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Well, my dear family and friends, and those whom chance your way here, please come visit us now at www.farmgirl.hazubu.com.  This will be the same thing, but all my blogs morphed into one, and then categories on the side for quick finding of what you might be looking for.  I don’t know why I bother, but I’ve been itching to have my new blog name:  Farm Girl: An Engineer, His Farm-Girl, and their little Ducklings …after all, we will be having chickens for the first time, soon, and we hope to be, becoming… A farm girl and boy!  Atleast wanna-be’s!  :)

Love and Blessings, Emily

One of the most simple joys I experienced this season, was reading Christmas stories to the children.  This night, Mama was a tired Mama, but she decided to read Georgie a story, “Twas the Night Before Christmas”, just for Georgie.  Daddie happened to snap the picture….and if this baby doesn’t know that this is special time just for him, a rare ocurrance…who doesn’t know it?

Christmas time, with its baking, and gift making.  Its a special time of year.  We had a blast on Rawl’s birthday with an indoor snowball fight, pin the nose on Ruldolph, and friends hosting, sharing presents and hot cocoa, and willing and loving to sled!  Our adventuring friends, Sonja and family!

Find the ‘plumber’ on the scene.  Not to worry, Rawl got long white undershirts to remedy this calamity.

I made Rawl a Santa outfit for his birthday.  Santa himself couldn’t have looked more like this as a little boy.

A friend snapped a picture of us in the outfits Buka bought for us for Levi’s wedding! Can you believe it, Rawl was looking, and smiling!  Yes, we were bribing him.

Christmas morn, a view as Santa would have seen it, pretty magical isn’t it?

Christmas breakfast…delicious as usual, thanks for Omletts Dadio!

…And, we’ll be enjoying this video for years to come, the actual footage, of opening the stockings!  This goes out to Grandparents who love our littles!

Sariah, thank you for this oh so lovely Christmas present, the children have enjoyed the fairies and knights very much, and bless you for the hours you put into them.  They could be sold for oodles, but count all the love you put into them, and they are priceless!

Aunty Elena, thank you for the awesome toy!  You are so creative!  And talented!

Buka, you know the path to Rawl’s heart, he loves numbers!  However I don’t know who was more excited, Riley, or Rawl.  The duct tape wallet was a hit…

…And when he got his birthday tractor book, he said, “I LIKE this!”

Hannah painted Milly a very special frame, and we would like to put a picture like this into it:
But even more special, Hannah invented a very special toy for Milly, she designed and made it herself!!

(This background music is Mama’s Christmas present, a record player!  Yeah!)

Auntie Katie made Milly this beautiful apron of which when Milly cooks she realizes Hannah maybe across the states, wearing the same apron.

…And Katie, you lovely thing you…thank you dear!

Home made presents are always so fun, but especially when your daughter made you one months before, and doesn’t even leak a hint, till Christmas day, when she asks in the morning if you need a new journal!

But Riley surprised me with many things this Christmas, including virgin coconut oil and a pretty purple necklace, Ginger style.  (A wonderful old woman in Provo who was me a few years down the road.) Thank you Riley for such a special Christmas!

Nana, here is Milly enjoying her very special doll:

Grandpa Jack and Grandy Balling, we want to let you know we got ice skates with the money…we haven’t gone yet….wish us luck!  We are excited!

Mim, thank you for the family tree, its beautiful!  Eirene, I’ll have you know I ate most of that fudge!  Merritt and April, the science magazine is a real hit around here!

The morn of Christmas Eve, I finally was done crafting, so for the first time, I exercised instead.  I wore my boots and decided to walk to go easy on the knees.  I said Merry Christmas to those snow shovelers in the still of the morning, but soon stress was mounting and I came home anxious.  Riley talked me through my feelings, till Rawl woke up, and I soon found myself in a power struggle.  I was enduring strife with him, but a prayer told me that our nursing home visit was going to make everything worth it.  As it turned out this was our first nursing home visit, and somehow Rawl wore his Christmas Santa outfit, last minutely putting it on.  Once we were there, a prayer got us past our fears and those dear elderlies LOVED ‘Santa’.  Rawl felt sheepish, especially when one woman wanted to chase him!  Evelyn was surprised over over of our four children, and when Rawl ran away, surprised over our three children,  and the satin dresses the girls were wearing, each couple minutes it was a new surprise for her.   She had one outfit for Sunday as a girl, and her Dad loved America like no other.   She was dressed in her best purple but said, “Oh, I’m just natural.”  Unfortunately Kitty told us that Irma just claps to get everyone’s attention and yells at everyone all day, and yelled at Evelyn, who left the room, as we left the door.  Oh but 90 year old Betty was a dream.  Her five boys were SOOOOOOOOOO cute she said, and her memories so precious of raising them, that she was in ‘seventh heaven’ as she rocked and remembered those most precious days.  I knew Betty was placed there for me to treasure these days and appreciate my boy.

The spirit was so thick in my heart it actually hurt, and we ate our warm potato soup and bread bowls.  Hazel hurt her elbow and so I let her hold the Jesus from the nativity.  Hopefully someday she will remember Jesus will heal her pains.

You’ve got to love Milly’s eloquent angel accent.

We sang the songs for the program I’d written years ago, until we had to necessarily push the fast forward button.

This Donkey has Eddie Murphy beat by MILES.

Check out Hazel’s sweet smile at the end of this short clip.

You’ll enjoy the frightened shepherd:

Don’t miss a tender little Rawl kiss:

Afterwards, we let the children open their ‘book’ gift.  Rawl snuggled his Teddy Bear as Milly read him “We’re going on a bear hunt”.  Hazel didn’t notice the new dress on Silly Sally, with her new book, “Silly Sally”, till we pointed it out.   George wasn’t awake to enjoy his purple crayon with book “Harold and the Purple Crayon.”

Dear Billy and Adam, (our brothers serving in Chile) & All,

Hello dear brothers!  I ordered these pics to mail to you at the beginning of the month and as luck would have it, the package is lost in space.  We’ll mail them when they come as fast as a speeding bullet.  Which to chili may be fairly slow.

This is George Henry, your little nephew, smiley, content, with awesome giggles and coos; and the little dude either says “mama, or dada” when he’s crying, it takes an ear like Milly’s to pick it up, but there’s no denying it when he does it….wow, child prodigy!

Adam, Mom, Sariah and Elena came out for before and after his birth and were little angels of support and home and child help!  *Do this, do that! Slave! j/k….kinda!  I could have shot myself in the foot, we didn’t take any pics while Sariah was here, but here’s Mom and LJ:

Billy, Mom and Dad Balling were able to come out and visit George for his baby blessing and this is what he looked like that day, spiffy and handsome.

Billy, yes, Dad’s gotten that skinny.  And here he is meeting George for pretty much the first time.

We went to apple orchards and such and here is Mom helping to carry George!

Milly is a big help with George, helping with George trumps most things, like chores and getting dressed, but we take what we can get.  I am very thankful for her help.  She loves to read, and read, sing, and do crafts.

Rawl loves to tease, tease and tease, tie people and things up, make crazy crafts like double bid axes and large holes in our ceiling.  Well that was a huge accident, he was just playing ‘ocean.’  Rawl is very loving and can do a push up with Hazel on his back and gives an awesome horsey ride.  I love to hear Rawl and Hazel play together.  He mentioned he’d like to be a blacksmith when he grows up, can’t you just see the brawny boy now with his red hot anvil?

Hazel loves to be teased, dough! I wish, she loves dancing and playing with baby dolls and she and Rawl go through a ton of paper drawing.  This is much preferred to walls, so bring on the tree usage.  She is one smart cookie, she has memories of Utah that are pretty obscure!  My favorite song of hers is “Mama is so pretty” the best line of the song, it continues, “Daddy is so handsome, Rawl is so handsome, Milly is so pretty, I am so pretty and Georgie is so cute!”

When George was just born, I was so sore, so I told Rawl I was a Lake that he had to go AROUND.  Rawl put blankets around George to “go around the lake”, as now George was a ‘lake’ too.

So, it is getting cold as a booger as Dad Mitchell used to say it and so anyway, we send you our love from here in MN and will get you some real pics soon!  :)

We want you to know that although you don’t hear from us often enough, we all pray for you, adore you, and are so thankful for your sacrifice of love, time and service in the irreplaceable service to the Lord.  When you are feeling a bit down in the mouth (Mary Poppins), lazy, afeerd, pooped, home seeeck…jest remember, He is so proud of you and needs you so much.  You are top 10 on his priority list…if He had one!…  ”So, Jest for Christmas, be as good as you can be!”

Merry Christmas!  Love, Riley, Emily, Milly, Rawl, Hazel and George.

*poem for Adam, Billy you will enjoy this too, and did you know we found out from letters you were at the same conference w/ a general authority? Tis true.  Enjoy!

Jest ‘Fore Christmas by Eugene Field

Father calls me William, sister calls me Will,
Mother calls me Willie, but the fellers call me Bill!
Mighty glad I ain’t a girl—ruther be a boy,
Without them sashes, curls, an’ things that ‘s worn by Fauntleroy!
Love to chawnk green apples an’ go swimmin’ in the lake—
Hate to take the castor-ile they give for bellyache!
‘Most all the time, the whole year round, there ain’t no flies on me,
But jest ‘fore Christmas I ‘m as good as I kin be!

Got a yeller dog named Sport, sick him on the cat;
First thing she knows she does n’t know where she is at!
Got a clipper sled, an’ when us kids goes out to slide,
‘Long comes the grocery cart, an’ we all hook a ride!
But sometimes when the grocery man is worrited an’ cross,
He reaches at us with his whip, an’ larrups up his hoss,
An’ then I laff an’ holler, “Oh, ye never teched me!”
But jest ‘fore Christmas I ‘m as good as I kin be!

Gran’ma says she hopes that when I git to be a man,
I ‘ll be a missionarer like her oldest brother, Dan,
As was et up by the cannibuls that lives in Ceylon’s Isle,
Where every prospeck pleases, an’ only man is vile!
But gran’ma she has never been to see a Wild West show,
Nor read the Life of Daniel Boone, or else I guess she ‘d know
That Buff’lo Bill an’ cowboys is good enough for me!
Excep’ jest ‘fore Christmas, when I ‘m good as I kin be!

And then old Sport he hangs around, so solemnlike an’ still,
His eyes they seem a-sayin’: “What’s the matter, little Bill?”
The old cat sneaks down off her perch an’ wonders what’s become
Of them two enemies of hern that used to make things hum!
But I am so perlite an’ tend so earnestly to biz,
That mother says to father: “How improved our Willie is!”
But father, havin’ been a boy hisself, suspicions me
When, jest ‘fore Christmas, I ‘m as good as I kin be!

For Christmas, with its lots an’ lots of candies, cakes, an’ toys,
Was made, they say, for proper kids an’ not for naughty boys;
So wash yer face an’ bresh yer hair, an’ mind yer p’s and q’s,
An’ don’t bust out yer pantaloons, and don’t wear out yer shoes;
Say “Yessum” to the ladies, and “Yessur” to the men,
An’ when they ‘s company, don’t pass yer plate for pie again;
But, thinkin’ of the things yer ‘d like to see upon that tree,
Jest ‘fore Christmas be as good as yer kin be!

The time was racing by, my golden perfect fall with its magical zing to the air, its warm true Indian Summer sunshine and crispy crunchy leaves which had lingered unusually long was officially christened with snow late November. I was just enjoying my fall décor. December 1^st came and while my children drew out their own advent calendars, I felt curmudgeonly heavy. What to eat, where to start, too much to do, why can’t it still be fall? I didn’t even want to hear a Christmas tune! Blasphemy.

On my knees I plead for the Lord to bring me some of that ole’ time Christmas Spirit, with its childlike wonder and magic, where each burden becomes a delight…till the stress mounts, you pop, and another good prayer gets ya through…For most importantly and sadly of all, my poor baby, who was currently my mother-chocolate bar with his plump legs, and rosey face and disposition, was now bringing me dreaded resentment.

In the rocker with the babe, I plead again, this time in tears, Please help, Please help.

I brought George upstairs to nurse and without trying to do a single thing but relax and be still, a recent joy I’d discovered with baby number four, I lay and just was. From downstairs I heard my Milly singing in forced childhood reaching of the notes, to the Hallelujah chorus from Handle’s Messiah, and I even thought I heard little Rawl-purt additions. It twinged my soul a bit. Later that day, Milly had scurried downstairs to grab our old English Folk Song book of “The Friendly Beasts”, one of my favorite Christmas ditties, to sing along with her Christmas cd, which continued to melt my heart.

Then, a friend invited herself over, and I admit I was fearing the time sap, while self talking that she’d feed my soul too, but dreading it ever so slightly.  Yet as she cheerfully helped me get my four kids out for a breath of fresh air, tolerated Rawl putting snow on her feet, listened patiently to my children’s exuberatingly loud prattlings as we sipped our almond flavored hot carob drink, the joy started to flow freely and dearly.

In crazy madness the decorations came out with excited children recklessly taking out items pell-mell; my recently cleaned house resembled a war-zone, and my burden felt light as with emotionally energy I helped the children redeem a few of their messes.

The next day a black man called selling goods made by the blind; and was scrambling to keep me on the phone, as I reassured him I was going to purchase and his crackley voice tickled my soul and a smile beamed and I even outwardly chuckled in delight when he said “God bless you” and in unspoken understanding, atleast I hope, he chuckled back.

I then watched a friend’s son, and the children threw together their own Christmas dance. We simpley colored clothespins with markers to create ornaments, and I read Christmas poems loaded with sentiment, such as “Jest ‘fore Christmas”, my Father’s own memorized show-off tradition. Pretty soon the door bell rang, and with it arrived huge boxes bearing pillows from Bubba and Buka. With booming actions and voices bouncing off my wooden floors, my friend came to redeem her son and she reassuringly noted, “I don’t know how you do it”, which in our madness, we as mothers love to be justified.

Then Riley was safely back home, driving in fluffy white sparkly winter delight, and I was making pizza, and actually enjoying the process of bustling in my small kitchen as we ate piping hot pizza with crispy chewy crust. (Just heat that pizza stone to 450-500 upwards of an hour, and see what happens). I felt such unusual comfort and satisfaction in feeding my family this warm meal…

Then bundled in the van, Riley lovingly loaded up the Cd player with Cecil and Brian Stokes Mitchell Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and the feeling of love, Christ, and magic wrapped like a Christmas dream about me, except the moments when I had to turn the volume up, over the children’s fighting, of course.

Oh how the children loved the nativity sets at the crèche display, Hazel and Milly and I watched in stillness while Rawl received a time out. Then busy as bees they were playing with the hands on displays for children and dressing up in nativity garb too, you know tying his self up to the chair with golden rope, in the case of Rawl.

Yes, we dared the adult displays and watching the children dart here and there and pointing too exuberantly, and then be reigned in by Daddy’s strong hands to hold his own, was dear. Hazel loved the white and gold sets, while MIlly loved the detailed ornate sets. “Look how beautiful Mary looks, how handsome Joseph is, how rich the wiseman is” she said in tones of reverence with warm velvety sighs of “ohhhh’s”.

The lovely woman playing the violin with each treat of a song such as “What Child is this…”, coupled with the intrigue of each foreign and beloved set, brought the magic so thick in the air, I could cut it with a knife, and sadness tugged as I walked down the hall to the exits. As Milly begged to re-visit the childrnen’s exhibit, I added, “Yes, let the children go back for the 15 hearts till closing, and I’ll go look at my favorites one last time!” All too soon it was homeward bound, but Riley stopped for cheap apple juice for the children, and pure, true, undistilled, tart, rich, delightfully sweet and just for grown ups, and it was movie watching and present drafting time for us on the sofa…and there I was, a transformed, Emily Gay….(for those of you who don’t know, that is my treasured, albeit misunderstood, middle name.)

I opened the oven and took out the heated French toast and sucanat sugared bacon, and the warms smells kissed the wintery air and blessed my cozy kitchen with love, warmth and safety; I’d assembled the parts to the breakfast yesterday and with hot pad and pan in hand, could deliver it quickly and neatly to the earlier-before Riley left for work, breakfast table.

Our berry syrup steamed in the lightly blue-tinted vintage jar which bubbled in a pan of water on the stove top. “Mmmmm….Mudder this is delicious!” Hazel cried in three year old Hazel styled rhapsody. Soon the children busily waved frantically at their Father in desperate hopes that he’d wave back, which he always does, as he left to work.

For a special treat, we packed Daddy’s birthday lunch in a bag and the jars clanged as they conglomerated in a saucy jamboree—Riley’s home made chipotle barbecue and his life time supply of tear jirking horseradish. “Ahhh, I forgot the bread knife I thought”, as we rolled out the driveway. No matter; we need a good excuse to go into the office building. Milly and Hazel with their back packs on, were prepared for quite the potty pit stop. “We need to go potty!” I plead to the ready, willing, and waiting husband; the girls outfitted in suspicious back packs. Once in, Milly increduosly inquired, Why did you lie, you just went!” “Well, I’m sure I could squeeze out a drop!” I defensively replied. After we hid various surprises of jerky, coconut white chocolate, and etc, Milly resumed her integritous stance! Phew! My Book of Mormon study that morning…to the rescue! I explained how the Lamanite-Nephite, had told the Lamanites that the Nephites were asleep and that he had some of their liquors to share for fun. Though this Nephite was tricking the Lamanites, he was doing so to rescue their women and children war prisoners and to curb the need for extra bloodshed to redeem them. Tricking to save lives, or to keep birthday surprises…is ok I explained! Alma 55J

The pic-nic was cold, but bearable with our warm car-kit items. The sun penetrated gaily through the cold air making it a clear, bright and deep fall day. As we drove to the pic-nic, it felt so October 19^th, Riley-ish to me!

Back at the office, Milly warned her father who had been duped by the back packs at Hazel’s silliness and hadn’t even noted Milly’s huge pack, “If you notice anything different about the office…” GROAN! We’d made it this far! ‘You keep surprises like your Father!” I commiserated.  Sigh.  Good thing he doesn’t love surprises as much as me, I think he appreciated the hint.

Once home, I set George for a nap and lay down myself, and I wiped a warm bit of drewl which welcomingly reassured myself that I too had slumbered.

Then, up and at it, I busied myself making Riley’s birthday dinner, his own 6^th love language, FOOD. Before I knew it we were eating dinner by candlelight and George snuggled someone else’s bosom. In the quiet light, we ate as my vintage pioneery skirts rustled with feminine romance; a 70′s Gunny Sack design; I felt pretty with each step in this change of outfit from an era bygone and love for Riley radiated from my heart..

Soon the night was but a memory; after the delightfully fresh coconut pineapple cake* using whole wheat and sucanat refreshed and sang down our meal with a birthday chorus for Riley, the kids in bed, and I in frequent usual fashion, fell right asleep to the movie we watched on the couch to close the day and eyelids.

*Birthday cake inspired from my Sister in Law Katie’s Pinacolada cake; accomplished by punching holes with the large ended wooden spoon, and drizzling coconut syrup in, and adding coconut to this healthy white cake recipe linked above…our first wheat cake and it was awesome!

Birthday season is a fun one. Sometimes the actual day is a little stressful for the pressure within one’s own soul to feel the love of those around us. This time when I got that sad birthday feeling I asked Christ to heal it and it left as fast as it came and I just sat back and enjoyed the love and ignored the misbehavior of the children. Truly kids are still kids on their mother’s birthdays. But it is as my friend Jeralyn said, “I hope you get some more hugs and kisses from them on your day…and do you know, I did!

Now, the day before, I got to experience some Love of the Lord, given in the Lord’s fashion, unexpectedly. When my ceiling traumatically fell through as it was filled with the water left on by my son while playing “ocean” I found out later. The scriptures say, when we are keeping the commandments, God is our support through times of trial.  See ** below.

I love that connection this scripture makes between prosperity, keeping the commandments, and receiving both BLESSED trials, SUPPORTED TRIALS.

As I looked back on the day before my birthday, I thought at first, boy did I waste my time on that family night lesson, I spent an hour preparing it, when I usually fly by the seat of my pants in teaching family night, and it was rudely interrupted with raining in our living room, spotted by a distracted Milly who wandered from the dinner table’s lesson. But when I looked back, I realized studying “ceasing from anger, in the middle of heated moments” was indeed FOR ME , for indeed, my soul was stabilized in this traumatic moment. And indeed I realized when my friend came over not 30 minutes before brining delicious pumpkin dip with ginger snaps saying “Happy Birthday Eve“ was indeed my Heavenly message from God of complete love saying, “Iam perfectly aware of you tonight and I want you to know though your day isn’t working as planned, that I love you!”
Then when my daughter stayed up helping her Daddy clean the fridge and said “As if anyone would want their ceiling to fall through on the night before their birthday!” I experienced the blessing of feeling a six year old’s profound empathy and service which was another manifestation of God’s love, as was my husband’s tireless help dedicated just for me, despite this extra grundle of service dumped on his platter, he still organized a cupboard for me and cleaned the fridge! He is one stud muffin!

Then also, I was given an opportunity to STRETCH. I felt this was a failure for myself, but I look back at it as growth. When Rawl pressed and pressed by popping out of bed, and then I found him in his room with a huge web made, a dirtied JUST CLEANED BY ME, closet, and pumpkin mashed in the floor, I told him I was “Tired of Him”. In my bath I felt defeated, I desperately wished I had said I was TIRED, not tired of HIM. I wanted to vomit out my temper and vomit out my hormones, the two sources of my most hated sins or temptations, yet I realized with this feeling came the thought and desire to be BORN AGAIN. I pictured shedding this OLD SKIN, this OLD MAN, and Walking anew in him!

Photo Credit

I Pictured infant Em being born, then a 33 year old Em righteously BECOMING born again.

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So, indeed, I can look back in this trial, knowing that God gave to me a BLESSED

trial, and an abundance of love for my birthday! I thank my parents for teaching me to learn from trials.

On my Birthday, I thoroughly enjoyed phone calls from those I LOVE and cherish on my day, and emails and facebook messages. Riley’s melt in my mouth gnokies, were divine. My friends treated me to a homemade lunch with apple crisp and I feel to shout “How blessed am I among women”, if I dare share blessed Mary’s acclamation. An “I love you Mom.” Spontaneously given by Rawl, a “Happy Birthday Mom.” Sung by Hazel in her sing-song way….and best of all an abundance of OBEDIENCE from Milly who is such a lovely!

Age 33 was a blessed day, and as my mom puts it, adults can enjoy birthday weeks as love floats in over the course of a week! I re-discovered Elder Uchtdorf’s talk yesterday, birthday week November 4^th, about experiencing love. It is a treasure. Please share in this treasure and treat yourself! …Talking about how we can become BORN AGAIN, how we can EXPERIENCE his DIVINE LOVE, and GIVE THIS LOVE as we KEEP HIS GREAT commandments…THE TWO GREAT
COMMANDMENTS, which WHEN KEPT our keeping of all other commandments BECOMES JOYFUL FOR US.

Watch The LoVE OF GOD.

My good friend Julie once told me after her birthday that she hoped she would grow in Christ’s grace that year, and she recently sent me this beautiful hymn. I hope I can, like my mother and a friend shared with me the purpose of the symbolism of baptism by complete immersion, be able to completely submit myself more fully to Him,

“I am thine, dear blessed Jesus, all thine,
All of self now to the death I consign.
Gladly, gladly all I have I resign,
That salvation in it’s fullness be mine.”

… ‘Tis a blessings that my heart long has craved,
Glory, glory be to Jesus, I’m saved!”

And to this with my personal touch, I add, Glory, glory be to Jesus who SAVES me, as with each rescue, I thank Him whom I repeatedly need for RE-SAVING!

**  1 My ^ason, give ear to my words; for I swear unto you, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land.

2 I would that ye should do as I have done, in remembering the captivity of our fathers; for they were in ^abondage, and none could ^bdeliver them except it was the ^cGod of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he surely did deliver them in their afflictions.

3 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their ^atrust in God shall be supported in their ^btrials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be ^clifted up at the last day.

We used to look forward to Christmas, but now that we live in Minnesota, our Christmas can be any time of year….when family comes to visit!

You may have heard the good news, that Riley Balling is officially Riley Balling, Esquire….well, it just so happens that when Riley’s folks came to visit, we all got to celebrate together this joyous news that he passed the bar.  I got so happy, I bought myself flowers!  Wait, shouldn’t I have gotten something for Riley?  Woops!

Congratulations Riley!!!  We are ALL so proud of you!!!  You should have heard how tickled my mom was when I called to tell her the news!  That night we celebrated with Riley’s Mom and Dad outside at a local BBQ joint, with little leaves twirling down over hot ribs~and awesome bbq sauce!  Thanks honey~ Not to mention Riley’s humbolt fog cheese and icecream!!  Thanks Mom B.  ~~~

So, the week was deliciously bright and beautiful!  Everyone told us later that this was an unusually gorgeous and warm autumn, and to me it was a testimony of Heavenly Father’s love for Mom and Dad Balling and their sacrifice to come~each day was literally perfect, be it warm, or sunny-fall crisp, with lovely leaves still on the trees in their full glory of  melons, golds, browns and reds.

You name it, we did it!  Hiking, zooing, parking, pumpkin patching, apple orcharding, icecreaming.  Well, Mom and Dad took the kids to the park and to icecream on foot, very brave, and the kids loved it!

”

Hazel: “Uppy Grandpa!”

THAT is the smile of TRIUMPH!

Riley and I were treated for a very lovely date night amongst the fall leaves, and Bubba and Buka took the kids for the day while I sewed!!!!  My favorite was when I was sewing and I could here Grandpa and Rawl playing catch in the back yard, and George gurgling with Buka!  Wow, treat me to some time to do something, love my kids, and wipe my counters and I am puddy in your hands~

Did I mention that we did a little Pie-ing??? Possibly my favorite of all.  Signature Dad-Bubba Balling Apple Pie!  And did you know that both when my mom left, and Bubba and Buka, that Riley and I happily, yet very sadly, ate a last piece of apple pie?