Time for V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!!

Yes, summer is here and it is time for vacation!!





Maybe do a little fishing...




Watch some beautiful sunsets



Maybe a little jungle exploring...






Or a boat ride to see the divided waters....

Or a day at the beach....

Manaus and Itacoatiara, BRAZIL...Here I come....Here we come!

We can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! More when we come home next month...

Do you need bows for your little girls??

I have made a lot more bows since the last time I posted pictures. If you are interested in any of these bows, please let me know in the next week. I will be taking quite a few to Brazil in 2 weeks. Even if you just want me to hold on to it until you can pay for it, let me know or I will be taking it. Also, I have beanie hats and head bands if you are interested. The colors in the pictures are all I have right now, but I can get any color you want if you let me know. Sorry the pictures are kind of sloppy. I was in a hurry to get them posted!

Seriously, When will the bad news end???

The bad news from Brazil seems to keep coming and with no end!
First, Naldo's dad decided to go to our land 8 hours away to harvest some crops. He didn't say exactly how long he'd be gone, but from the looks of what he took for supplies, it seemed he would be gone for 1 month. One month passed, and he didn't come home...month and a half passed...still no word...Two months passed...still no word. Finally, I told Naldo that maybe we should send a boat out to look for him since it has been a very rainy season and the water levels are extremely high. Time passed and he still didn't come home, so we sent the rescue team out searching for him. They found him alive, busily working although he was all out of food (spices, sugar, salt, coffee, etc.) He was living completely off the land and would eat whatever he was able to kill. The water levels were too high to catch fish. It was a huge relief to know he was ok and coming home in a week.
Naldo called to tell me the news that they found him. Although he lead me on for over 5 minutes saying he was dead, that he got really sick and didn't make it to the hospital, that they brought his body and to bury him that night, etc. I was crying, very upset, almost ready to throw up when Naldo told me he was just kidding. If I could, I would have reached right through the phone and punched Naldo!!
Fast forward to last Thursday evening. I get and email from my brother in law saying, "As soon as you read this email call Raimundo (my father in law). I had a gut feeling it was very bad news so I had Naldo call to find out what was going on. A few minutes later, Naldo calls me back and says that there was a terrible accident involving Joncil, Veronica, and their son Jon-jon (his sister, brother in law and my nephew). I instantly felt a sick feeling in my stomach and he went on to say it was a very ugly accident, that Joncil and Jon-jon were ok, but that Veronica was in critical condition in Manaus. That was all the news he had.
He made a few more phone calls and found out that she had a broken arm and was cut severly from the glass, but that she wasn't able to get into a hospital because they were all full in Manaus. She had a miserable night in complete pain as my father in law and aunt pulled glass from her body. The next day she was able to get into a hospital where they casted her arm. Tomorrow, she goes in for surgery to see what they can do to fix her arm. It was completely crushed in the accident and has many small bone segments throughout her arm that need to be removed.
So you ask, how did the accident happen?? Here's the story from Veronica who amazingly stayed awake for most of the time and remembers exactly what happened. Joncil was heading out of Itacoatiara to return a car to Manaus for a man. Not far from Itacoatiara, he decided to change a CD and glanced away for a short second to load the CD and get it started. He was going 100 KM (about 60 mph). There was a curve in the road and as he looked up, it was too late to try the curve. He went off the road and the car began rolling. On the first roll, Veronica was thrown from the car (not wearing her seat beat.) She came flying out the back window of the car and rolled a few times on the ground before her body stopped. She broke the back window with her back/butt. On the second roll, Joncil was thrown from the car out of his driver side window. The car rolled a third time before it came to rest. The 2 year old child was still inside of the car. People in the area heard the crash and came running for help. Joncil was screaming and trying to get to the car to see if his son was alive. He was covered in blood and dirty, however, the blood was not his - it was Veronica's. He was able to get out of the car with no injury what so ever. Joncil was in extreme pain and was begging people to take care of his wife and to not let her die. They were taken to the hospital in Itacoatiara and the doctor wouldn't even help Veronica. He sent her on to Manaus although she didn't get in a hospital the day of the accident. Joncil and Jon-jon stayed in Itacoatiara while Raimundo went with Veronica to Manaus. He went today to be with her as she has surgery tomorrow.
We love Veronica and her family so much and we are so grateful to Heavenly Father for watching over them in this tragic accident. It is a complete miracle she is alive. My faith has been increased greatly from these 2 experiences. It still makes me sick to see these pictures. If you didn't know the story and you saw these pictures, you would for sure think whoever was in the car passed away. Heavenly Father is almighty!

In this picture, you can see Veronica's shoe left on the seat she was sitting on. How she went out the back window and not the front is a complete mystery. We are grateful she is alive and trying to stay strong though the pain and suffering she is enduring.

Bows, Bows, and more Bows!!!

If you are interested in buying any of these bows, let me know...or if you have specific colors you would like, I can make any bow in the color you want.

Why does it always happen to the best??

Last Sunday, my niece told me there was a rumor going around that Joe Dickerson passed away in a car accident. Later it was confirmed to be true. I was in total shock when I heard the news. Although Joe didn't know me well, I knew who he was and have heard many good things about him. I went to several wrestling matches while my nephew was in High school and saw Joe wrestle also. He was not only a great athlete on the mat, he was a loyal teammate. It was even funnier to wach his mom while he was wrestling. She was just as much in the match as Joe was. She would throw her arms up and scream at him what to do! He was the kind of kid that would totally beat a kid up wrestling and then turn around and pick him up off the mat and made sure he was ok. Not to mention, he is awesome with hair clippers and scissors. He would put designs in all the boys hair for state wrestling. He did an awesome scorpion on my nephew. Even this year, he came home from college just to do cool designs for the wrestlers. School Spirt lived on in him even after High school!!
You could tell from just watching him that he was a good friend to all and was liked by everyone no matter where he went. I think he had "girl friends" in every city around just because he was such a nice boy and the girls would fall hard for him! Joe was my nephew's best friend so I saw him several times over at my sisters house also.
It just isn't fair these kind of things happen to good, innocent people. Three things are to be learned from this accident: 1.) Don't drive when you are sleepy, 2.) Always buckle up 3.) Be prepared always because you don't know when your time will come.

Joseph Thomas Dickerson (Joe)

Sept. 21, 1989 - April 26, 2009
Weiser

Joseph (Joe) Thomas Dickerson, beloved son, brother and friend, passed away Sunday, April 26, 2009. Joe, 19, was from Weiser, Idaho.Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 30, 2009, at Saint Agnes Catholic Church, Weiser. A prayer vigil and viewing will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, 2009, at Saint Agnes Catholic Church. All are invited to attend.Memorials may be made in Joe’s memory to Weiser High School Athletics for an award/scholarship to be named in Joe’s honor.Joe was the third child of Doug and Kyla Dickerson, of Weiser. He was born on Sept. 21, 1989, at Weiser Memorial Hospital. Joe had three siblings — an older sister, Kelly (Dickerson) Cobb, an older brother, Drew Dickerson, and a younger brother, Luke Dickerson. Joe also had a brother-in-law, Matt Cobb, and nieces and nephews, Sydney, Madison, Kash and Tyson Cobb. Grandparents to Joe were Roy and Norma Dickerson, Weiser, and Richard and Mary Margaret Giever, Boise. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandmother, Helen Dickerson.
Born and raised in Weiser, Joe was active in many school activities. He attended Weiser High School and was a hard-working, dedicated athlete. He excelled on both the football and wrestling teams. Joe was always pushing himself and his teammates to do better, and his work ethic was unmatched. Also at WHS, Joe participated in school musicals, where his creativity and humor shown through, and he was a crowd favorite. Joe graduated high school in May of 2008. He then went on to attend college at Eastern Oregon State University in La Grande, Ore. It is while at Eastern that Joe’s amazing artistic talents really started to shine. He had a passion for drawing and created many beautiful pieces of artwork. Photography was another passion of Joe’s, and he was a rising star with his photographs.One of Joe’s greatest passions was his love of the outdoors. He was an avid fisherman and hunter. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service in the summer and greatly enjoyed the opportunity to work with wonderful people and to work in the outdoors. Some of Joe’s most special and memorable times were of the annual “pack trips” he would make with his dad, brothers and friends. It was there in the “back country” where Joe really felt at home. He loved to play cards, fish and just sit around the campfire with the boys. Joe will be greatly missed.Joe was a hard-working, compassionate and loving young man. He had countless friends and was always there for them with a joke and a smile. Joe was a bright light in our family, and we miss him dearly.
We know we will see him again. He is watching down on us, and, as in life, he will always be there for the ones he loves! Services under the direction of Thomason Funeral Home.Condolences may be made online at http://www.lienkaemper-thomason.com/.

Funny conversation with Sarah

Me: Sarah - Did you cry when LaNae did your hair like that because whenever I try to do it like that, you cry!

Sarah: I didn't cry, I didn't want LaNae to think I was a baby, but it hurt BAD.



HAHA...I laughed so hard!! I keep telling her if she keeps crying about everything that people in school will think she is a baby!! Sarah never ceases to amaze me with what she comes up with. She says some of the funniest things ever and I never know where she comes up with her ideas.

Awesome Weekend!!

Friday after school, we headed to Utah for the weekend. We got there and the kids thought they were starving so we ate at McDonald's quickly. Chuck E Cheese's happens to be near McDonald's so we called LaNae to see if she wanted to bring the kids and play with my girls there. We did and had a wonderful time! Afterwards, we went to LaNae's house and played a new game called Ticket to Ride. It was fun!! Saturday morning we went to see Luke's house. My mom hadn't see it yet, so it was fun to take her out and show her. We visited for a while and then decided we were getting hungry so we left and ate at the Sizzler quickly. We went to LaNae's and had a little birthday party for Sabrina since it was her birthday. I got a pinata and had pizza, cake and icecream. The kids all took turn hitting the pinata, but it didn't break. The stick broke! We then used a broom handle and it broke too. Finally, Jake was able to break the pinata and the kids each got quite a bit of candy! That evening, Naldo, Julliana, Lilise and I went shopping for a while and then we came back and everyone had gone. We went to bed and the whole night I was so worried I wouldn't hear my alarm on my cell phone so I didn't sleep well. Well, needless to say about 5:30 I had enough and got up and got ready. We left around 6:00 a.m. because my mom was getting a little anxious. We arrived in SLC and had the car parked in the parking garage by 7:00! I parked and then decided it would be smarter to back in so I could just pull out after conference - so I turned around and backed in. We started walking and mom was soooo sure she was going the right way. We got down 1/2 block and I told her she was crazy and going the wrong way...yeah...she was totally going the wrong way. We made it to the conference center and we were about 5th in line from the door. We waited about 30 minutes outside. It wasn't cold, so that was good. Once we got in, we sat in the terrace section at the very bottom practically so it seemed as though were on the floor. It was so cool. They were recording Music and the spoken word when we got there, but did it again live at 9:30 and then conference started right after that. I was so tired, so it was a struggle for a while in the beginning to stay awake. Once conference started, I was wide awake. It is so amazing how many people could fit in that conference center. Every single seat was filled. I liked all the talks, but the one that sticks out in my mind and really caught my attention was Elder Hollands about Jesus Christ and His ministry. Just sitting there listening brought tears to my eyes. The message about Christ's ministry has been talked about many times in church, conferences, talks, etc, but the way Elder Holland talked about it with such reverence and love, it really hit me hard. It was so powerful to be sitting at the Prophet and Apostles feet literally. I'll never forget this experience and wish everyone everywhere had the opportunity at least once in their lifetime to go to conference in SLC. After conference, we were able to get right out and back on the freeway by 12:30 pm. We met Naldo in Bountiful. He brought the girls up so we didn't have to drive back down to Provo to get them. We left and made it home safe and sound. This weekend passed by so quickly, but it was one amazing and awesome weekend. A big THANKS to my sister for letting us stay at her house and use it for Sabrina's party! She's the BEST ever!!