Donna's Journey

Isabella Sacred Groves, the little princess, has arrived. She was 10 days early and weighed in at 7 lbs. 8 oz. and 21 inches of absolute sweetness. Isabella’s mother, Julia, was attended by three fabulous midwives, Dianne, Lisa, and Ash. She was also supported by her husband Rory, her mother, her sister, Jennifer, and her dear friend/ sister-in-law Heather. Women helping women, and supported by her husband, encircled in love! Julia’s sister Jennifer and her family had been here most of the day, Monday and Tuesday. Even Julia’s oldest brother, Adam, came to bring Heather and Andy’s toddler to us and was able to join the anticipated arrival Isabella. Julia and Rory usually join Heather and Andy’s family and Adam’s family for family home evening each week. What a family home evening this swelled to be!!!

On Monday, when everyone arrived, I sent the men out to the yard to do yard work and then I joined them. They raked the flowerbeds, trimmed bushes, and dad tilled the garden. We have crocuses in bloom, blue starts, and a stately collection of daffodils gathering the rain spout, huddling to gather to drink from its spring floods at their feet. My butterfly bushes are budding new leaves, the promise of summer delights to come! after the beds were raked the leaves of the emerging violets became obvious, more promise of things to come. Isabella means God’s promise.

We had not abandoned Julia. Heather sat and chatted with Julia during the early stages of labor. Rory came home early to join us. Labor slowed. So we then sent the boys for an hour, around the corner to the church to play dodge ball. It was good for them to get out that energy.

Heather observed how the first 42 hours of labor seemed more of a social, family gathering. (This should have been titled the Birth Day Party). People playing board games in the living room, Rory setting up his Wii to keep the children and adult men occupied. Jeremy worked as the Kitchen on call to provide a sumptuous delectable delights to feed the hungry masses. He made home pan popped butter popcorn, banana berry smoothies and the best steak sandwiches! Heather’s husband Andy took the kids to the kitchen when labor picked up. There, Andy distracted them by teaching them how to make tortillas from scratch! Heather came up and made Julia’s Pink Lemonade pie to celebrate the birth. Heather was the official chronicler of the event, taking pictures, and video interviewing family about the birth of the little princess, Isabella.

During the day, there were bouts of napping, laboring, and socializing. Andy and Heather spent the night on Monday, Jennifer and Alan went home, as they live really close. Jennifer returned again on Tuesday and Alan went to take college exams and joined us in the evening. I made Beef Barley soup on Monday Night and Taco soup Tuesday night.

All in all we worked to conserve energy and let gentle labor progress the work. Though labor was long it was needed to let her body do as much work as possible before the very active stage arrived. She has struggled with mitral valve prolapse syndrome that responds to magnesium supplementation and with toxemia for about a month. Slow patient labor kept the blood pressure in check and permitted her body time to rid itself of toxins and fluid retention, before the strain of the advance active labor. Her midwives were careful, deliberate, and skilled in dealing with the challenges. We knew of their policies and knew if her blood pressure went up and could not be coaxed down it would mean transporting. We were so blessed through their skillfully applied knowledge and the blessings of slow and patient progress. The last six hours were intense, but Julia was able to labor in a sterile heated tub and that helped quite a bit.

Then at 4:21 am, this morning, Isabella Sacred Groves, who had already entered into our lives and hearts, entered the encirclement of our arms, as she chose to make her debut into mortality at grandma’s home. She was born in the library. How fitting for a girl who will receive a refining liberal arts education from a mother who knows.!

Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Spring is here. It is time of new life. Trees budding. My daffodils are almost in bloom. Chives are up . Chervil is up. Soon, sometime in the next two weeks I will have a new granddaughter! So much is happening.

Then, after the baby arrives I will have a house full, of guests as my posterity gathers around for a baby blessing, my son’s eagle court of honor, and my son-in-law’s BYU graduation. Beginning in April I will host my new Art and Provident Comforts classes.

I am grateful to love and be loved, to have a wonderful husband, children, grandchildren, and wonderful friends. My husband had eight ancestors on the Mayflower, mine did not come on the Mayflower, but arrived shortly thereafter. I am grateful that the Pilgrims gave up their socialistic ideas, because it was killing them. Socialism, even under the name of progressivism by any name would still smell the same, and would still fail. It may sound good to some people to get something for nothing, but in the end socialism always fails because there is no incentive to work and produce. May we learn their lesson, by studying what they did, and that we will choose not to make the same mistake.

A few years ago, we went to New Mexico to watch the X-prize competition. My son and the team he is on has been competing ever since. This past week we watched and cheered for the different competitors in the Northrop-Grumman Lunar Lander X-prize Challenge, finishing both level I and Level II of the competition. It came down to the wire and it was exciting to the end.

What happened:
Level I – Ist place $350K, Second place $150K
* Armadillo Aerospace took first place in level one of the competition last year and won $350k.
* Masten Space Systems took second place in the Level one for a $150k prize and Unreasonable Rocket was won of only three teams to actually finish the first leg of the level one competition. Masten completed Level one earlier in the month. Unreasonable Rocket made their flight this weekend, but damaged their rocket on landing and were unable to finish the return trip.

Level II- A much more difficult challenge than Level I- !st Place $1 Million, 2nd Place $500k Since only two teams qualified, the winner was the one that landed closest to on target.
* Masten Space Systems won first place with a landing accuracy of 19 cm, for a $1 Million prize
My son, Jon Goff, is the rocket propulsion engineer for Masten Space Systems.
* Armadillo Aerospace won the $500K second place with a landing accuracy of 87 cm.

Totals in prizes-
Masten combined level I and II $1,150,000
Armadillo Aerospace level I and II $850,000

Great work Masten Space Systems, Armadillo Aerospace, and Unreasonable Rocket!

Yesterday was Larry’s 65th birthday, Happy birthday Larry Next week he has his retirement party, as he is retiring from working at the driver’s license bureau.

Today, my brother-in-law Larry and his wife Pat received their mission call. They will be leaving in September. They have been called to serve the people of Cape Verde, off the western coast of Africa.
Awesome! What an adventure! I am happy for your great news.

I love the way that sounds. “Baby Blessing” They really are a blessing. The world see them as a burden, how myopic! God says–
“Psalms 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. 4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them… ”
If only the world could see that our solutions come in tiny packages, blessings, gifts from a loving Heavenly Father, born with unique gifts to help a troubled world, coming with missions to perform. They come as Wordsworth said, “trailing clouds of glory…”

Tonight after General Conference the family gathered on “Walton’s Mountain” for the Blessing of Elizabeth Anne Walton, my first granddaughter. Her father gave her a name to be recorded on the records of the church and a blessing. In the circle she was cradled by her father, Alan, grandfather Walton and grandfather Goff, her great grandfather Walton, and one new uncle, Rory. This was definitely a joy to my heart. After the blessing we had a light meal and much conversation. I lov e visiting with Grandpa and Grandma Walton. There never seems to be enough time.

I have another grandchild due any day. Then I will have seven!!! I will be in seventh heaven. Each a new blessing bringing gifts we all need.

I look forward with anticipation for the personal inspiration that comes to me each April when I listen to each session of General Conference. The spirit confirms to me personally, what I need to be taking from this experience. Seeds are planted within my bosom. Waiting for me to cultivate and nurture them with guidance from the Master Gardener, until they bear fruit.

What seeds will be planted in this conference? What fruit will come of it? I cannot wait!

Julia is still quite ill. There is improvement, though.

What was going to be a week of working together has been a week of caring for her, while preparing for a wedding. Roger stepped in and helped with cooking while I ran around getting cooking ingredients and plastic/paper for the reception yesterday. Plans have had to been simplified as there is only one of me. I struggle to make her day special as she has worked for this her entire life, and I do not want to short her in anyway.

No time to continue this blogging. Breathe and get to work! I am on the run…

We are in the straightaway before the wedding. A combination of events has taken its toll. It all adds up! This last week was pretty rough. We hit the week running and ended the week with collapse. Just reading this may exhaust you. Things add up. We began with finishing up the group tickets for the forum, a physical, a run to engagement pictures, preparation for the new website/launch of our company (a partnership between Julia and I), and then the week ripped into high gear. What follows is long, a week worth of posts in one long narrative.

On Thursday Julia packed up her room and Rory and his dad came to help move her into their new abode. We finished at midnight and rushed home to bed. Friday morning, early, Julia arrived at the book store to load up our truck with boxes of books for the Forum. Friday moved into ultra high gear. We rushed to get final things together and headed to Salt Lake for the annual meeting of the TJEd Marketplace. We arrived a few minutes late. I got to hear the introductions of everyone and looked forward with anticipation to meeting and getting to know these people. AH, but this got interrupted, as my printing was done and I needed to run to Orem to pick up the printing and my suitcase, stop for a quick late meal at Arby’s, and return to Salt Lake in time for Julia to help unpack the bookstore and set it up for the forum. We returned to the hotel in time to be setting up, but that was delayed when we were called down to join the banquet. After the banquet, Rory and Julia helped bring in the boxes and set up the book store. They finished near midnight. Rory was literally staggering from exhaustion. We retired by 1 am.

Saturday was a long day. We arose at 5 am because the venues were to be set up and running by 6:30 am. We had no time to stop for breakfast. Julia and I, got lunch around 1:30 in the afternoon, and it was none too soon for me. I had Rory’s sister Alexi, assist me. I was grateful for her presence, cheerful attitude, and that I was able to get up and move around, so I could have some breaks in the 13 hours I was at the booth. Alexi got her first exposure to TJEd by listening to the keynote address by DeMille. I did not get to hear it, so I will be listening via audio download.

The forum went well for me, as I enjoyed meeting the women and talking with them. The moms had waited so long to see, hold, and thumb the pages of my thesis. The young girls wistfully looking at the tiaras, and some coming back to buy them. Then later that evening, there were sweet young ladies sporting their tiaras and shining at the ball.

We packed up our booth at 7 pm. That last hour was intense, but wonderful. We made it to dinner about 8 pm. Roger took us all out to Sizzlers. I was concerned, knowing we had eaten only once and it had been about seven hours since. Julia lost her appetite and had to pack up her steak dinner in a box for later.

We hurried back to the hotel and changed into our formal attire and went to the Family Ball. I was grateful to be in my sweetheart’s arms, to dance, and feel the security of his presence and love. We finished around 11 pm and Julia changed so she could go finish packing up the store. She returned to our room about midnight with the store’s printer. Her boss said she would be up in 5 minutes, but never came. We gave up and retired at 1 am. Ah, it was spring forward, so it was actually two. Julia was agitated about news from her boss that could impact her wedding plans this week. In this exhausted state Julia does not deal with surprises well.

We arose at 5:30 am so Julia could get home, shower, and be at her stake president’s interview at 8:30 am, then come home to finish preparing her Sunday School lesson. Well, we still had the printer and no room to take it home. So, she called her boss. Her boss’ cell phone was off. We had no choice but to put the printer in the hall, outside her door with a note on it and let the people at the front desk know, at check out.

We made it home and Julia made it to her live ordinance interview with the stake president. We then crashed. I slept until two in the afternoon, had a sandwich, unpacked my duffel bag and fell back asleep. I woke briefly when Julia came home from Sunday School at 4:30. I knew our home teachers were coming at 8 or 8:30ish. I woke again at 8:30 and came to the kitchen to find food awaiting. I ate and tried to wake Julia on the couch, she was incoherent. My son walked through the kitchen with our home teacher’s young companion, his son. I asked when his father would arrive and found out that he was downstairs and they were finished home teaching. They prayed for Julia and for me.

I saw Julia’s phone on the floor near her. I knew it needed charging. I did not want her to be disturbed so I plugged it in in my room. I knew Rory would call. He did. I reported on her status when he did. At this point, we are all worried.

I went back to bed, only to be awoken by a phone call at 10 pm. I tried to sleep, but Roger’s snoring woke me. I went to the trundle bed in Mary’s room, in hopes that I would find rest there. It was fitful at best.

Everything has combined. The dust from packing books for the store and belongings for her own move, the events of the week, the forum and all that happened. Julia has a heart condition. I do not know that Julia even ate anything yesterday. I heard her coughing, I think from dealing with dust, as she is allergic. Basically, she collapsed and just shut down.

It has all added up and combined. Her courtship began with Julia taking Rory soup when he was ill. Now, approaching the wedding, she is the one who is ill. Today, a prayerful vigil I keep. I will need to call her boss, as I doubt she will even be coherent enough to arise and go to work. This week they unpack the store. This week we do the last preparations for the wedding. So much happening.

March and Spring are around the corner. I am launching my new website in March.

Today, I was asked to speak in California at a conference two weeks after Julia’s wedding about the mother daughter journey I call the Hope Chest Journey.

I will also be speaking at a Conference in April.