Check Yourself...

It is interesting to me how this world works. My sweet Hazel is having surgery tomorrow and I have taken my usual road of tough mother. I am calm, collected and organized. Filling my days and nights with covering my commitments. I am dotting my i's and crossing my t's. Young women's? Covered, Tennis team and court times? Check. Boys carpools to practices, school and playdates? Check, check.

Then, suddenly it begins to happen...reality. The hospital calls and goes over the final details. Times to check in, time of the surgery, etc. Then, I am me again.

Do you know what the most amazing thing about all of this is? That is when the phone calls pour in. Today I had so many phone calls of well wishers. Many were expected, but many more were very random in nature. The crazy licorice lady from across the fence called...what kind of memory does she have? (she throws packages of licorice to the boys when they are playing basketball. Without fail, you are out there and whooooosh, comes the licorice.) Family call and make sure there is nothing to do. To tell the truth, sometimes I just had to let it go to voicemail.

I just went out to the garbage can and there was a care package on the front porch. It had goodies and a stuffed toy for Hazel. The package was from a new friend in the neighborhood, the friendship beginning with the Young women calling. I really do not know her well. She has a daughter Hazel's age and an older daughter who had heart surgery when she was young. The card was very sweet and at the end she told me to read 3 Ne 17:21-24, as her husband had instructed her to do before their daughters surgery. I immediately read it and have been filled with emotion since. I know that my Hazel will be fine and I have always known that, no matter how much I know that, it still doesn't make it much easier for me. Tonight I really have seen that the opposite of fear is love and the love I have felt from all the calls and well wishes is pushing my fears aside. Thanks to all of you...

Pumpkin Patch

This year we had a little pumpkin patch in the backyard. It was the perfect thing to take over the flower beds. At least that way we didn't have to see any of the weeds anymore!! It turned out the pumpkins liked the spot as well. We ended up with 15 or so. We also had gourds and cantaloupe back there. Today we harvested the pumpkins. Here are the farmers themselves!!

A side note about the cantaloupe...one day we are out playing and we notice some moment in the vines of the cantaloupe. There were mice eating our cantaloupe!! Needless to say, we pulled them out.