Another Kandell Update.

{Pictures from our visit to Thanksgiving Point Farm this past week}

Seems as though I haven't given any personal updates in awhile. Summer is upon us, life is busy and time flies. So here is a little break down/catch up on each of us.

Eric {daddy}

We actually have been missing Eric a little more this past couple of weeks. He was been super busy with work etc. And last weekend, he was in Scottsdale, Arizona for the weekend on his annual guys golf trip. He takes this trip every year with some of his old BYU buddies. They have a great time, golfing, going out for nice dinners {he has a new favorite steakhouse in AZ} and relaxing at the pool, and I imagine talking a lot about work. We of course miss him since I usually look forward to co-parenting on the weekends. But I am glad he got a little getaway. This week work was also very busy and a couple nights he got home long after the kids were in bed so we were happy to have him all weekend this week. He is becoming even more of a BBQ whiz this summer. Tonight he is even making, like 30lbs of ribs for a little cookout we are having at one of his employees homes. 

Hailey {mommy}

I am just so happy summer is here. Everything is easier in the summer, entertaining the kids, keeping the house clean (cuz we can be outside most days) So I am loving the warm weather. The kids and I swim most days at some point. Its a great way to wear them out for naps. I have also had some not-so-fun health stuff going on these past few months, that I haven't really wanted to write about on my blog. I try and keep my little blog upbeat on non-complaining since I know my trials pale in comparison to many out there. But, it wouldn't be a "real" update if I didn't mention this I don't think. I was diagnosed with poly-cystic ovaries when I was younger and have had some painful and lately very large cysts. Its been going on since late December and has been a longer process than we originally hoped. I so wanted to be having a baby this year and the waiting has been more difficult than I thought it would be. Seems as if every baby is staring at me some days. But, I am hopeful we are almost to the end of this little hiccup in our plans and very hopeful 2010 will bring us another addition to our family. And I know the waiting will make the day just a little sweeter. Meanwhile I am so grateful for the sweet 2 children I have and get to be with every day.

Adyson (buggy bug)

Adyson is going to be 4 this next month, and some days she wants to have a fairy party, some days a butterfly party, a lady bug party... blah blah blah. She always has a new idea. I, of course have been planning already so it's going to be a fairy party. She just finished preschool for the year and next fall will move up the the 4 year old class at Challenger. She loves school, reading, singing, all of it. This summer in addition to the Jazz class she had been taking is going to start a Ballet one as well. She is the cutest little dancer and really likes her classes. Ady is such a good big sister to Max also. She really loved to "mother" him and be with him. I love how well they play together and wish I could record the little conversations I overhear them having all the time. Of course, as you may have seen in the TIME OUT post, she also occasionally gets him into trouble. But mostly they play well.

Maxwell {macky}

Max is so funny. Really, his faces, his pouting, his little voice. All of it is so cute, but so funny. He needs a little toughening up, I admit. But, what do you expect he is with him mom and older sister all day every day? Ady and I like girl things and baby him. So sometimes he is a bit of a pansy. Eric and my brothers have decided to take it upon themselves to toughen up Max this summer, so we will see how that goes. Maybe he just needs a brother he can rough house with. Max loves cars, trucks, pirates and treats. We are weaning him off his candy addiction though. I am using a lot of string cheese and yogurt to replace suckers and m&m's. Seems to be going alright. Max loves to be read to, rocked and sang to before bed and his 2 blankets that he calls "beds" There is "blue bed" and "black bed" and both must be in his crib for him to go to sleep. Spoiled ... right?? Another reason he needs a younger sibling. 

Anyway, there is a little "where we are at" post. Mostly life is same old stuff. We have some fun stuff coming up with summer, visit to Ohio, 5 year anniversary, hopefully some fun parties that we are really looking forward to. Hope you all are enjoying your summer as well.

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Published.

This was an article written about my brother and his mission to Africa in the local paper where I grew up.

BY MELINDA WILLIAMS

Clipper News Editor

CENTERVILLE —Elder Spencer Smoot saw little of the crime which LDS Apostle Russell M. Nelson experienced first hand in Mozambique last weekend.

Smoot, who returned from the Mozambique Maputo Mission on May 6, served in the northern portion of the southeast African nation, an area far removed from the crime which Nelson gained first-hand experience of on Saturday in the nation’s capital, Maputo, in the southern portion of the country.

That’s where Nelson, and his wife, Wendy were having dinner with Mission President Blair Packard and his wife Cindy. The evening was interrupted by armed assai lants who attacked and robbed them.

Cindy Packard’s arm was broken and others suffered cuts and bruises, but the Nelsons chose to finish their weekend assignments in Mozambique before returning home.

Smoot described the area he served in as rural, an area where paved roads were a rarity and people lived in villages in mud and grass huts. “Once in a while you’d see a cinder block building,” he said.

But on his occasional visits to Maputo, Smoot said he saw people carrying a lot of weapons, everything from night sticks to AK-47s.

The country suffered a long and violent civil war which ended in 1992, but rebels, called the RENOMO refused to disarm, and more than a million Mozambican refugees sought asylum in nearby nations, after floods and famine devastated much of the land.

Now home, Smoot said he’s adjusting well to paved roads, and carpeting in homes. “I’ve been making snow angels in our carpet,” because of its comparatively luxurious feel, he said, adding that when he returned home and heard people talking about the economic downturn, it seemed surreal, because even in these bad economic times, we have it so much better than the Mozambicans. “People don’t realize how good we have it,” he said.

When Smoot received his mission call, he didn’t even know where Mozambique was. As he researched the country, he got excited. When he arrived, the Mozambique Maputo Mission was only a few years old, and he was the first missionary from Centerville to serve there. Now, he said, there are two others he knew in high school.

He described the people in the northern villages as humble and “open to the word of God,” although he said they retain many false traditions. While meeting with a businessman, he told Smoot he had to meet with the local witch doctor, a practice which is not uncommon. Even after conversion to another faith, “They still believe and practice,” the faith of their ancestors, Smoot said.

While people still speak native languages among themselves, everybody speaks Portuguese, Mozambique’s official language, Smoot said. And that is the language he used to communicate with people.

As could be expected, the Mozambique people eat many different foods from those Smoot was used to. While they ate rice and beans, and chicken Smoot also ate meats such as crocodile, hippopotamus, and gazelle, which he described as succulent. In the city, they add milk and cereals and other grain products.

War, famine and drought have taken their toll. Smoot said the life expectancy is only about 34, so there are few older people, but “there are kids crawling all over.”

Smoot said that seeing so much poverty broke his heart, but charities have stepped in to help people in the village.

Packard has started a charity, “Care for Life,” which Smoot said builds schools and water wells in the impoverished villages.

His time spent in Mozambique has made the young man rethink his life’s career. Once a political science major, Smoot is now looking at becoming a pediatrician.

mwilliams@davisclipper.com

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Flourishing.

My garden... is growing and not dying. Now I know gardening is not rocket science but I don't keep things alive very well, just ask the people at Cactus and Tropicals who have repotted and planted a new orchid in my entry way pot like 4 times since we moved in. But the vegetable or herb thing... apparently I can do. 

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