June 26th

Tim comes home tomorrow! 15 hours and counting!

More work on the front landscaping today...6 hours total to be exact. The kids stepped in to help once in a while. Nate stepped in at just the right moment when all those rocks were starting to feel REALLY HEAVY!

Megan and Joie hung their art in the tree.

Then we went to see UP and went to Applebees for dinner. Just as we were coming out of the restaurant we spotted Angie Larsen from Good Things Utah waiting outside with her family. The funny part is I actually recognized the shirt she was wearing on the show today before I recognized her. She looks shorter in person. :-)

June 25th

Our days are sounding more and more the same...which means the attempt at landscaping is kicking my butt! It will be beautiful when it is finished. I actually went to work today (yawn) and as good fortune would have it, my 5:00 cancelled and my 6:00 showed up an hour early. That NEVER happens, at least not without me calling to invite my later appointment to come in a little earlier. The end result was me going home earlier and getting more of the flower gardens done... See? It's all about the flower gardens!!!

June 24th

It's broken!

Aside from the broken toe, Jeran's day was quite boring...but he and Joie both got haircuts. Joie wanted hers short again. She wanted it shorter than this, but I talked her out of it. Cute kids!

Also in the day's news: I took Megan and Joie to the orthodontist early this morning and we discovered the Durango had been broken into last night. We're missing some DVD's, my favorite sunglsses and my favorite waterbottle. We were kind of kicking ourselves for leaving the car unlocked, but when we called in the police report we found out several others in the neighborhood had broken windows. Glad ours was unlocked!

Today also involved more landscaping, Megan babysitting again and Nate going on a hike with the scouts...it's almost 10:00 p.m. and he's not home yet, so we'll let you know tomorrow how that went. If there aren't broken bones, we're ok with that.

June 23rd

We're continuing the daily blog while Tim is in Georgia as part of his Father's Day present and I'm beginning to wonder how people actually blog on a daily basis...it sounded like a great idea when we made up the Father's Day present... Today we continued working on the front yard landscaping.

The girls planted ivy.

Nate and I hauled mulch from the spot where our tree used to be to the flower beds and planted shrubs against the house in the flower beds.

Hard at work planting ivy.

It was also an injury day for the boys. Nate also grated off part of his thumb while grating some cheese for lunch. Later Jeran jammed his toes on his right foot and jammed the toenail of his big toe so hard it pushed it under the skin at the base of his toenail. Tonight his toe is swollen and blue. I'm predicting the possibility of a doctor's visit in tomorrow's plans, along with the possibility of no new injuries. ...By the way, we did take a picture of Jeran's toe and will show it to anyone who wants to see it, but for the second time in blog history I'm exercising the power of censorship for the sake of those who don't want to see Jeran's injured toe.

June 22nd

Continuig part of Tim's father's day gift to blog daily while he's in Georgia.... Today Esther, Phil and their family were here from Colorado. We loved just hanging out with them. The cherries were ripe on our tree so the boys picked cherries...even little Bingham had to get in on the action. Later that afternoon we all met up with Jarmans and went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. The temple was beautiful and it was great to be able to go with so many family members. Tonight we hung out here at home again and ended up planting some plants in the front gardens...it got dark before we finished so that part is definitely to be continued tomorrow.

June 21st

As promised, we're doing a blog a day while Tim is gone as part of his Father's Day present so he can see what we're doing without him. We're discovering that the trick may be getting the camera to capture the most important events, but this is what we did capture.

Joie wanted to be in charge of pictures for Father's day while we were at Tim's parents' house. This is proof we were there...no pictures of Grandpa Jarman.

Tim called when we were on our way home and all the kids talked to him for a few minutes.

We pulled 2 ginormous weeds from behind the shrubs in our back yard.

Yes, we really are that boring.

Happy Father's Day!

What would we do without our dads? We wish you all a Happy Father's Day. Tim will be leaving to go out of town tomorrow for the entire week so as part of his father's day present we'll be posting pictures each day of what we're doing while he's gone. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.

Grandpa Campbell

Grandpa and Grandma Jarman

Yes, that's all 6 of us on Splash Mountain! We sure love that guy in front!

And we love this daddy too.

SCUBA

Last month Tim and his friend, Dave, took the kids to try out SCUBA diving. Tim is already certified. After the free trial he signed up Nate, Megan and Jeran for lessons and Dave and his daughter also signed up. Joie was a year too young and a few swimming skills short of being able to sign up, and I am personally not enticed by swimming under water, so she and I had a few weeks of bonding time...shopping, giving each other manicures, cooking...yeah, I know...as good as it sounds it doesn't quite rival SCUBA diving. So back to the real heroes of the story... Together there was enough of them to form their own class, and after two weeks of classes, studying, and an open water dive (yes, in Utah), they are all certified SCUBA divers and planning a big vacation for next summer.

Diana Jo Weaver Jarman

I love island traditions. Many of them have their roots in maintaining human relationships, and I have always been amazed at the wisdom that is in the simplicity of age-old customs and once again I find myself thinking of an island tradition that helps bring peace to our family situation. In the Marshall Islands, all of a mother's sisters are mothers to her children and all of a father's brothers are fathers to his children. Children call all their parents by mother and father, and readily accept care and comfort from numerous mothers and fathers in their lifetimes. Just as readily, they give respect and deference to the guidance and instruction of all their parents. The wisdom of this custom allows for the complete care of a child.

Today we legally adopted Joie, and I found myself feeling thankful again for an island tradition I was introduced to nearly 20 years ago that has helped me to embrace the idea of being another mother to Joie. I can't begin to explain the feelings connected to the idea of having to take the place of parents Joie has lost, but thinking of myself as another mother frees me from that impossible ideal and allows me to settle into the gentle, loving care of a little girl who deserves nothing less.

I believe strongly that every child deserves to grow up feeling the bonds of love and affection that are part of parent-child relationships. To me that means more than care. It is the absolute spontaneous sharing of life and emotions that we share only with those who are closest to us. The tasks of day-to-day caring come easily, but the task of moving from familiar status to one of parents and child who share a unique bond has been at times daunting. I have often wondered at how a child could come into the home of near strangers and form bonds of attachment, and truly, the task has been as much hers as it is ours. I marvel at the courage of a little girl that will allow her heart to love and trust again after losing everything. Through the days of hearing, "I hate you!" and "You're all bunch of idiots!" two thoughts have remained with me: 1) Every child deserves to have the love of a family; and 2) A kind, merciful, loving Father in Heaven did not intend for one of his children to grow up in pain without the love of a family.

All these thoughts lead me to the present. Tonight Joie fell asleep in my arms on the couch. The other kids had gone to bed and I just let her sleep until something woke her up. She has only done that one other time, and it brings peace to my heart to see her relax into letting herself be close to parents who were at one time strangers to her and who are trying as hard as she is to figure this out as we go along. I found myself holding her and thinking again of island traditions, and even more importantly of gospel traditions such as hope, faith, healing, atonement, and eternity. These gospel traditions are real, and are athe reason for our hearts and lives being whole. It is with love we welcome Joie into our family. What a blessing she is in our lives!

Tim Then and Now

Happy Birthday to the greatest guy in the world! We love you and are thankful we get to share your life. You're an amazing dad and husband.

Tim SCUBA diving, sometime after his mission. The picture is fitting seeing how he's been in classes for the last 2 weeks with Nate, Megan, and Jeran getting them certified as well. SCUBA and wood working are Tim's hobbies.

And family is his other hobby!

(Pictures courtesy of Tawny)

Megan Now...

Happy 11th birthday Megan!

Megan Then...

Megan turned 11 years old on June 1st. Happy Birthday Megan! What a blessing you have been in our lives. We're thankful for you every day.

Besides the passport photo, this is the first picture we have of Megan. This was taken when she arrived at the Salt Lake Airport on August 28th, 1998.

Megan walked at 8 months old!

Age 3

Age 8