Snow Day!

We officially got a "snow day!" We usually go to Sunday church services. Well, today church was cancelled because of the snow. There is at least 14 inches already and it is still coming down hard!

My hubby got stuck in our driveway, he had to actually push the snow with the door to open it.

The kids are all out shoveling. I think that every man in the state is out with their shovels, trackers and snowblowers.

It reminds me of growing up in Southeastern Idaho, who by the way have been out of school for snow for the last FIVE days!

the pictures don't do the snow justice. It is so hard to get a good exposure with snow.

An Emotional Day

Saturday was a somber day for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was our beloved Prophet President Hinkley's funeral. It was a very touching and emotional day.
I was just weeping, he touched us all so much. He was such a kind, gentle man. He had such a funny sense of humor as well. His counselor President Monson told of their doctor trying to get him to tell President Hinkley to use his cane for walking instead of just waving it around. President Monson told the Dr. that he was his counselor and he was the Dr. "You tell him!" It was so funny and so touching.
As the funeral procession made it's way throught the city there were crowds of people waving white hankies just like President Hinkley did on so many occasions. There were also many people, including adoring children waving canes. It was so sweet.

I have included two pictures. The first is of President Hinkley waving his cane with his wonderful smile. The second is of his casket with his empty chair in the background.

I hope that we can all do as he taught. Stand a little taller, Be a little better.

February-Yeah!

It is officially February! That means that we are getting closer and closer to spring and more daylight! My Seasonal Affective Disorder will thank the sun for this! My husband will also. I am more pleasant as is he when there is more sunlight!

It is also Saturday so it is update time for Smart Habit Saturday.

*We did amazing(for us) at our morning devotional/scripture time. We actually read three mornings!

*I only exercised three days-having foot pain.

*Average week with not yelling. Miss E can push anyone over the edge. I wish I really knew how to get her to stop being a stinker. When she is nice she is really nice. However, she is so loud and bossy so much that it is a struggle.

*Other things--not so well.

I am really going to try and keep focusing on these things, they are really life changes. They are habits that I am going to be working on forever. However, this week/month I am going to try and focus on my own personal scripture study. Why is this so difficult for me?

My friend Rachel (new blog-check it out!) was invited to participate in a tribute to President Hinkley. Starting Monday we start reading the Book of Mormon and finish it in 97 days. There is a website that has a tracker for pages read. If you are interested go and check it out.

(Just a reminder-if there is a word/words highlighted that means that there is a link to another web page. All you do is click on the word and you will be redirected to that link--it is very handy! )


For more great ideas check out the Lazy Organizer for Smart Habits Saturday.

Till We Meet Again

For those of you that don't already know I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints--LDS or sometimes referred to as "Mormons." This past Sunday night our beloved President and Prophet Gordon B. Hinkley passed away. We are all saddened by this loss, however, the joy that we feel because he is being reunited with his beloved Marjorie is so tender. He was 97 1/2 years old. He was strong and healthy until a few days ago. He has been an incredible blessing in my life.

There are many wonderful tributes. Mine doesn't do him justice. He was like a grandfather that always had a twinkle in his eye. He was wise yet kind. He seemed to truly understand what we struggle with daily.

He will be missed.

I need Sunshine!

We have been in a drought. We have prayed for snow. The snow has come, and come and come---in fact it just won't stop!

I am now feeling the lack of serotonin in my system. I just want to lay in my bed and do nothing. I don't really like people right now, including my own family.

PLEASE SEND SOME SUNSHINE! (a warm beach would be nice but we aren't going on a cruise this year-which was my decision, which I am now second guessing!)

Saturday check up!

Saturday already!

I did well on a few things and not so well on others!

FHE-we played games with the ward.

Morning Study-NADA --this is going to be tough

Personal Scripture Study- again-not once

Exercise-YEAH!!!! I exercised 5 days this week!

Not Yelling-this was a much, much better week. It must help to not have a full moon, PMS and a PMSy teenager!

So go and check out Smart Habit Saturday--join in, it might help you with something!

Shoes

I learned something very interesting today. So, I will share!

I have been having a lot of heel pain in my left foot. I believe that it is plantar facitis. Well, it has been getting worse in the last three weeks. A gal in my class has it also and she told me about a performance shoe store that she went to and it has helped her. So, I went.

The first thing he did is ask me when I bought my shoes. I bought them the beginning of January to start my class. He then asked me if they were on sale. Why, yes they were! He said that the shoes are actually a very good pair of shoes but they are last years model which means that they are old. I looked at him funny. I bought them new. Yes, however, with the new material that they make the soles(impact spot) out of it starts to deteriorate. He said that I probably only had about two weeks life left in them! I couldn't believe it.

He says that that is why large retailers of good shoes will have these really great sales. They need to get rid of the shoes because they know about their life span.

He also did a standing test etc. to see how I walk. The shoes didn't support my feet in the right places.

So, the moral to this story? Go somewhere and find a specialist and have your feet measured and checked. I will let you know how my feet feel. I hope better very soon!

Tuesday

Once again we are buried in new snow! Yesterday we got at least 12 inches. There is just nowhere else to put the snow! Hubby will have to borrow someones front loader so that we can scoop the piles away!

It is now COLD! Like zero degrees cold!

I am trying to get myself motivated to get to the gym. I have to do this thing, get more exercise. Three days a week is not enough for me!

Wish me luck!

Goal Update

This post is basically me accounting to myself -if reading my goals is not your thing just skip this post!
How did I do on my goals/habits this past week?

Lowering my voice/not yelling---This was not a good week.Miss E was a bear and my stars must not have been aligned because I could have given her to the gypsies with no questions asked. This is going to be such a struggle. If I could only really figure out a way to help her control herself. I have tried numerous things but she is the most stubborn and obnoxious of my children. I just don't know what to do with her.

Reading my scriptures--I did a tiny bit better. I know that I read at least two times. I also read some articles from the New Era but that is stretching it! I just have to keep trying!

Clean the basement--I managed to get this almost finished! I still have to vacuum under the couch cushions, reorganize the books, dust. The main mess is taken care of! I have to make my DI run. The ping pong table is still covered!(This isn't one of my real GOALS it is just something that had to be done!)

Exercise-I am going to my boot camp class at the gym three days a week.It is tough! I really enjoy the class. I am exercising harder in this class than I have ever done before. However, I am not seeing the results that I want. I realized that I used to go to the gym 4 to 5 times a week. I think that my body is one that must need more. So, this week I am going to try to increase my exercise by at least one day, hopefully two. I am also going to try to reduce my sugar intake. I know that I am consuming way too much.

Useless computer time- I did better with this. This is such a hard thing, there are so many things that I want to learn about and do that some of this information comes from the computer. However, I KNOW when I am just wasting time. I will continue to really pay attention to this.

Family Home Evening-We had a quick FHE again last week. Nothing fancy but we did have it.

Morning Scripture time--not so good. We only had it one time. We were up so late numerous times that we all slept in. We will try again.

Reusing

My friend Lara over at The Lazy Organizer has created a spot that anyone can share things of interest. Talk about Tuesday is the name. Well, in true form, it is Thursday so I thought that I would play along.

When you buy new sheets, blankets, etc. they usually come in a zippered plastic bag. What do you do with these bags?

My smart Mom started using them to store seasonal items such as pillows and sweaters. I have been doing this for a few years and it is a wonderful idea. In the spring when I don't want to wear my sweaters anymore I wash them and then put them inside one of these clear bags. They stay totally dust free up on the upper shelf in my closet. I have some seasonal decor pillows, Christmas blankets, pillows etc. stored in them. Whenever I purchase something that comes in one of these bags I put it in the closest and save it for the next use.

Skating

When was the last time you went iceskating? Have you ever gone?

Monday night we went to Salt Lake City to an outdoor skating rink for Family Home Evening with Hubbies church group. It has been eight years since I have been on the ice. The last time #1 child was six years old. We went with my friend and her nine year old daughter. Well, to say the least I was TERRIBLE! My poor daughter was almost crushed to death when I fell on top of her. She still remembers this event. She reminds me of it often!

So, I was going to be old and not put on the skates. Then I decided that I should just try, I don't want to be one of the "OLD" Mom's that won't do anything. #2 and #4 children had never been skating before. They were so hesitant but they picked it up pretty quickly. Poor little Miss #3, she fell and fell. She was such a good sport however, she didn't get frustrated and want to quit. She just kept going and going. By the time we left she was going pretty quickly around the rink. Mr. #2 picked it up quick. He is quite athletic so he does pretty well with most physical things he trys.

Here are a few pictures from the event. I was messing around with settings so some of the images aren't that great. The picture of the large group is the entire group doing the "Hokie Pokie!" It was so funny to watch. We had a great turnout. They are a great group of people!

If you haven't been skating for awhile. Consider doing it with your family. I am sure that there is a rink somewhere near you!

Where did they go?

January-record snow, cold wind. What do these equate to in your house? In mine it means that many of my children will be playing outside in the snow. We have a few great hills near us so sledding is a very popular thing in the afternoons. Well, Miss #3 needed new snowpants. No big deal, I will go and get her some.

I called three stores and went to three more! Every department store and farm store has already gotten rid of them. It is January! It is snowing! We need snowpants!

So, I had to go to the dreaded sports store, where everything costs a fortune. This is why I went to the last THREE stores. I just wasn't in the mood to spend $92 on a pair of pants for a seven year old. I finally found some basic black ones(have you seen the crazy patterns in good ski/board clothes this year?) and they were actually %50 off so I could stomach them. While searching and searching I found a coat that WAS a good deal. It is a really nice ski coat that retailed at $135 and I bought it for #3 for $33. I didn't feel bad about this. I am a skier and my older two kids board. I understand the value of some of the more expensive clothing. It really does keep you dryer and warmer. However, #3 isn't really to the point of needing this type of expensive gear. I want her warm and dry.

Fast forward to the late afternoon when we are at the ski hill for my Hubbies ward ski party.

"Mom, I can't get my coat to zip" I thought that it was just because it was -10 degrees and her hands were frozen already. No, the little hard plastic thing on the bottom of the zipper was gone!

So, not only do I have to go looking for snow gear once, I have to go again! I am not really a big shopper so this just makes me crazy!



The skiing party was fun--but freezing! It was probably -15*/-20* at the top of the hill. We had a great turnout with lots of people fed.

Evidence

Do you ever walk around your house looking at the normal messes that abound and then you look at something---something that won't be there in a few years? I had that happen yesterday while I was cleaning the dungeon.

Evidence that I have a three year old boy in the house!

My Dungeon

Do you ever walk around your house and just realize that you are the only one that actually cares whether it is clean? I do daily. Usually, I don't do it all that pleasantly. It makes me crabby that I am the only one that realizes that a bathroom is close to a health risk and the HAZMAT crew is going to be the next line of defense!

Well, I have been working on my dungeon, better known as my basement. Now, for those of you that haven't been to my house my basement is completely finished. It is a wonderful place. It has a family room, playroom(space under stairs) a bathroom, 2 bedrooms, my studio(junk room) and the laundry room. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Well, it becomes the dumping ground for my family. Unfortunately, I am not as diligent at cleaning it as the rest of the house. (not that the rest of the house is always so clean!) We have a ping pong table that many times is covered with STUFF.

Well, yesterday was the day! I started tackling the dungeon. It has been a horrible mess since the beginning of December. With Christmas, I just avoided it, which made it even worse. We all know that any mess laying around gives permission to make MORE messes! Somehow everything mutates! So, I started with the dirty clothes. The laundry room is two feet away, why are there dirty clothes on the floor? Garbage-why do people dump cereal on the floor? For 6 1/2 years we have had the "no eating" except in the kitchen rule.

To say the least it was disgusting. I have the ping pong table now completely covered in mostly stuff going to DI(like goodwill). I have also picked up and removed almost every toy and stuffed animal that my family owns(too many after 15 years). They are all in totes on top of my deep freeze. I am going to actually go through the mound and sort, trash and DI. My little guy just doesn't play with n*ked old barbies! That task will have to wait for another day. Today, is finishing up with the rest of the basement, you know, vacuuming under the cushions(yuck) and stuff like that!

Blog Feed info

For those of you that care-if you have numerous blogs that you are interested in you can use a feeder program. What that means is that you subscribe(free) to a program that tracks the blogs you like to read. This way you don't have to waste time checking a blog when the author hasn't updated with a new post.

I use Bloglines. I have really like it. I actually check quite a few blogs because I only check them when they post.

I have tried to include a link to Bloglines. If it doesn't work just google it and you should be able to find it.

Moving right along!

January--the beginning of a New Year, the time for resolutions, new diets, cleaning house, etc. etc. etc. It is already January 13th. Where are you on all your New Year plans?

I have been exercising! Thanks to doing the extra rough(for me) boot camp at the gym. It is actually really fun! It is hard for me, I am not a fast runner and we do a lot of running. However, I am getting stronger and I feel good about that!

I am still struggling with my scripture study. I believe that this will be a hard one.

My family did have family home evening (FHE) last week. We made some goals, etc. We did our early morning time twice--not great--however, two is better than none. None is where we were before. I am hoping that we can do better this week.

I think I did quite well at trying to lower my voice and not yell. This coincides with the children trying to do their part as well.

So---January 13, 2008.

What am I going to really work on this week? Adding personal scripture study. This week I honestly only read from my scriptures one time. This week I will improve, I hope that I can manage at least three.

Continue to focus on lowering my voice. This is HARD!

I am a terrible time waster. I do not watch t.v. however, I have a blogging habit. If I have time to look at the computer throughout the day I have the time to do more of the things that I want to do such as scrapbook. So, I am going to really try and limit my mindless computer time. This will be good in two ways. One-I will accomplish something that I feel good about and I will not be setting a poor example. (I try to not be on the computer much when my bigger kids are home-I don't want them wasting their time so I better not waste mine!)

I will finish cleaning my basement!!! Anyone want to help?!!!

Is the drought over?

We haven't had a really bad winter for years. Utah has been in a drought, with a little bit of reprieve in the last year or two.

Well, I think that this year has to count for something!

Today was a warm, melting type of day. I was hearing crashing of sorts so I went out to investigate. This is what I found!

We have lived in this house for 6 1/2 years and I don't believe that we have ever had ice like this before! If you really look closely(or click on the picture to enlarge it) you will notice that the icicle is actually touching our little table!

Finally!

Yeah! I finally got my Christmas stuff put away! I had decided that I wanted to go through all the boxes before I put them back in the tunnel(strange, extra narrow, storage spot). What had happened up to this point was me taking the Christmas decorations down and plopping them on the ping pong table. Well, today was the day! My basement is disgusting and I just couldn't really seem to get it clean with all the Christmas stuff snearing at me. I just went through every last box to see if there was broken, old, boring stuff that I wanted to get rid of. I am so proud of myself--I got rid of a LARGE box! It will be going to DI with a large load of outgrown clothes and other odds and ends.

It feels so good to have a BIG job finished!!

Let it Snow!

We can officially stop praying for snow for a little while! We have been walloped with snowstorms again! Today Hubby went plowing in the morning and within two hours it didn't look like anything had been touched!

My friend Sheri and I went to our boot camp class at the gym, hoping that the roads wouldn't be to terrible. They were pretty awful. This is where my upbringing actually pays off. I grew up in Southeastern Idaho. They use no salt on the roads there. Therefore, the roads are terrible from the first snowstorm until April! There is a constant solid pack of snow/ice on the roads at all times. I am pretty comfortable on bad roads, especially in my 4x4 Suburban.However, it took us 45 minutes to go 12 miles! Those are nasty roads!

These are pictures out my back door. I wish that I could actually get a better perspective of how deep this snow truly is. Hubby shoveled this deck completely a few days ago, this is snow from Sunday and Today! It literally was about 2 1/2 feet deep. Even the dog was not about to attempt to go into it. Little J thought it was great fun!

If you look closely at these pictures(color is poor) you will notice the railing. It is a standard height. The snow is MORE than 1/2 way up! The second picture is taken at ground level from inside. That is some snow!

Silly Boys!

Daddy and the little guy are so silly! Little J has a few pairs of slippers, he is constantly carrying them around, wearing them, throwing them etc. Well, he decided that Daddy needed to wear slippers as well. So, he went and found brothers and put them on Daddy.

Then he said, "take a picture, Mom." I was happy to oblige!

Dad in Dr*g!

What do your children do when their Dad is sitting in the chair?

This is what mine did to their Dad a few nights ago! He is such a good sport to let Miss E make him "pretty"!

I think he must have had half a bottle of gel and enough eye shadow for four days!(for me of course!)

What I Did Today!

This pile is what I should have been doing today.

Putting away all the Christmas decorations!

This is what I was actually doing today!

Shopping with my sweet friend Tina!

Miss A always says that when I go shopping with Tina I bring back stupid baskets and stuff. She likes it when I shop with Maggee because I bring HER clothes!

Well, today, I purchased some decorations for my large shelf. I need some frames for the pictures of my kids, they get lost on the white boards against the cream walls. However, it is a start to actually decorating my house after 6 1/2 years!

We are buried underneath a ton of wet, sticky snow. It is the stuff that skiers love.

Tomorrow I begin a new round of "boot camp" at the gym. My friend is actually going to take it with me this time.

I am hoping that I will have some time to really post soon!

Slide show info

Just thought I would give a little suggestion about the slide show. You can either watch it as it on the screen or you can click on the right hand side-where it says something like "view all images". If you choose that option you will be redirected to a little slide show where all the pictures are-it will scan for you or you can go to the top of the screen and click the arrows for it to go faster.

I am new at this so we will see how it works.

Let me know if you like it or if it is annoying!

Check out my Slide Show!

Ok, then!

"Mommy, carry me!

"Can't you walk?"

"No, my leg is broken. The bear ate it."

HAPPY 2008!

Happy New Year! 2008

Wow, another new year! I remember when I was a kid--1980! It was the first time I really remember celebrating a new decade. It was a big deal. Since then I have celebrated many new decades and even a new Century! It is hard to believe that it has been eight years since 2000. Y2K was on everyone's mind.

Here are a few things that have happened in my life in the last eight years!

* baby #3-2000
* 9-11-01 (changed us all)
*built and moved into a new home
*baby #4 2004
*went on 4 cruises
*went to Germany
*took family to Disneyland
*took a 4000 mile family trip to New Oreleans and Nauvoo
*bought a new tv armoir
*new dining room table
*returned two complete sets of new couches(still don't have new ones)
*found an old love in photography
*changed my hair color a few too many times!
*cut my hair short
*said goodbye to many people we love
*Husband became a Bishop
*RS teacher
*cubscout leader
*took up exercise
*lost weight
*gained weight
*went parasailing
*went on a HUGE zip line tour!(lost my voice screaming)
*started skiing again after 15 years!


These are obviously only a few of the MANY things that have happened in our lives in eight years. I didn't record the 8 million loads of laundry or the 4200 loads of dishes or the 9000 times I have vacuumed the floor. I also didn't record the 15 million kisses that I have given or been given.

I am beginning to understand how it is recorded that this mortal existence is as a blink of an eye. My life is moving so quickly. I often feel like I need to push the slow button so that I can actually absorb all that is out there to experience. I just don't seem to have enough energy to experience all that I want to.

What do you want to experience this year?

New Year's Resolutions have such a bad rap. We are all so good at setting them but not so good at following through.

I haven't really written those things that I want to work on this year.

A few that come right to my mind are:

read my scriptures more regularly--I have been trying, getting a bit better but not enough to really feel like I am doing it regularly.

have more meaningful Family Home Evenings--just for our family. We have been going to the singles ward FHE for most of this last year. They are great, however, there are times that they are not meant for the children. So, I want to have our own personal family time, perhaps on Sunday evening. These would be a bit more lesson oriented. Topics etc. that are important. This is going to be a challenge-but I feel strongly about it.

Less yelling by me. I have a LOUD voice. I am not proud of it. I want to work on my childern learning to listen without me hollering. This is going to be hard. I have very determined, stubborn children!

I want to learn how to use my new camera--not just on automatic!


These are a few--I will have to write a list of others.


What about you?

December 31 2007!

Wow-the holidays have about come and gone! I don't quite feel like I have actually caught up to them yet!

We had a nice Christmas. Santa found our house. The kiddies were all so happy and excited! We have been skiing a few times, eaten too much of everything and now have tons of messes to clean up.

Here are a couple of shots from our big day. I really didn't take too many shots-I am either taking hundreds or none!

Happy New Year!

Visions of SugarPlums!

Everyone is settled in. Hopefully with sugarplums dancing in their heads!

Merry Christmas!

If Only In My Dreams!

I'm missing home.

I have been married for 17 1/2 years. I have been a mother for almost 15. I still want to be home for Christmas.

My life!

Remember my post about my Christmas cards?



I mailed the letters--not knowing that they were too heavy! The lady at the post office called me about it. She said that they would mail them, I needed to bring a check in or put it out for our mail lady! Only in a small town would they actually call you when there is a problem. If I had been in a city they would have either been returned to sender or they would have had postage due on them for all my friends!

Jigle Bells

This tickled me. Little Miss E spent quite awhile writing down the words to the song Jingle Bells. She has been singing it at school.

She is at the very funnest age for Christmas! It is all magical! The songs, the snow, the wrapping paper, the cards and of course a present or two! She is also such a good little reader now that she is devouring all of our Christmas books.

What are you enjoying?

Where does it all come from?

It is late. I am doing laundry!

I try, I really do.

No Power

What to do when the electricity goes out?

Take pictures of the kiddos by the candles!

I didn't get the tripod out so they are a bit blurry but fun non the less!

I laugh at Little Miss #3. She was quite the poser!

We have had quite a snow storm so an electrical line was down. We were without power for about four hours. Nothing to complain about after the poor people in the East last week!

Santa Claus came to visit!

This is as close to Santa as my 3 year old boy got! He was starting to get croup so he wasn't interested! Poor little thing. He ended up being terribly ill that night.

The 7 year old was very happy to sit on the Big Guy's lap!

It was fun having Santa come to our ward(LDS church) party. We haven't had Santa for years. Trying to keep the focus on the Savior. This year it was decided to have a nativity--darling and then after the party have Santa. I enjoyed watching all the little children, they were all so excited.

I BELIEVE!

One more thing!

Do you ever wonder "WHY" you do certain things?

I certainly do! Take Christmas cards. I really enjoy receiving Christmas cards so I have almost always sent them. I enjoy writing a note to old friends and hoping that they will send a picture of their family.

I like to think that I am an artistic/crafty person. The problem with this is that I have 4 children, 1 husband who happens to have a job and is a Bishop, 1 dog, 1 big house, 4 toilets, 4 bedrooms, 1 office, 1 art studio(junk room!) a kitchen, 2 family rooms and a partridge in a pear tree!

I don't have time to be artistic and crafty! So, what do I do to myself? I think that it would be so much simpler to purchase a "kit" for my cards this year. They are pre-designed. All I have to do is put them together and they will look creative. However, I decide that I have to "alter" them a little bit. This process took forever. Doing it while helping eight maids a milking! So, I finally got the cards assembled, wrote a letter to go inside, put a picture inside, personal note to each and then had to use scotch tape to seal them up!(go figure) THEN--I go to the post office and they are too heavy for regular postage!

Oh, well! They are finished, darling and sent!!

More

It just keeps coming fast and furious!

Sunday: Take #4 back to Dr. with fever, sore throat, cough. He has strep throat. Just in time for the other 3 to have it by Christmas!

What will Monday bring?

Where Did This Week Go?

I'm exhausted!

Monday: Boot Camp at gym, pharmacy, 8 loads of laundry, 6 Christmas books read to #4, Family Home Evening in Salt Lake to see the lights. (one hour both ways)

Tuesday: 8 more loads of laundry, work on Christmas cards, Church Christmas party-made mint frosting brownies, recommend renewed.

Tuesday night/Wednesday morning: Up with #4 sitting by the outside door breathing in cold air--most of night.

Wednesday: Miss boot camp at gym, go to Dr. with #4, he get's a nebulizer treatment and a shot for croup-102*fever, come home and sleep for two hours(#4 slept for four hours).

Thursday: leave for Logan at 7:15 am to drop #4 at best friends house(1 hour 15 min. one way)
Leave home at 11:00 headed for Boise(five hours). Take clients to Christmas dinner. Spend night.

Friday: Leave Boise, take a three hour nap on drive home!!! Talk with family, go to Ogden to meet friends for dinner. Best friend brings #4 back, Grandma eats dinner with us and takes #3 & #4 to her house while we go with three other couples to a Christmas concert.

Saturday: Leave home at 8:30 am headed to the Bountiful Temple with a great young man getting ready for his LDS mission. Get home at 2:30 p.m. Leave our house at 4:00 p.m. for a Martin's Cove planning meeting and then a Dicken's festival/dinner at a local school. Arrive home at 10:00 p.m. Empty dishwasher, take out garbage, load dishwasher, clean pans(eewh!) Clean off counter. Turn off all lights.

I AM TIRED!

Only in the Country!

You know that you live in the country when you look out your window and see a herd of cattle eating your dead weeds!

Yes, this was my backyard this morning. Seven cows clomping through my yard. The funny thing? This same herd came through two weeks ago. Hopefully, they are now properly contained, away from my back yard.

The End of an Era

My friend Lara at The Lazy Organizer has a little thing she does on Tuesday's. She (or anyone that links to her) tells about something interesting(at least to them).

My little guy is three years old. He has been an absolute joy. A few weeks ago I decided that he was way past ready to be out of the crib. My other children were out of the crib much earlier because they were climbing out. This little guy NEVER climbed out. Well, we did it. We put the big boy bed in the room and then it took a few weeks before the crib was removed. However, not one more night was spent in that crib! I thought he might have a bit of hesitation. NONE!

So, I have been thinking about this. This is the last time this crib will be used for my babies. It has been part of our lives for almost fifteen years. My Inlaws purchased it for us with the first baby. It has been a wonderful crib. We have used it in four different locations. Four different babies. Off and on for the past fifteen years it has been part of our decor. Taking it apart this time signified the end of an era. No more floppy newborns, no more 2am feedings. No more stretching the sheet over the mattress(they are the hardest things to get on). No more little ones yelling, "Mama, I wake". This crib has been a symbol of the sweetest, yummiest little babies that have been sent from heaven to this family. Babies are the closest thing to heaven on this earth.

I will be missing those babies.

A Blessing

Do You Recognize YOUR Blessings?

Yesterday, as I was shopping, I was buckling up my three year old into his carseat. A woman came up to me and said "Excuse me" As I turned to look at her (always nervous when people approach me from behind) I recognized her. She said "I have lost my bus fare and I can't get to work. Could you spare some change so I can catch the bus?"

In September we were early to an eatery for a birthday party. We were waiting in the car for a few minutes. A knock came to the car window--"I have lost my bus fare and I can't get to work. Could you spare some change so I can catch the bus?" We found $1.50 and gave it to her, not knowing if she was telling the truth but hoping that it would help her somehow.

When I recognized this woman(at the other end of a very large city) I was a bit surprised. I asked her where she lived, which caught her off guard. I said that I had given her bus fare on 12th street. She very quickly said "thank you" and took off across the parking lot.

As I was driving home I called my husband. My first intentions were not really that nice. However, as I was telling him the situation that had just happened, I had the strongest feelings of gratitude come over me. I felt so grateful that I didn't have to go up to strangers and ask them for spare change. I didn't have to make up stories to be able to get money. I have no idea what this woman does with the money that she gathers. I hope that it isn't for drugs or booze. What hit me the most is how blessed I am to be able to go into a nice dress store and shop for a dress that I WANT not NEED. I have a nice vehicle, a beautiful home, a full fridge and many, many more things that are lovely. I also have the knowledge that I am a Daughter of God and He loves me.

I AM TRULY BLESSED.

Where Are the Pretty Dresses?

Any of you been dress shopping lately? Well, my sweet Hubby is taking me to a dance tonight so he suggested I get a new dress. When the hubby says "go shopping" I listen. Therein lies the problem.

I am a 39 year old mother of four. I am rather short, am blessed(or cursed) to have womanly hips. I will not wear sleeveless, low, revealing, or short clothing.

It is the Christmas season, I assumed that there would be many beautiful festive dresses to choose from.

I WAS WRONG!

I didn't find even one dress that I would even try on---not true, I did try on ONE( not a pretty sight). All other dresses were either for people that dress more bare than I do or are much more MATURE in their dressing. Where are the pretty dresses? Where are the Burgundy, Red and Green pretty dresses for the holidays? If you wear sleeves does that mean that you have to wear a blazer with absolutely NO SHAPE?

I finally found a blouse(do people still use this word?) and a cute black skirt.

I have actually seen little girl dresses for the Holidays that were beautiful. Make a few adjustments and they would be darling---where are they if you are past a 6X?

This is the reason that my closet is not full of the newest fashions. I can't find what I like or it doesn't fit my hips!!

Blessings

What are you grateful for?

Do you ever take the time to write those blessings down on paper? Do you ever write about when the Spirit touches your heart? Do you write down how the Lord has blessed you?

President Eyring(LDS church leader) recently gave a wonderful talk in General Conference where he talked about how he had written blessings, spiritual experiences, etc. down in a tablet for years. He did this for his family. He wanted them to know how he felt about the experiences. He did this so that they too, could learn to recognize the Spirit in their lives and be aware of their many blessings.

In our Relief Society (ladies church meeting) lesson this past Sunday my good friend gave the lesson about this very topic.

Well, I decided to make some little blessing books! I was having my friends over for lunch and I thought it would be fun to give them each a little book. I think that they turned out cute. I am new to this "altering" thing. I used those composition books and then adhered scrapbook paper to them. I stamped some words on them and then got very brave and actually used some paint to make them look---well, altered! I like how they turned out!

It was fun to let my friends pick one. I hope that they will take the opportunity to actually write down some experiences and blessings.

I actually wrote in my own!!!

(Mom, will you start doing this too?)

These Are Making Me Happy

These are making me happy right now!

Last year my sweet Mom bought me some Christmas bowls. I loved them so much that I bought a few more-in case we had a soup party, we would need enough for more people. Well, I went back to TaiPan trading and they had the same set of dishes available this year. However, they had a much larger variety. So, I decided that I was going to buy myself some dishes! I went a little crazy(ok, a lot). I bought a set of both prints. I already had both patterns in the cups. I also bought enough(8) so that if I set my beautiful new table that I would have enough to set all eight place settings.

Well, today I had my soup party! I invited gals from the neighborhood over for a little Christmas lunch. I had out all my pretty dishes and it was so fun. I really enjoyed having those pretty dishes to hold our yummy food. The best part was the company! I really do enjoy all these gals and it seems that we just don't have much opportunity to visit. I would like to try and have one of these little get togethers more often, perhaps once a month or so.

What is making you happy this Christmas Season?

Monday

I said to my three year old, "I am so glad that we got you" "Where did you come from?"

He say's "from the zoo."

December-already?

I am still alive! It has been a crazy week. We had Family Home Evening on Monday, dance practice on Tuesday, Festival of Trees(girls dance groups) on Wednesday, Skating activity on Thursday, Temple Activity on Friday, Neighborhood Party (our House) on Saturday. All of these activities are in addition to all normally scheduled activities-including laundry, dishes, decorating the house and Christmas shopping.

To say the least it was a very, very busy week.

I do have to say--I am so close to being finished with any shopping. With four children it gets a little nuts. I am not a HUGE shopper(my husband would disagree-but he doesn't know what other families do). I have eliminated most gift giving between family and friends. However, it is still a bit of a stretch to just think of the things that you want to have in your home. I worry and worry about the things that I buy for my children. Will they play with it, will it be a flop, will it sit on the floor. Will it help them learn something? I over-analyze every little aspect. I wear myself out worrying about it. Hopefully, this year I have eliminated some of these concerns.

I hope that I will have a moment to blog some pictures. I have some great ones!