Ma & Pa

It has been quite a while since I've posted our happenings...  As usual, we have both been very busy with our jobs--Ben continues to build his alarm company and I couldn't be prouder of him for all of his hard work and dedication to it. We've been very patient this year as we put so much time, money, and effort into this business and now it sweet to finally begin seeing the fruits of our labors.  I continue to work from home and travel to DFW a couple times a month for meetings and events.  When we aren't working we've been completing baby room projects, planning Sunday lessons, Tuesday youth activities and prepping/attending the San Antonio North Stake Youth Pioneer Trek.  We were asked to be a Ma and Pa and both Ben and I, despite our busy schedules and my baby bump, jumped at the opportunity. I had never been on a trek as a youth so this was finally my opportunity to experience one.  Ben loves the youth and the outdoors and doesn't mind roughing it one bit so of course he was excited as well.

In the beginning of March we had our 12 children ...trek children... come to our home for a family gathering.  We had a pizza party and created a flag, cheer and skit for the trek.  We named ourselves the "Super Snarr's" and of course Ben, the arTist drew our awesome Superman. As a Ma and Pa we received 8 hour Trek training sessions--Wow...is all I can say to the amounts of work and preparation that goes into having such an event.  We definitely love our youth! After all the prep,came the real thing--a 3 day trek on March 11-13, at the YO Ranch in Keller, TX.  Everyone thought I was crazy for participating while 30 weeks pregnant and they tried to baby me the whole time but honestly being pregnant didn't hinder me. I was just fine walking 13 miles the first day and about 4 miles each of the next two days, it was the sleeping on the hard ground under the stars with frost on our sleeping bags that was the uncomfortable part! I was lucky to have the "cat's meow" sleeping bag which kept me toasty warm but how I wish I had an air mattress or a pillow! There were times I had such a hard time sleeping that i'd sit up and stare at the stars and wonder when on earth the sun would come up.  But other than the sleeping arrangements Trek was such a great experience for Ben and I and our 12 children. Our children were wonderful- and thought we had the best family (I would definitely agree.)  The Stake made an effort to place children in families who weren't already friends, so although many of our children didn't know each other this experience bonded and united them. It was eye opening for us all to have a subtle taste of what the pioneers went through for their love of and dedication to the gospel. Amazing. Like the pioneers, we cooked all of our food on the fire, ate the toughest beef jerky, the blandest johnny cakes (cornmeal and water cooked in a dutch oven and drizzled with honey), walked for miles in the hot sun- pulling a 500 lb. handcart, sang hymns along the way,  froze our booties off at night, and went without modern technology and amenities (no phones, cameras, showers, deodorant etc.).  Each family encountered challenges along the path.  Our family's challenge was that a herd of buffalo stampeded through our path and we lost two of our oxen and had to search for them.  We then learned how the pioneers made jerky and each had a taste of it. During a portion of the trek the men were taken away to help the Mormon Battalion and the women had to pull for 5 miles on their own.  I think the girls discovered they are strong, courageous and capable to do hard things. I was proud of my girls--they didn't complain but sang songs and were cheerful along the way. A lesson, I learned from this is that the Atonement of Jesus Christ does not always take away your trials but helps you to bear them.  The Pioneers experienced hardship but somehow had the courage to keep going--that courage came from powers beyond their own. And most pioneers felt that the price they paid to become acquainted with God was well worth it.  I think that the youth who participated learned that valuable lesson as well.  The Testimony Meeting at the end of trek went on for hours and it was sweet to hear how their faith had grown through this experience.

For me, this experience was also eye opening to see how irritated I could became having 12 teenagers- yeesh! They ask so many questions! But my love for each of them grew and I learned to be more patient and realized a bit of how much a parent serves and sacrifices for their children. I guess this was great prep for being a real Ma! I'm sure Ben would agree that it was great prep for being a real Pa too!