2010 Helm Family Reunion Part 1

2010 Fun and Games

What a delightful and successful family reunion we had. Way to go Melanie! I'm not going to do much writing, but thought you would like to see the few good pictures I got. I've either got to get a better camera, or take photo lessons.

Waiting for breakfast. Didn't we have some great meals.

Hard at work

We did a lot of visiting

Bird watching
(Black-headed Grosbeak)
taking photo's

Lunching
Hiking and waiting for buses.
some got a lot of time to play in the dirt
And had fun with cousins!
thanks to Melanie and Emily there were also bubbles when we weren't busy with other stuff.

All in all we sure had fun. Thanks everyone.
Olympic events to come.

Missing my Helpers...

Sometimes (well lots of times) I get lonely and really miss my kids.

I remember as they were growing up, wondering what it would be like to have the house all to myself, no messes caused by other people, quiet, breathing space, maybe even time to read and not feel guilty. Actually that really didn't happen all that often because I mostly enjoyed being the mother.....watching how they grew and changed. I was blessed to have such fun creative and challenging children.

I miss their conversation and hearing their changing view of life. They helped me see myself more clearly and analyze more fully what my understanding was on diverse subjects. I even had occasion to see that I was wrong! It's also always been so fun to sit around and retell the family stories, drawing us closer and keeping the family's oral history alive and clarified or exaggerated as the case may be. Every family needs a few legends.

I know that this happens to Dad, too. He will often say before a General Priesthood meeting that it just doesn't seem right to attend without his sons.

This spring more than ever I'm missing the garden help I always got. When offered the chance to work outside or in, my kids, usually chose outside. All our gardens didn't seem too much when we all worked together or when each took responsibility for some small part. Just at the most critical gardening time I'm having back problems. Dad is teaching seminary so he always has a lesson to prepare, and there are no helpers. You can see why I'm waxing a little philosphical.

Life is like that: Always a challenge no matter what the time or circumstances. I remember Grandma Ricks saying to me, "I'll bet you see my schedule and think it would be easy, but it's all I can do and more. " I now truly understand what she meant. I've tried to live my life not looking forward to the future to fix things, but being in the here and now and enjoying as much as I can of the situation as it is. Sometimes I've done it really well--other times....?

Now there are just more people to miss, our grandchildren for instance. They are such interesting and fun people. We would really like to spend a lot more time with them. But time and places interfere, so we'll just have to be happy with the chances we get, and know that in the eternities the love and relationships we are forming here will be enhanced and broadened. Heaven, to me, seems like it ought to be a place where families can be part of each others lives, and all our good friends become part of our family!

Dad said this sounds a bit melancoly. It really isn't meant that way. I actually think it ends quite upbeat.

I have some fun things to do today and it's Dad's Friday off. That makes it a date day, acutally better and longer than a date night, since we can't have a date night with Grandma unless she's part of it.






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We are greatly missing our company from the Christmas holidays. Gradually we are returning the house to normal, but it's hard to do because it just emphases the loneliness.

Thanks to all of you for participating in a wonderful Christmas, and thanks to you guys, Dad and I are about to be really "fit". Dad has already become a "pro" in bowling, and always beats me now. I've tried a lot of the fun things that we can do with our wii.

Several of you have asked for the recipe I used for the pork for New Years, so here is the original, my changes, and where I found it.

Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Loin

*Makes about 2 1/2 pounds of pork tenderloin, enough to serve 8-10 adults*

Rub Ingredients:
2 teaspoons salt (I used way less can't remember exactly how much less maybe 1/2)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder (I used the straight stuff, I keep mild chili powder on hand)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 pork tenderloins (2 1/2 lb. total), each tenderloin cut into two chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil

Glaze ingredients:
1 cup packed dark brown sugar ( I think I used about 1/2 of this too)
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce (I used 1 teaspoon of my Krogers Hot sauce)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon, then coat the pork with the spice rub. Heat the oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet that is ovenproof (I used my cast iron skillet) over medium high heat until the oil is hot and rippling. Brown the pork, turning, about 4 minutes total. Leave pork in the skillet.

Stir together the brown sugar, garlic, and Tabasco and pat on top of each tenderloin. Roast in the middle of the oven until a thermometer inserted diagonally in center of each tenderloin registers 140, about 25 minutes. Let pork stand in the skillet at room temperature for 10 minutes. The temperature will rise to about 155 while standing.

Recipe Source: from My Kitchen Cafe (www.mykitchencafe.blogspot.com)/originally from Nate and Kylie

I have planned to sit down--actually I'm doing that lots lately--and write about all the things that are going on here. However, with helping Grandma, doctor, visiting nurse, and PT visits, getting ready to visit Melanie this weekend, and getting Grandma and Dad ready to survive alone, plus some intestinal bug (for 5 days and I'm trying so hard to make sure no one else gets it), when I do sit down I don't want to do anything useful.

Rather than catch up an all the past, I'll tell you about last night. I hurried outside to get a couple of tomatoes to add to my stew, and was amazed at how cold it felt. I decided to go back in and get a container and pick the ripe ones so I could dry a few more in my new food dryer Emily gave me. {Yeah Emily!} While in, I asked Dad doing Seminary stuff on the computer to look up the temp. tonight. There it, was a forecast for a possible frost. I stopped supper prep and Dad helped me before it got too much darker to get things covered. After the tomatoes were well covered I decided I would try to cover my beans out in the back garden since they were just starting to really produce. Dad carried out his big tarp to put over the trelluse, and he got there before I did and yelled "Too late!" I could hardly take it in. Nothing else was frozen in front, but out there all the more frost sensitive were nipped. Maybe it was worse because it was a little dry.

Can you believe that on the first day of official Fall we had already had a little frost? How unfair when we had such a hard hail and everything was just recovering. I picked just enough beans for the 3 of us from what wasn't frozen underneath and left the garden to fend for its self.


After dinner, we brought in the more delicate pots from around the outside of the house. Dad built our first fire of the season, and we were toasty warm. This morning I had to start the furnace, because it's pretty cloudy and we won't get much free heat and I don't have time to feed a fire.

I did see a couple of trees yesterday that had started to get really pretty, I guess everything but me is getting on with the season. I hadn't even started getting my pots ready to bring in. I just put them in the front entryway because I haven't washed off the bugs or anything yet. Maybe Dad can put them out again latter when it warms up. It's supposed to warm up by early next week. After I get back I can start washing and spraying to have them ready by the next time it gets this cold. I also need to plant my winter seeds sometime soon. They should have gone in way sooner. So much for gardening in NM.

Fair Trip

Our Fair Trip

We had such a good time at the Idaho Helm house and at the fair. We were especially glad that Emily got to join us.

On Monday July 3rd, we, Grandma, Angela, Thorpe, Dad and I traveled in the Pickup with the trailer to Uncle Sid and Aunt Susan's where we left Grandma. Unfortunately we left late, traveled slower and got there just before midnight. I imagine it was pretty hard for Grandma, but we couldn't find anyway to get her comfortable here. We traveled on to a camp sight almost where 215 joins the freeway again. A little oily smell once, but a nice clean new place. Next day we traveled on to Melba and immediately to the rodeo. I haven't been for years and it was fun. I think Angela liked it best, and really appreciated Nathans explanations. They had a great place for the wheelchair and family could sit with her. Emily was able to join us Thursday evening.

This fair was not hot and dusty, a real change. We actually enjoyed the rain and had to buy jackets for those who forgot (not me) but I ended up with one of the new jackets anyway!

We ate "fair food," (Nathan has a friend who makes fabulous prime rib sandwiches and pork BBQ) saw all the exhibits, enjoyed the animals, saw the many great entry's from the Helm household, played with the kids and watched the pig events. It was great. In a small town farming and ranching community it is really family oriented and that makes me feel reassured for our future.

We also did Golden Coral, one night, and pizza another. We even had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then a really tasty Sunday dinner that Neita made. All together we ate too much and had so much fun.

The kids did really well with their pigs and we were happy for them. In fact they had quite a few pretty impressive entries. Of course Neita always does! Bailey's photo (Judges choice), and Annaliese's jam got big fancy ribbons as did some of the other things that I can't remember.

Because it was rainy and darker than in the past all my pictures are either dark or blurry or both. Infact I have never had so many unusable pictures. There are a few of Joel though that are worth sharing!



It's hard to drink your pop when you are all tired out.

This will not be in order of happening, but important things first.

Tuesday evening Grandma was having a lot of stomach pain, so we took her to the emergency room. And there we waited an hour--again. They decided that she had a bladder infection, and to keep her overnight to make sure about the pain. We had her admitted and tucked in by 2:30 AM Wed. morning. I got home and to bed just before 3:30 AM. I was back at the hospital that morning by 9:30 AM. Needless to say, I was less cognisant so most of you weren't notified. I came home for a good supper that Angela had made and then Dad and I went back for an hour to make sure she was settled down for the night. She was so very confused being sick, some pain and out of her usual suroundings and pattern of life. She wasn't sure when she looked at the clock if it was morning or evening. When we mentioned taking her home, she wanted to to know where that was.

After one more round of IV antibiotics they let her come home today, Thursday, a little after lunch. They had decided that her pain was related to irritation caused by the infection that was slowing her digestive tract. She was loaded with gas and so is still having pain as is moves around.

She is happy to be home, but wishing everything was good. We hope to be able to catch up on a little sleep.

Hail and more Hail

I'm still learning on the photo thing, maybe it will get better?

Thursday afternoon Angela got me up from a short rest and said that the weather was reporting a hail emergency. We rushed out with beach towels, and old rugs to cover the tomatoes. It was pouring rain with a few small hail stones I thought about trying to cover some of the things in the back vegetable garden, but by then the hail was coming hard and fast and was about the size of my thumb nail. Too much for me to brave. It just kept on hailing and pouring rain. Here are some pictures of the happening and then the resulting damage.

The first one "Coming down "

Out Back Toppled Tomatoes



zucchini leaves now look like watermelon. Standing in the hail trying to fix tomatoes!














Piles from off the roof.


cransbill geranium and other things smashed
We are waiting to see what will recover.