work with.  Change is good they say, and there was a lot of it.  Starting in June of this year the Boy Scouts of America changed the Cub Scout program.  It wasn't a little bit of a change, it was a LOT of change.  Planning camp became a lot harder as I tried to incorporate the old skills with the new skills so that no matter which program the cubs were working with they would be passing off some sort of skill.  (Let me point out that I do not like the new program, but that could be because I know the old one so well.)  When the stake called me to be the Vancouver Stake Relief Society Secretary they told me that I would have to give up running camp.  Okay, but I knew this summer's would be my last.  Then shortly after that, Denise, who had been my other half during all the years we have put on our own Cub Scout Day Camp. informed me that she was having to move to Logan Utah.  She said she would stick around until after camp.  It wouldn't be the same without her anyway, so I was okay with giving that up too.

Camp went well.  I've hung up my scout shirt and brushed up on my secretarial skills.  Life moves on.

My last entry told about how Edward had been accepted into the US Naval Academy.  He has been there for two years and this summer he took that leap of faith and resigned from the academy to serve the Lord for the next two years on an LDS mission.  He has been called to serve in the Czech Republic/Slovakia Mission, speaking Slovak.  He entered the Provo MTC on August 26th, and will leave for Slovakia on October 27th.  He is so pumped.  When he gave his farewell talk in church he impressed me with how mature and well spoken he is.  He will be a great missionary. (The girl in the photo is Rachel Kearl, the love of Edward's life.  He met her while she served her mission here in Vancouver and serving in the Evergreen Ward when he was home on leave. She's a doll.)

Since my last entry we also have a new member in our family.  Kevin Roberts joined our happy little band when he married Jennifer on May 29th in the Portland Oregon Temple.  They met during their first year at BYU-I way back in 2010.  He served his mission in Mexico and Jennifer wrote to him faithfully throughout. They are now back down in Florida where Jennifer is once again doing what she loves, working for Disney.  He is hoping to secure an internship with Disney or perhaps Universal as a civil engineering major.  Meanwhile he works at Panda Express and keeping Jennifer happy.  We love him!

Andrew graduated from Union High School and the Clark County Skills Center Fire Cadet Safety Program this June.  He wants to become a fire fighter, but wants to serve his mission before continuing with the schooling needed.  While he waits to complete his paperwork he had gotten a job at the MODA Center in Portland to give him some needed cash.  His girl friend Justice is taking the missionary discussions so he is already practicing his missionary skills.

Aaron - our star!  Aaron is starting his second year at Union High School after being home schooled for most of his education.  At first he was a little reluctant, but now he is glad that he became a Titan.  He played football like his brothers his freshman year, but he found his niche and is really enjoying the theater.  He tried out for One Acts last year and made it.  They took their performance to State and WON!  This summer he has been rehearsing for a part he got in a student adaptation of The Sixth Sense.  If you have ever seen the movie Aaron played the role Bruce Willis played.  Aaron could have won an Emmy/Tony/Oscar/whatever it is for his performance if you ask me, but then I may be considered a bit bias.  This week he is auditioning for One Acts and the fall school production of Almost Maine.

Ed has started his own business.  He decided that it was easier to start his own business than to try to get hired at another company like Wells Fargo/Bantech/NCR.  Mueller Handyman Services keeps him extremely busy, but he is able to set his own hours and can be where he wants to be with his family as he wants.  And he likes what he is doing.

After 23 years of being a stay-at-home mom I decided it was time to get back into the work force.  I can't say that I am loving it, but it does pay for Edward's mission.  Right now I am working as a cashier for Wal-Mart just over by Union High School.  I love the job, people, etc.  just not the hours.  I end up working the afternoon/evening shifts and thus miss out on a lot of family time.  The thought of working the holidays scares me so I have applied with the Evergreen School District.  Hopefully I can get on with them.

Well, that's what's up with the Mueller Family in a nut shell.

Another Year another Post

First things first, Edward graduated in June from Union High School in the top 5% of his class.  He had applied to go to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and was accepted.  They take only 1200 students each year so it is very selective.  He had to under go several steps to get in, one of which was to be nominated by either a US Senator, US Congressman, or the Vice President of the United States.  He received his nomination from our local Congresswoman, Jaime Herra-Buetler (she gets only one nomination per military academy each year).  There are only 12 students coming from the state of Washington this year.  He graduated high school on June 11th and 2 weeks later was winging his way across the country to live in Annapolis for the next 2 years (then he'll go on his mission and then report back to Annapolis for another 2 years).  Ed and I couldn't fly back to be with him on his Induction Day, so we flew Jennifer up from Orlando where she was still working so she could be there for him. 

She says that it was the hardest thing she has ever had to do, say good-bye to her brother and try not to cry in front of him.  (She said she bawled non-stop for the entire drive back to her hotel room.)  The next 8 weeks were hell for Edward.  It was what they call "Plebe Summer".  A Plebe is a freshman at the US Naval Academy.  Basically Plebe Summer is boot camp on steroids.  Edward said he had never heard or done as much yelling then as in his entire life.  It was what he expected, and not at all like he expected.  On I-Day, then took away his cell phone and he was only given it back for 3 scheduled calls home (each for 30 minutes) during those 8 weeks.  Thus we communicated via snail-mail.  Wow! that was hard.  I guess it gives me a glimsp of what being a Missionary Mom is all about.

Once Plebe Summer was over, Ed and I flew out to Annapolis to spend Parents' Weekend with Edward.  We planned on leaving on Wednesday afternoon and arriving early Thursday morning.  Unfortunately the airline had other plans for us.  After several late planes and missed connections we finally made it to Annapolis around 6pm on Thursday.  Good thing we hadn't missed out on any time with Edward or I would have been screamming at the poor Customer Service reps.  We first caught sight of Edward during the noon formation.  As soon as they dismissed the company he took off looking for us at the designated meeting spot.  When we caught up to him I will never forget the hug he gave me.  I think he missed me almost as much as I missed him. 

Edward showed us all around the Naval Yard and then we took him out to eat, and to eat, to the movies, and to eat.  You'd think he didn't gt any food at the Academy.  He had to be back on the yard every night, but we enjoyed our time together.

The academic school year started on August 15th for Edward.  He was a little scared after that first day.  He said that his entire AP Calculus class was covered in the first 15 minutes of his new class, and the same was with Chemistry.  I think he was worried he wouldn't be able to keep up.  Rest assured he is doing fine.  At the end of the 6 weeks semester finals he had A's in both classes as well as the others he is taking too.

Life goes on for the rest of us.  Jennifer is home, waiting to go back to Rexburg in January.  Andrew is a junior this year at Union High School, and is a starter on the JV football team.  Aaron is finishing up his last year of home schooling at River Homelink as an 8th grader.  I am still working with Cub Scouts and loving it.  Ed is now running his own Handyman Services business and doing well.

GO NAVY!!  Beat Army!!!

Wow! We've been busy.

And this is just the start of things.  School starts next week, along with seminary (no more sleeping in late - boo hoo), and football started tonight with Union's win over Mt. View 35-7.  Yay!  Edward has been working on getting everything ready for his eagle project (my garage is filling up with lumber and supplies).  We had to find a leak in our water line again this summer, and thus I now have a 50 foot long x 3 foot deep trench spanning my back yard.  The ground was so hard and rocky we had to rent a jack hammer to muscle our way through.  It was worth it though, since we found not just one leak but 3!

Cub Camp is over, but Andrew helped out at 11 Year Old Scout Camp this year also teaching the boys how to tie knots.  We held a den swim for the Bears, and one for the Wolves, along with the Deacons, and a Pack Meeting, so the pool is getting some use which is nice.

If I can ever figure out how to include photos in this new format I will add them, but for now I just can't find the right "button".

Winding Down

Summer vacation is winding down, and we are finally getting the hot August nights (and days).  This summer has been BUSY!!! What with the Navy summer session, football camp, Cub Scout camp, Boy Scout Camp, 11 year old Scout Camp, Aaronic Priesthood Encampment, football practice, den meetings, pack meetings, and throw in there our trip to Florida to visit Jennifer, and it is amazing we are all still functioning.  It may have been busy, but it has also been FUN!!  This week, Aaron and Ed took the pop-up tent trailer to the Oregon coast to try it out while they did some crabbing and clamming.  The verdict: it is wonderful!  Thank you Lindsey for giving the trailer to us.

It is hard to believe that school will be starting soon. Edward will be a Senior this year, Andrew a Sophomore, and Aaron will be starting 7th grade. Jennifer will continue with her college education by taking on-line classes through BYU-I.  She will stay in Florida and continue to work for Disney until January 2013.  She is having the time of her life down there.  Mean while, Ed continues to look for employment and I try to get myself better organized.  There are too many projects that need to get done around here.

Cubs in Shining Armor - Day Camp 2012

Well, after months of preparations Cub Camp is fast approaching!  I only have one more day to make sure I haven't forgotten anything (at least for Monday anyway).  This afternoon I loaded up the van with boxes for each of the 15 classes we'll be teaching next week.  Then I spent a couple of hours making up a song book this year of camp songs I want the boys to learn.  (We, as leaders, got tired of "Bazooka Bubblegum".)  As soon as camp is over I will try to post some pictures.  For now, I want to thank my boys and husband for putting up with me and my preoccupation with Cub Camp these past few months.  And to thank them for all their help this week and next.  It's a lot of work, but I love it!!!

Disney World Vacation

Oh what fun we had!  Even though I'm not sure where the money is going to come from to pay for this vacation I took that leap of faith and decided that we couldn't pass up this chance to visit Jennifer down in Florida and Walt Disney World.  She was able to get the 3 boys in to the park for free on the 5 days we visited the parks.  Ed and I had to buy our own tickets, but I think she was able to get us a discount.  She had planned every minute of our adventure from the moment we arrived in the parks to the time we left.  She made sure we saw and did everything!

Youth Conference Trip

This past weekend was General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. As Bishop, Ed takes the priests and laurels down to experience conference from Salt Lake. As his wife, I get to go along. This year we made the trip with 24 youth and 10 leaders from the Evergreen Ward. We left Friday morning at 5 am and our first stop was Echo, Oregon where Sister Hullinger's parent's house is. She was there waiting for us with breakfast. Then it was on to Mountain Home, Idaho where most of us stopped for lunch. When we arrived down in the Salt Lake area we went to a local school where Brother Hullinger's sister had prepared a dinner for us. The youth enjoyed being able to stretch their legs and play some basketball.

We end up staying the nights at Brother Hullinger's parent's house along with a couple of their neighbors' houses. Saturday we drove to temple square and some were able to get into the conference center to see the prophet, while the rest of us watched from various other venues on temple square. During the men's priesthood session the girls all went shopping. Afterwards we all met up for dinner at an all-you-can-eat buffet. I think they lost money on us.

Sunday was like Saturday with the exception that we ate our sack lunches between sessions and then went to the Hullinger's stake center where we were treated to a wonderful potato bar dinner and a testimony meeting. The Relief Society room in the stake center has a beautiful mural of the Saviour painted on the wall. We of course had to get a group picture in there.

Spring Break is this week, so we didn't head back to Vancouver on Monday, but instead went back down to temple square so we could visit other places that we might not have had time for earlier. The wind was something else, but we managed to not get blown away and get another group shot standing in front of the temple. From there we drove down to Provo to visit the BYU campus. Thanks to Eric Glem, we were able to tour Cougar stadium (press box, booster club, walk on the field, and locker room). We then went to the Marriot Center where Mr. Marriot himself was practicing for a speech he was to give the next day. We also were able to quickly chat with the Cougar basketball coach. Dinner was another all-you-can-eat buffet at the cafeteria. They have some good food there.

Tuesday was the long ride back home. At least this time we had good weather (the trip through the gorge on Friday was horrific! what with all the rain). We got home around 7pm. We had such a good time. I can't wait to do it again in another 2 years.

I have the BEST husband EVER!

Ed sent me down to Florida so that I could help Jennifer celebrate her 20th birthday with family. I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and drove over to "Mama & Papa Rap's" where I was going to be staying. I got to meet Toni (Mama Rap) and have a pizza with her before driving over to Hollywood Studios where Jennifer works. From there we drove to Downtown Disney to run around for a few hours. I didn't get back to "my place" until after midnight, and then it was up again by 7:00 am to get back to Jennifer's apartment to meet up with her friends for our trip to the Magic Kingdom. I ended up driving us since Jennifer could get us free parking. The weather was gorgeous - around 80*. We had a lot of fun going on the rides, before heading off to Hollywood Studios to watch the parade and Fantasmic, and then racing back to Magic Kingdom for the "Wishes" fireworks show.

On Friday it was just the two of us as we went to the Animal Kingdom (Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, Bug's Life, and Kali River Rapids), Magic Kingdom, and then Epcot. My feet had taken a beating by the time we were done, and I have the blisters to prove it. I had such a good time with Jennifer though. It was all worth it. Ed had gotten me a new camera before I left, so we took a ton of pictures. I am looking forward to the whole family going down to visit later this year. I miss Jennifer so much it sometimes hurts. I am glad that I have a husband who can see that and does what he can to help.

I'm going to go see my baby!!

My baby girl will be turning 20 in just 2 days and she is clear across the country so I can't celebrate with her. Boo hoo. Then my husband, the loving, caring man that he is, says to me, "How would you like to surprise Jennifer for her birthday?" He then proceeds to buy me an airplane ticket to Orlando so I can spend some quality/fun time with our daughter. Things really worked out great, in that she has both Thursday and Friday off from work so we'll get to spend those two days together doing Disney "the way it is supposed to be done" (according to Jennifer). Since she doesn't have to work until 4pm on Saturday, we'll have the whole morning together too. I am so excited to see her and where she is living for the next 6+ months.

I Love my Family!!!!

Before Jennifer left to head down to Florida, we decided that we needed to get our family pictures taken. A good friend offered to use her talents and they were done. I can not believe how grown up they are all starting to look. It was just a few years ago when they all had those cute "baby faces" with the puffy cheeks and dimples. The boys are looking more and more like my father and brother. When they were younger they looked so much like Ed it was scarey, but now I finally see my side of the family showing through.

New Background

In honor of my daughter being down in the most magical place on earth, Disney World, I have decided to change my background. Since I am NOT computer sauve, it took me quite a long time to figure out how to change it. In the mean time I seem to have lost my music on the blog. I'll have to research how to get that back.

Counting down the days until Jennifer comes back home. 196 days!

A New Adventure Begins

Well, at least for Jennifer. Tonight we held a party in her honor as we all wished her luck in her new adventure - working in Disney World for the next 8 months. I will drive her to the airport tomorrow morning bright and early (6am). She will be on the plane for the next 13 hours or so and then when she arrives in Orlando, Cassie's mom will pick her up from the airport, take her home to their house for the night, and then deliver her to Disney World in the morning. (Cassie is Jennifer's roommate from BYU-I) This is such a great opportunity for Jennifer and we are all excited for her. I am going to miss her terribly. There will now be a 3 hour time difference and she won't be able to drive 12 hours to get home. Thank goodness for modern technology which will allow us to communicate as often as we feel like it.

It was fun tonight to visit with my stepsisters Anne and Kimmie, and my stepbrother Tim and his family. We rarely get together, but when we do it is fun. Ed's side of the family was represented by his younger sister Karen, her daughter Shelby, his brother Jim, and Jim's family. We missed several other family members, but that might be because Jennifer was in charge of the invites, and they might not have received them. Oh well, we thought of them and counted them there in spirit.

Scarey Times

To give a bit of back ground: Edward came down with a nasty cold after the football game in the rain on Friday, November 4th. He ended up with flu-like symptoms on Sunday and stayed home from church. He did drag himself out of bed to attend seminary on Monday (he had perfect attendance for the 3 years so far), but didn't feel well enough to go to school. He was worried though about missing football practice so after sleeping most of the day, he went there also. Tuesday he still felt lousy, but managed to make it to seminary, his classes, and to football. Wednesday morning after seminary I receive a text message from him telling me that he doesn't feel good, that he wants to go to the doctor's. I replied and said I would be right down to the school to pick him up. (I did stop to get dressed and put gasoline in the car, figuring I was going to have to drive him up to Salmon Creek Urgent care.)

By the time I got to the school he was in a panic. I went to check him out of his home building only to find out he was in the 300 building with the school nurse. When I finally arrived she said Edward was having chest pains and that she almost called for an ambulance. I drove him quickly to SW Medical Hospital where they quickly took him into the back room and put him on a heart monitor and did some blood work. The doctor thought it might be inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart, but after an EKG and an Echocardiogram it was determined that the inflammation wasn't the sac, but the heart muscle itself. They gave him some pain killers and an asprin, and then said they would redo the blood work in six hours. We were then moved upstairs to the Clinical Decision Unit (CDU) to wait.

The heart produces an enzeme when it is under stress. The normal range is 0.0>0.04. When Edward came into the hospital it was at 6.something. Later, when they did the blood work again, it had climbed to 15.something else. They told me that they wouldn't start to be real concerned until it reached 20. It was then that they decided to keep him over night and test his blood levels again in the morning. At 8:30 in the morning we finally got the news that the levels had dropped to 3.9! He could go home.

Edward will be taking Ibuprofen for the next 4 weeks until we see the cardiologist again. In the meantime, he is off all physical activity other than walking. This means no more football. He was crushed. The team went to Kent, Washington this Friday to play the Kentlake Falcons and Edward really wanted to go and at least be on the sidelines. Coach Piland agreed to let him go only because he wasn't contagious. He was there to cheer his teammates on as they beat the #6 team in the state 31-7. Next week they'll play up in Woodenville, Washington.

Keep Edward in your prayers.

The Latest News

Things have been happening in the Mueller Household. Jennifer applied and was accepted to the Disney College Program and will leave for Disney World in January. She will work there for almost 8 months, as she finishes up the first part of August. She'll come home and then head directly back to BYU-Idaho. I guess this will just prepare me for when I can't see or talk to Edward as he will be heading out on a mission here in a short 2.5 years. We've been talking about going down to Orlando as a family while Jennifer is there, as she will be able to get 3 of us in for free. Unfortunately, there seems to be forces working against this plan.

Which brings me to yesterday. I had driven the van to pick up Aaron from his homeschool classes in Battle Ground when we discovered that the front driver's side tire was a little low. When we got home Aaron put some more air in it. Later I drove it over to take dinner to a family in the ward only to have it go completely flat as I drove home. I tried to limp to the church parking lot (only a few blocks away), but alas, the tire had different plans. The tire decided to come completely off the rim. When I pulled over to change it I discovered that the proper tools were not put back into my van after the brakes were fixed. Luckily a gentleman across the street where I stopped came over and helped me until Brother Nuffer and Ed came to the rescue. The van needs 4 new tires (by law you can't replace only 1 due to the fact that it is an all wheel drive). Let's talk costly! [I am very thankful that it decided to go flat when it did instead of somewhere on the freeway driving 55 mph when Ed drove youth to the temple on Friday night. If that doesn't make you a believer in prayers said before road trips, I don't know what will.]

Next, way back in July as Edward was driving back from his allergy appointment over in Portland, I accidentally had him heading to Emanuel Hospital instead of Providence. As he was driving down an unfamiliar McLoughlin road the lane he was in turned into an exit only lane. As we didn't want to go across the Ross Island Bridge he needed to get over. Unfortunately there was a semi along side of him. I told him to speed up so he could pass it before the lane exited. That's when the Photo Radar Camera caught him. Well, we just received a notice in the mail Saturday that said we had failed to appear for our court date and thus a quilty plea had been entered for us and a fine of $251.00 had been assessed. I called yesterday to tell them that it wasn't Edward J. Mueller driving the vehicle (as the citation states) and that we never received the original citation, but they didn't really care.

On a happier note, yesterday's JV football game was at McKenzie Stadium against Battle Ground and a) no one got hurt so no ambulance was needed, b) Edward got to play, and c) while the defense didn't play well and allowed Battle Ground to score the go ahead touch down with only 15 seconds left in the game, the offense came through and our QB managed to scramble out of two sacks to throw the football 40 yards to a wide open receiver who ran it in for a touch down as time expired! What a game!!!

I LOVE Football Season!

Edward and Andrew are both playing Titan Football this year! Edward plays Tight End and Safety and is a starter on the JV team and has been able to have some playing time with the Varsity team. Andrew is on the Freshman team and plays Running Back and Line Backer. Both are having a great time, and so are we. This year we get to go to 3, count them - 3, games per week. The JV teams normally plays on Mondays, the Freshmen on Thursdays, and the Varsity on Fridays.

Last night's game against Westview (from Beaverton, Oregon) was one of the best. You could feel and smell football in the air. The weather had become cooler (and it even sprinkled) and there was excitement all around as we held our first home varsity game this season. We won 41 to 14, after going to a running clock after we scored the first 41 points in the game early in the 3rd quarter. Tonight we head over to Westview for the Freshmen team to play their team, and then their JV team comes back over here on Saturday. Hey! that means that we get 4 games this week. Awesome!

LET'S GO TITANS!

Katie Barber - We'll Miss You

At 10:52 this morning Ma passed over to the other side of the veil. She waited until her big brother could be up there with her. Her breathing eased up and slowed down as he sat next to her and talked to her. When it came time he turn to Karen and she whispered something to Ma who cried one final tear, took her last breath, and left this world to meet her Heavenly Father, her Saviour, and her husband Al. She is at peace now.

The Catholic priest showed up later and quickly gave her a blessing, said a few rote prayers and left. Shortly afterwards friends of ours came from our Stake Presidency and asked if they could offer up a prayer with the family. What a difference! You could feel the spirit in the room it was so tangible. I am so glad to have the true gospel in my life.

God be with you until we meet again Ma. I love you!!!

The End is Near

Well, Ma's condition has declined rapidly in the last few hours. It all started 3 weeks ago as I was at church. Jim, Ed's younger brother, had come to sit with Ma and they couldn't get her pain under control. Ma decided she needed to go back to Providence and be seen in the ER. There they took a CT Scan of her neck and realized it had another compression fracture. They admitted her to the hospital and put her on a morphine drip to control the pain. All was well for 3 days as they tried to determine if they were going to do another surgery or not (the surgeon was out of town). Wednesday night the doctors decided to take her off the morphine drip as she could not go home on that. Big mistake. The other drugs didn't do as well and also caused her to really be out of it mentally. By the Sunday they had gotten the loopiness under control and the surgeon had gotten back from vacation. He decided there was nothing he could do for Ma, her condition was that she would not survive a surgery. Ma had not been eating well the week prior to all of this and still was not eating. She was now down to 82 lbs!

Sunday and Monday nights during our visits with her the pain had gotten unbearable again. It was heart wrenching to see her in such pain. She would call out to Ed to make it stop. She didn't want to do this any more. Then on Tuesday morning she had 2 seizures, after which she was comotoise for about 6 hours. The neurologist was giving her a sternum massage trying to get some sort of response out of her - nothing. We really thought we were going to lose her that day. A CT Scan, an EEG, and a lumbar puncture later they still didn't know why she had the seizures, but she was finally responding to verbal commands. She was still in pain, so they put her back on the morphine drip. The doctor told us that she probably wouldn't last for more than 2-3 weeks, and so we were asked to come up with some sort of a discharge plan.

Needless to say, we stalled as long as possible because by Wednesday she was talking to us again and her pain was once again under control. It was decided that because we wanted her kept on the morphine drip she would enter hospice care. After discussing the situation with our children we decided that we would rather have Grandma spend her final days somewhere other than our home. We didn't want her room of the house to always be a reminder of that's where Grandma died. Providence suggested the Ray Hickey Hospice House here in Vancouver. I drove by and did a quick tour by myself and decided it was perfect. Very clean, modern, and beautiful.

Last Sunday Ma was moved to Ray Hickey. She was alert and talking, but still a bit confused at times. So much better than the previous week. She would not believe that she had just spent two weeks in the hospital. We tried to get her to eat, but she wouldn't. This last week I have spent a lot of time down at Ray Hickey House with Ma. We talked, watched tv, or she slept. Towards the end of the week, she mainly slept, although Friday she was carrying on conversations with her brother Danny and I for a good part of the morning. Family came from all around to say their good-byes as we knew her time was winding down.

Yesterday Ed and I stopped by in the morning prior to going to the Portland Temple for a wedding and she was awake, chatty, and a bit fiesty (she had not been in the hospital for 2 weeks and she had been eating). Karen and her family came and spent the day with her and had just started heading home at 6 when they got a call from Ray Hickey House telling her that Ma's condition had drastically changed and that she might want to come back. Ed and I came back after we finished up with an endowment session we attended with soon-to-be-Elder Jacob Hullinger and family.

As of this morning Ma is still "enduring" to the end. Her breathing is really labored. We'll head back down after church this morning. I texted Karen this morning and told her to ask the nurses if a priest would be coming in today, as maybe Ma is waiting for her "last rites". I know that Ma believes in the gospel plan and the things we have taught her in these last 5 months, but I guess it is hard not to fully let go of her past teachings and trust in the Lord.

When she and I were talking earlier this week we spoke about what things were going to be like when her death came. I told her that those of us left behind would weep and be sad, but those who have already gone ahead will be shouting with joy. Her response to me was, "Because you say it, I know it is true." I told her it was going to be a very joyous reunion going on up there, and once she is done saying hi to all of her family to look over in the corner and you will see some people who are standing off waiting for the chance to introduce themselves to you and also welcome you home. It will be my family, my mom, dad, brother, and grandparents. She smiled and nodded.

Several months ago as we were discussing Mormon doctrine and the temple ordinances of sealing eternal families, she said, "I want to be sealed to Al." We told her that we would take care of that for her. She also asked Ed once, "Do even 71 year old sick ladies need to be baptized?" When he told her yes, she gave us one of her frowns to which Ed said, "Ma, you needn't worry about it. We'll take care of it for you."

I am so thankful for the past 5 months and being able to care for my mother-in-law here in our home. I am thankful to her for raising such a wonderful man that is my eternal companion. She will be missed, but never forgotten. Love you Ma!

Edward becomes a Priest

Edward's 16th birthday was actually a few weeks ago, but because Ed was out of town on the 23rd and then it was 5th Sunday last week, he wasn't ordained until today. It is hard to believe that time is passing so quickly. I'm not surprised that Edward is now old enough to be a priest, because he has always been so mature. What is sometimes hard to comprehend is that fact that in just 3 years he will be ready for his mission. Wow!

Cub Camp 2011

This year when deciding where to go for Cub Day Camp (either Camp Discovery or Camp Lewis), my husband asked me just what we got for $90/boy or $1700/ward? My response was, "Two days of Archery and two days of BB Guns." To which he responded, "Could you do it yourself cheaper?" Heck, yes! So it was decided that we would offer our own Cub Day Camp to be held up at Camp Currie, run by our Young Men, with me in charge. Now every Cub Scout knows that if Sister Mueller is involved things usually don't work out quite to plan. I must say that didn't happen this time. YEAH!

I was worried two weeks ago that I wasn't going to have enough Young Men to staff the 5 classes we were offering each day. But by last week, I knew I would have plenty. Towards the end of the week I had Young Men coming out of the woodwork asking, "Sister Mueller, do you still need me? Can I come and help?" I wasn't going to turn any of them down. So by Friday I had a surplus of Young Men, which was all good. I think I counted 28 Young Men that helped in some way this week, even if they came for only one day.

We had 18 of our Cub Scouts attend, and there were 22 from the Prune Hill ward. Sister Southerland and I met at Roundtable and over the last two years have become friends. When she heard that our ward was going to do our own camp, she asked if her ward could join? She and her assistant were a Godsend! I don't think I could have done it without them. I heard a lot of compliments from the adult leaders/parents, especially from Prune Hill. They were impressed that we could get 28 Young Men to give up a week of their time to help run a Cub Scout Camp. They were impressed that they all wore their Class A Uniform all week. They were impressed by their conduct and how the Cub Scouts just loved them. I must say that the Evergreen ward does have some very outstanding young men. Koodos to their parents and the Young Men's Program.

As it turned out, we had each Cub Scout pay only $45 instead of the $90. For this fee, they got 3 days of Archery, 3 days of BB Guns, a legitimate wooden tool box that they got to make, a wonderful Knot Board with samples of the various knots they learned to tie, a cool secret decoder, serveral chances to run across the rope monkey bridge, Bottle Rockets, Stomp Rockets, Stretcher races, a First Aid kit, a Solar System mobile, and a kite. It was a lot of fun. The boys also passed off a ton of things, and I know that they will remember this camp for a long time.

I will try to figure out how to post a slide show of pictures.

Trek 2011

This last week the two older boys, Edward and Andrew, got to experience one of the funnest youth activities the church does for them - a re-enactment of the Mormon trail, or a trek. The youth are dressed in pioneer garb, taken up to Mt. Hood and the Barlow Trail, given all their gear (which fits into a 5 gallon bucket) and a sleeping bag, and then they hike part of the same trial the pioneers did as they came into this land for 3 days. By the time they are done they are exhuasted, dirty, and hungry, but they have also been spiritually fed. It is a wonderful experience.

Jennifer has gone on two Treks before, but now that she is an adult, she had to stay behind. That just meant that she got to go up with Ed and I when we met the group to welcome them into "the Valley". Ed was helping with the final meal, cooking up over 250 lbs. of Manti Chicken and 11 cases of corn on the cob. I helped serve the corn, so I wasn't able to get a lot of pictures, so I was glad Jennifer was there to take some for me. The boys had a blast, as did most everyone who went along.