Guess What?

The camera cord has been found. I am giddy.

Here is one picture.. from the day we left. I love it.

More to come.

By The Way..

We are here, we are settled.. for the most part. I would post pictures but my camera cord isn't where I thought it was, and I am too lazy to go find it. So.. no pictures.

We have officially been in Indiana for one week. Last Saturday we left bright and early and with tearful goodbyes. My parents took us to the airport, us being my family, and two dogs. My in laws and brother-in law came to see us off also. We appreciated the family support.

It was hard to leave. Friday night was hard knowing that the next day we would leave. The kids ate up every last second they had with Grandma and Grandpa. Our finally goodbye left Little Man coming over hugging me fighting back the tears, and I had been holding up until then, and the tears came. I hugged my parents and my little sis and felt so sad. I have a terrific family, and it broke my heart to leave them. A tip for the future, don't cry during take off, it makes your sinuses pop, a lot.

We landed and got Sage (the dog) and our luggage and went to our hotel. And then we were back to get Izzy from the airport, they went on separate flights.. long story. Now before you think this is normal for my family, we only take the dogs on trips when we are going camping or something. This is not a normal thing for us to fly two big Labradors on airplanes, and we will not be making this a habit, unless of course it is for relocation purposes. Oh... wait.. I am totally off track.

We did the Church thing and then Dallin had school, which he loved. And Tuesday we moved into our home. I love our new house. It is amazing how having your stuff in your home makes it feel like home. My kids, my husband, my stuff and I feel at home.

Evidently I am allergic to Indiana. My allergies are killing me, thankfully I was able to get into an allergist and I am totally drugged up trying to get me breathing decently. The weather is beautiful, and Spring is gorgeous here. I just wish it wasn't trying to kill me slowly.

We are unpacked, the lawn is mowed, Izzy (the dog) was spayed on Tuesday.. seriously why did she have to come into heat the day after we got here! The kids love the neighborhood, and I totally fit in here, (minus the allergy thing).

The kids have been homesick.. so have I. But we are doing well. Love and miss you all.

3 Things You Want to Know

1. I am not blogging again until I am safely in Indiana. We are insanely busy!

2. If you go HERE you can get that bread recipe. Make sure and thank my lovely friend.

3. I am totally going to miss all of my friends. Love you! And see you on the flip side.

And one more.. I my new lens came.. YIPEE! And I used it at I am in love. Check out here to see some fun new images!

Anticipation

I am waiting.. waiting.. waiting. I am not patiently waiting either. Sometime very soon FedEx will be here with my lens. A new lens! I am beyond giddy. I am not leaving my home until it arrives here safe and sound. I have drooled over this lens for months, and have used it twice thanks to Misty allowing me to try it out. I cannot wait to use the nice wide angle and enjoy how fast it is. And I get to use it tomorrow on a fantastic wedding. Oh yeah.. I am shooting a wedding 1 week before the big move.. crazy huh? But after this week I am looking forward to the time away to relax and have fun!!

It's still not here. It is 4:30 and I have yet to go anywhere today because I don't want to miss my beautiful lens. That's all.

9

Nine Days. Do you get what happens in nine days? I will say goodbye to living in Washington State forever. It will no longer be my only place of residence. I will say goodbye to Pacific Time. I will say goodbye to living close to my wonderful family. I will say goodbye to what I know. And I don't want people to see this as sad, and think I am not excited, because I am. But it is so weird.

And you want to know what I am doing to prepare? I am driving to see Misty today, I am running around crazy with my kids enjoy Spring Break. And I am sticking my head in the sand, plugging my ears, and singing la-la-la all the while. It is enjoyable. And I do a great job at it.

9. That's it.

Dear Angie,

The bread... I am drooling just looking at the picture. It is delicious. Delicious I tell you! And not only is it delicious, it is healthy, made with whole grains, freshly ground wheat. It is so healthy that it doesn't matter that I have eaten half the loaf since you brought it to me! Do you see the crumbs on the bread board? Don't even think of wiping them off, I will be eating every morsel of this wonderful goodness. I think your bread you baked must have been manna. It is that good. I could eat it day in and day out and be perfectly content.

And another thing that makes this bread so great, it is mine. I don't have to share it. Thank you for bringing me bread when I can devour each crumb all by myself. So no, I don't plan on sharing.. well maybe a small bite with my children that keep begging me for bread. But they can have the cheap Wonder bread, they don't appreciate the goodness of this bread yet.

My tummy thanks you Angie. This is just delish!

Uplifted and Edified

General Conference. I love it. I feel renewed and able to go out and accomplish the many tasks that are before me after listening to our beloved Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and listening to the many wonderful witnesses of Jesus Christ.

I especially loved Elder Ballard's talk on Motherhood. I hope I can be a better Mother and enjoy the moment more.

And on a final note were are down to under two weeks. HOLY COW.

Oh yes and I did a fantastic engagement shoot.. you really should check it out. Now.. I am done.. Really I am.

This one goes out to the one I love

While hanging out in the Cincinnati airport I took pictures of the man of my dreams. We traveled all day on his birthday, and it was long and tiring, but I enjoyed every second because I was with him!
Randy Happy Birthday! I still remember celebrating your 22nd birthday together and giving you all of your ties. It is amazing how quickly nine years have past.
I love the Father you are to our children.
I love your smile.
I love that look you get when you are thinking of doing something that you know when get me riled up. It makes me smile just thinking of it. And no this is not giving you permission to do any of those crazy things.. but I think it is cute.
I love how great I feel with you.
I love you.
You are totally hot, and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world, every day. And I dig the scruff.. hot!

Happy Birthday babe!
Hope 31 is as rocking as 30.

Exhausted

Need I say more? This is at the airport waiting for our luggage this evening. I think we all wanted to crash like my lucky boy. Now off to bed.

Psych!

We aren't really gone yet. We should be. But we aren't. We are sitting at home waiting for tomorrow to come bright and early. Our flight was delayed coming in from Salt Lake, which made our flight going out very late. It was late enough we were going to miss our connecting flights, and they couldn't get us on any other flights. Thank you Delta. They sent us home, we are going back at 4 AM tomorrow to catch a 5:30 flight. Seriously who gets up at that hour? Evidently us. And we get a great flight plan tomorrow.. seriously wonderful. We go from here, to Salt Lake, to Atlanta, to Indianapolis. At least we are getting frequent flyer miles for ping-ponging across the country. And our trip is going to be oh so quick now. We are flying home on Thursday as originally scheduled. Chaos I tell you. Pure chaos.
On the bright side I get to spend all day with the man of my dreams on his birthday. I am a lucky girl!

FYI

• I will be MIA.
• We are going to Indianapolis to show the kids around, and to show them the new house!
• They can't wait to get on the airplane!
• Randy is celebrating his 31st Birthday on Tuesday, April 1st.
• We didn't want to miss his birthday and since he has to work in Indiana this week; we get to party in Indiana this week.
• I will be back late Thursday.
• Don't miss me too much.
• Have a fabulous week.

Year's Supply

I read Tiffani's blog and she had talked about food storage.. it gave me an idea to blog about.

Want to see my years supply?



A year ago I decided in a few weeks time I would buy my food storage. My parents are on a service mission at our local cannery and had been telling me I needed to get it done. I took the money and decided to go and do it.



It was such a great experience, I took Little Miss with me and she was a terrific helper. It was nice to go and buy all of the basic necessities for one year for my family. And now that I have it I feel so accomplished. I was transferring some of my items this week from bulk to buckets and I felt so excited that I know we are truly prepared. We wouldn't have a lavish diet but we would live for one year.

I am so excited when I go in and look at all of my food. We had an great 3 month supply but I have been dwindling it down since we are moving and I will restock it once we are settled in our new home. I am thrilled to know I have the sugar, milk, grains, legumes, that I need. I still want to add more to it, but we have what we have been asked to do.

And my little plug. If you have wondered about doing food storage, do it. You will be so very blessed. I have such a testimony of having your years supply and also of having your 3 month supply. We have felt so blessed by having this and feeling like we are prepared. I didn't have to strong desire to care about it until I did it. And I love that with our 1 year basic they aren't saying we have to constantly rotate it, it is good for 30 years! And then I have my 3 month stuff that I rotate. And your basics for a family of 4 will cost under $1000. Quite the bargain if you ask me.

I am looking forward to building up more three month supply again it is always nice to have extras of peanut butter on Sunday when you realize you are out. It has saved me many times.

While in the Shower

Little Miss came in Mommy, can you be done? Can you turn off the shower? I peaked my shampooed head out and asked what was so urgent. She looked at me and sweetly said Mommy I want snuggles.
Isn't she the cutest!

The Strength of You

The Strength of Youth pamphlet is one of my favorite things published by the Church. Recently at our Worldwide Leadership Meeting Julie B. Beck was talking about how it is the Strength of You. I have been thinking about this. And thinking about the meaning of what she said.

This is something that we teach the Youth of the Church so that way they have all of the tools they need as adults to go into the world and raise righteous generations. I don't know that I appreciated this doctrine nearly enough as a youth. Now as I teach the youth of the Church I see the valuable tool that it is. It is something we teach the youth so they will live it forever. It doesn't just apply when we are young. It is for all of us.

We taught at a Conference this past weekend and we talked about it so much. I spoke to them about the importance of modesty.. I don't think that it can be taught enough! Explaining to the kids this isn't just guidelines it is scripture written by our Prophets. I know I have known this but it spoke to me even more. Our leaders have blessed us with scripture to help us in every situation, agency, gratitude, education, family, friends, dress, entertainment, music, dancing, language, dating, sexual purity, repentance, honesty, sabbath day observation, tithes, health, service, and faith. They have helped to clear the grey areas and have given us guidance and right and wrong. The path has been marked so very clear. I read it and think that it should be so easy, but sometimes it isn't. I re-read the pamphlet and I have been trying to apply it to my life even more. We can always do better, try harder. With it mapped out so clearly it should be easy right?

And my favorite part, because I feel so strongly about modesty.

"Never lower your dress standards for any occasion. Doing so sends the message that you are using your body to get attention and approval and that modesty is important only when it is convenient.
Immodest clothing includes short shorts and skirts, tight clothing, shirts that do not cover the stomach, and other revealing attire. Young women should wear clothing that covers the shoulder and avoid clothing that is low-cut in the front or the back or revealing in any other manner. Young men should also maintain modesty in their appearance. All should avoid extremes in clothing, appearance, and hairstyle. Always be neat and clean and avoid being sloppy or inappropriately casual in dress, grooming, and manners. Ask yourself, “Would I feel comfortable with my appearance if I were in the Lord’s presence?”"

Trunky

You know when missionaries are counting down the days until they go home. That is where I am at. Counting down the days until I move. I am seriously ready. And before you get me wrong it isn't that I am wanting to leave my family and friends and where I call home. I am just ready to go do the next thing. We know where we are living, we know when we are moving, we know how we are getting there. Now we just need to do it.

Before I go I hope I get a chance to see many of my friends I rarely get to see. I would to do lunch, run to Target, or just get a chance to sit back and chat. We are under 4 weeks until our move day. How crazy is that! And next week we aren't even here.

Randy and I were both talking about how ready we are to move forward. We feel like our lives have been on hold as we have waited to find out what the next step was going to be. And things are all finally in place and we are just ready to move forward and get started on our new adventure.

Easter Pictures.

I took the CUTEST Easter pictures today. My kids looked just adorable, and Little Miss had on her new dress I made her, and Little Man looked super cute. It was great.
I went to upload them and my CF card was corrupt. All images are now gone, I am ticked, sad, on the verge of tears, and ready to scream. I am in mourning. Stay tuned for some "fake" Easter pictures. Hopefully on "fake" Easter it will be nicer weather.

Photoshop Before and After

I have been contemplating showing some Photoshop stuff. And today I decided I would show a before and after of a pictures SOOC (Straight out of camera) and then what the edited version looks like. This is Misty, my wonderful very pregnant friend.

This is the before. The composition works, but the colors are blah. I take my pictures in manual. I adjust my settings and override the cameras standard settings to get better exposure.

First thing I did as an unsharp mask, it actually sharpens the pictures. Then I crop the picture. It needed to get rid of some of the excess that didn't add to the picture. I have Photoshop CS2 that I use to edit, (CS3 is in the mail, I can't wait!) Any who.. I cropped it, then I did adjusted my levels, just slightly to brighten the skin.

(this has been sharpened, cropped, and levels) And then I use the curves tool. It adjusts the contrast a little, and helps to brighten it up a bit. I do a very small s curve in the lower left hand corner staying in that bottom square. It is very slight.Then I add my color balance, I add more red and yellow to warm the picture up. I do it for the highlights, midtones, and shadows. See how much nicer it looks?Then I use a lasso and lasso around Misty and feather at 250, and then select inverse and adjust my levels with the slider on the far left to intensify the colors. And this is my finished product.

Part of editing the pictures and using the 'digital darkroom' is what helps to make your images go from blah to wow! Hope you enjoyed and let me know if you want more like this!

Happy Friday!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Today is my Mom's birthday. I have mentioned several times how much I adore my Mommy, and how wonderful she truly is. I am planning on spending as much time with her as possible today. She has practice for the symphony tonight so we are doing the family shin-dig tomorrow. I went looking through my pictures for pictures of my Mom and I together, this one is almost a year old. Looks like it is time for a new one!!

I won't tell her age, because she is so not happy about it, and I am going to respect her by not telling everyone her age.. I think that is a first for me! I am so proud of how gorgeous my Mom is and how great she looks for her age I tell everyone because it is shocking, but Happy Birthday Mom, today I am keeping your secret.

Here are six things I love about my Mommy.

1. She is a phenomenal violinist. I could listen to just her play for hours. I love playing with her. Music comes to life when she plays.

2. She is kind.

3. She is the best self-sacrificing Mother.

4. She makes her Grandchildren feel like they are the only thing that matter. The world stops when she is with them and they know how much she loves and adores them.

5. She is FUNNY!

6. She is a great example of the type of woman I hope to be.

I could go on and on and on. But those are a few things I love about my Mommy. I am grateful to have spent so many years with my Mom on her birthday, and every other day. I have 30 days until moving day..(yes it is always hanging over my head. ) I plan on spending as much time with her as possible. We went to Spokane together on Tuesday and I am taking her shopping today. Hopefully I will get a good dose of Mommy before I leave.

Happy Birthday Mommy! You are the Best Mom I know. I am grateful that I am your daughter, and that my kids get to call you Grandma. Love you.

Constant

Today I went to my rheumatologist. It was my last appointment with him, and my next one will be with my new Doctor in Indiana. I am quite attached to Dr. Craig, and that might sound a little weird, but I am. He is who diagnosed me with Lupus 10 years ago. I knew him when I was still a Senior in High School. He has been my doctor dealing with all of my issues with my health. He kept tabs on each of the problems I had while pregnant and is one who seriously talked to me about the reasons I needed to be done. I trust him fully to keep me healthy and to do what is best. When I look at the last 10 years of my life it has been crazy and ever changing. This is the one thing that remained constant. I had a Dr I knew and trusted more than any other. He has an awesome Nurse Debbie, who knows when I call needing help, I really need help. It has been the same and one of the only things that has stayed that way for 10 years. As long as I have dealt with this disease. It was sad to leave today, they wished me well and gave me a hug and made me promise to come back and visit with my kids. I almost teared up when I left. It is always a familiar place and somewhere I feel okay. They know all the crazy things wrong with me, and are able to laugh at it with me and keep things light and help me to deal the way I do. I don't know many doctors or offices that help people as much as they do. It's been the constant in my world when everything else is always changing. It's been a good ten years.

Blah.. blah.. blah..

Yesterday I pouted. Really I did. We all have bronchitis, thankfully we are all on meds an getting better. We sat at home and I realized that in 5 weeks, I won't be here. Sad huh? I pouted.

Today, I have been productive. I locked in our interest rate, and found out we get to re-lock one time if rates drop! And Merck bought our rate down a little!!! I talked to the movers to schedule the moving date. One month from today is what it is looking like. *sigh* I am excited but not. Does that makes sense?

Want to know my schedule for the next month. This week Randy is home. Next week he is in Pennsylvania for training. The week of April 1st we are all in Indiana. The next week Randy is in Pennsylvania for training, and then he is home and we move the week of the 17th. Do you see how quickly this is happening? Do you feel overwhelmed for me? You should! :)

While in Indiana I loved it. Really it was nice. I just wish it wasn't all the way over there. Seriously it is in the Eastern Time Zone. That is FOREVER away. Part of me just wished it was at least in Central Time.. I don't know why I think that would be easier but I do. At least we will get to fly back and forth. I already have one flight with the kids booked home.

I love the house we are moving into. Really I love it. I love that they don't have fences. It is just pretty and the lots are nice sized. We are going to put in the underground electric fence for our dogs. They should do well with that. (We hope!) They are getting older and lazier. (Sage turned 3 yesterday!) And the kids thankfully stay in the yard now.

Some great things.. so I am not negative or pouting.. because really today is better it is just sad to leave what we know as "home". Wonderful restaurants. I mean WONDERFUL! The shopping is awesome. My mall has Saks in it! How cool is that? Costco is close!! YIPPEE!! The manners, and a little bit of Southern Hospitality. Yes Ma'am and No Sir. I want my children to pick up on this. The schools are some of the best rated. It is one of the best places to live in America! They have the best Children's Museum in the World. Everyone told me that. They have a zoo! With dolphins. We can go to a Pacers game.. okay we can go cheer for the Sonics. And I know two nice women there both named Emily, so I won't confuse their names!! I think once it is done and we are there it will be easier.. right? The main parts are figured out.. now it is just getting there.

Back!

We had a nice time in Indiana. It is flat there. Very flat. I was surprised. And there are cornfields and ponds everywhere. Tons of trees, and just quite different from the two colors of greenish-brown, and brownish-green here. We looked at several homes, I had vowed we would not buy a home on this trip, this was purely just to get acquainted with the area.

We saw several homes I was not interested in at all. I thought I would be, but they were not desirable. And then we pulled up to a house and I thought this is nice. We went in, it was nicer, we toured the whole thing and I knew I was in love. I told Randy when we came back in a few weeks with the kids we could make an offer.. no one else would love it like I did right? We decided to go through it one more time and after going back, I knew it was where we were supposed to be. It was the neighborhood, the house, this was going to be our home. We decided to make an offer. And after some negotiating, we are under contract with our new home in Indiana, far far away. We are excited, and looking forward to the move. It helps knowing where we are going and starting to feel things falling into place.

About Indiana, the people are nice. So nice. Seriously I was so impressed with people offering to help us get to know the area, giving us their phone numbers and email addresses in case we have any questions. Those who know me well know that I talk to anyone anytime about anything. I fit in there, everyone there does it too! They wave at you driving down the street, they talk to you like they have known you forever. It was awesome!! Evidently I am a Midwest girl who didn't know it!!

Get ready for picture overload, we love this house, and it fits all of our requirements and then some.

The Details

Or at least a few of them. Our house goes on the market officially tomorrow. It is so surreal to me. But we are excited and looking forward to the next stage.

We are going to Indianapolis this week. I was supposed to go to Spokane this weekend, but we need to go look for a home and where we are going to live. (Sorry to all of my friends I am ditching.. hope you still love me.) We get two trips, this week and again the first week of April. I am excited to go see Indiana, see where I am going to call home. It will be Randy and my first trip to Indiana. Is it crazy to agree to move somewhere you have never been?

The question most asked, when do you move? I like to say 8 weeks. It is a good answer, and one I might continue to use for the next 8 weeks. Realistically though we should be moving in less than 6 weeks. It is quickly approaching. That is part of the reason we are going to Indianapolis this week, before long we will be on our final flight there.

I am getting much more excited. There are so many great opportunities and I am just so excited. I am extending an invitation to all of my friends to come visit me. You know you want to! I have had several of the Young Women I teach and have taught tell me they are coming to visit me. I seriously hope so.

Thankfully I already have a trip planned to come back home in June. I have a wedding I am photographing and they want ME so I am flying back with the kids so I can capture their special day.

Good news.. we don't have to pack a thing. If we pack it it won't be insured. Moving will be quite simple, we get our suitcases and go the airport with our dogs and fly to our new home. Our van and belongings will come shortly after. Could it be any easier? I don't think so. Here is to a stress free move!

What I Like About ME!

I have mentioned before I like myself. And I was reading a couple of blogs and decided I would join in. Because lets face it this is my blog.. and well I like to talk about me, who doesn't! :)

Little Man took this picture of me.. it makes me laugh, because I am so not this serious, and I realize I am no longer this teenage bride.. I am almost 28!

But check out that picture, do you see my neck? I always thought I had a short neck, but I don't. It is a long slender neck, and I love it. And it just makes me feel HOT! Everyone likes to feel hot right?

My hair.. I used to straighten my hair ALWAYS. I never wore it curly. Then slowly I would do it on occasion curly, and now it is rare that it is straight. I love my curls. They are fun and so me. Always random and never quite the same. And I can't forget the color.. I love how dark it is, and the contrast it is to my light eyes.

My hands, I have long fingers, and long slender hands. I can reach two keys over an octave on the piano, I can palm a basketball, and my hands are bigger than my husbands. I love that they are long.

My scars on my body. If you look closely in that picture you will see one at the base of my neck. I love it. All of the scars from my surgeries I have had I look at with pride. My body struggled through many things and I came out on top. I can do hard things. (I especially have to remember this right now as I am preparing to move away from my family.. cue the crying.)

I like my lips. I have always been told I have perfect pretty lips. And the edges almost always are curled up.. life is too fun to not smile and have a terrific time.

And I love my eyes. They are blue or green depends on what I am wearing. They are light, and they are like that of my wonderful Mother.

It was supposed to be five things, but I got carried away. As I have said before it is important to like ourselves. If you would have asked me two years ago what I liked about myself I would have said my clothes that cover up my body. I have watched women with confidence in who they are and the people they are becoming and have been in awe. Many of my friends have been these women who just are so confident who they are. I decided I needed that in my life. I needed to know who I was, and that by knowing that about me, I would like me. I learned I am a Daughter of God. He loves me. He made me just the way I am. He didn't make me to look like some girl on the cover of a magazine, or to aspire to look like someone/something else. He made me perfect in His eyes. I realized that finally. It only took SEVERAL years. I realized it when I looked at my own daughter and saw how absolutely BEAUTIFUL she is. And realized my Mother felt the same way about me. I would be greatly saddened if my daughter ever felt she needed to do things to change herself to be beautiful. The media has twisted what true beauty is. I love how Danyelle talks about how she despised her nose, but now loves it. That is an awesome thing and something I hope we as women will do. Embrace ourselves for who we are, not what we think we should be. We are made unique and beautiful and individuals.

Embrace yourself, what do you like about you?

The Slump...

My Blog is in a slump. It has been for a month. I have had pretty much just one thing on my mind. I am moving.. where? when? why? blah.. blah.. blah. Really I only have one thing I want to blog about and who all wants to hear about me moving to Indiana.



Now I know the where, and pretty much the when, and the why because the boss said so.. and well so did the Lord. My questions are answered.. kind of. But then it opened up a whole bunch of knew questions. What house, which city, schools, church, shopping, and the list goes on.



I am asked if we are excited. I will be honest, the opportunity for Randy's job is totally exciting! And really we feel so incredibly blessed to have been given such a wonderful promotion. The adventure is exciting, the chance to live so close to so many Church history sites is exciting. We are going to be close (well driving distance) to where Randy served his mission! How cool is that! There are so many things we are so very excited for. It is a new adventure, and we love adventures. They have a zoo there, and the best Children's Museum in US there. Everyone is telling me all about it. We will have amazing experiences there, I have no doubt. And I am going to live outside of Washington State for the first time! So yes we are excited for part of it.



And yes I am very sad to be leaving my family. We have been blessed to live close to family for so many years that it will be hard to not have them close. My Mom is one of my best friends. I don't want people telling me how it is good to be away from family, I get that we cleave to our spouse and our children our little family unit. But I like having my Mom around. Thankfully we will live near a big airport, so flights shouldn't be too bad. We have our cell phones, the Internet and web cams that we can use. It will all be okay, but I do know that this will be hard.



These are the things that are going on in my head daily. Am I strong enough to do this? Does the Lord really think I can do this? Will my kids handle this okay? Is this going to be our forever home? What next? HOLY CRAP IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING? What happened to my life as I knew it just a few weeks ago?



The Lord has blessed me with quiet reassurances that this is indeed what we are supposed to do. I can do this, and it will all work out. I know this. It is still sinking in, and I don't know that I will fully comprehend it until I am there. I do know that I am truly grateful that the Church is everywhere. I will have a ward family instantly and I will have a place to call home. The Lord has a reason for sending us to Indiana, and hopefully one day I will fully understand them. But for now I trust Him. I am thrilled for the opportunities that Randy has with his work. Seriously we could not be more blessed. And I am thankful I am not a pioneer or it would take me three years to get there and I would never see my family again. I feel blessed in so many ways, and we have truly felt like we have been so blessed and have had many things so inspired throughout all of this.

*Beware if you don't want to read more or learn more about this you might want to avoid my blog for a while. Hopefully you love me enough to want to hear all of the gory details!

MLM Returns!! 6 Word Life Memoir

My Life Monday is back! Are you excited? Because I am excited. I love love love love love love love love love love love My Life Monday! Understood? Great!

Today's topic is 6 Word Life Memoir. I have felt stumped.. and unsure.

I am choosing It's the Little Things that Matter.

In my life it always seems to be the little things that make a difference. It never fails that when one little thing gets thrown off my whole life gets out of whack. When I take time to take care of the little details that keep everything together my life is better. I apply this to the Gospel and the way that when I skip a scripture study I notice. It matters, it changes my day and I don't feel the Spirit as strong. When I take time to listen, to stop, to be aware of the little things in my life I feel so blessed. The small things move mountains for me, and help to keep me grounded.

Now go to Rachelle's blog and join in!

Stop the Presses!!

Okay, I am having to out myself quicker than I was planning.

1. I haven't met Jordan and Pippen.

2. Yes, we are moving to Indianapolis, Indiana.

3. No I am not pregnant. I thought that was a given with me being fixed and all. I am truly sorry for the speculation.

4. My Dad always threatened me that if I got my ears pierced I had to get my nose pierced.. thankfully that didn't happen.

I keep thinking I should end the post here. But, I won't torture you.

Randy was offered a promotion with Merck and we have accepted it. We will be moving by the first of May across the country. We are excited, anxious, and looking forward to this next step in our life. We have known for the past month this was coming.. we just weren't sure where. I am sure the next 8 weeks will be interesting.

3 Lies, 1 Truth

Just a random post.

1. In 1995 I met Michael Jordan with Scottie Pippen downtown Chicago.

2. We are moving to Indianapolis, Indiana.

3. I am pregnant!!

4. My Dad made me pierce my nose and my ears at the same time.. he thought it would discourage me, but it didn't.

Sitting at the Stop Light

Do you ever pull up to a stoplight glad the light is red so you can fix your makeup, pick that booger, eat that fry that fell? I think a lot of people do.

I was recently sitting at a stoplight and watching as these teenage girls next to me we fixing their makeup, and caking it on. I giggled. I remember riding with my cousins who would do that.. me I put my makeup on once, it had better last all day!

I looked at another car and saw this guy eating his food, and then sticking his head down coming up with another fry, and I giggled again. There you all know I point and laugh at people. (Okay no pointing, but you get the point. Flame me!) Seriously when you are driving and eating you always drop something you wanted to get in your mouth.

Then there was this pretty fancy looking lady who was all alone.. or so she thought and there she was picking her nose. Guess what?? I giggled again. And you know you have done it, we all have done it. Who doesn't pick their nose from time to time, little did she know I was watching and just cracking myself up.

And then there is me. Sitting in my AWESOME minivan and rocking out, dancing to the music sitting at the stop light singing my little heart out. Who do you think everyone else was pointing and laughing at? Me.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My Valentine's started at midnight.. or a few minutes before. Little Miss has been struggling with her tonsils and the recovery. Things have been on the mend, and the nights still had some whimpering, but not nearly as much. Last night (this EARLY AM) I went in to a whimpering girl who had blood coming out of her nose and mouth. Not what I wanted to see. I took her into the bathroom where she proceeded to pull clots out of her mouth and bleed profusely. I threw on my sweatshirt and decided we should go to the ER. Ainslee had to get pink blankie and her white kitty for security and we were off.

We arrived and because she kept spitting blood they got us back into a room quickly, it tends to gross out people in the waiting room when blood is coming out of a little girls nose and mouth. Our Dr came in and checked her out and saw a LARGE clot on the left side. They had her gargle with peroxide and water. (Have you ever tried to get a 4 year old to gargle.. I don't suggest it.) When that didn't work they decided to wrap her in a sheet tightly. She was less than thrilled. Little Miss is like a cat at times. When she is in trouble and being sent to her room she will grab anything and everything and is like a cat being put into water. She was ready to attack anyone trying to get her in the sheet. They were suprised at how fiesty and strong she was.. (she is so MY daughter!) They then tried to suction out the clot, it failed, and resulted in her yarfing blood all over the nurse. It was gross, and I almost lost it myself, I am a sympathy puker.

After this they decided she would be admitted to the hospital and that the ENT would come in the morning and she would probably be sedated by general anesthia and have the clot removed, and things fixed. This was not what I wanted to hear, but I would rather be there if she was going to continue bleeding horribly than at home. Thankfully after we were settled up in Peds the bleeding ceased. I crawled in bed with Little miss and sometime after 5AM I slept for 60-90 minutes, I am not sure.. but it wasn't nearly long enough. Randy and Little Man came up to visit her and then we hung out and watched Playhouse Disney. Finally her Dr came in and decided that we should try suctioning one more time. I pinned her legs, Randy had her head and face, one nurse had the arms, and another had something else??? I don't remember and the dr stuck the tounge depressor in and the suction and after more of the cat like fighting the clot was sucked out. I about bawled though. My baby was screaming, and fighting for all she was worth, I hated to be holding her down, but I knew it was better than being put under. She survived and they let us go home one hour later. Much better than they originally thought. Thank goodness.


I gave Randy a card for Valentine's when we get home, and we are going skiing tomorrow.. or supposed to be going skiing for his present, and he suprised me.. okay not really, but I will pretend he did with a nice new piece of glass. And not just any glass this one! And I am thrilled.

Sadly I am too sleepy to play with it. I need a nice nap and then hopefully I will get to snapping. Happy Valentine's and more your day be less dramatic than mine.

Oh yes and one more thing. Randy is the best Valentine in the world, because he loves me unconditionally. And that says a lot. He is my hero. He is strong and always there for the support I need. He allows me a shoulder to cry on. He is my biggest fan. He is the man of my dreams, and nothing less. He is super sexy. He is the best father any kid could wish for, he is the best person I know. Randy I love you, Randy I do.

Love At Home

On Saturday I had the chance to go and watch a broadcast of the World Wide Leadership Training for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I will admit I wasn't exactly excited to go, I wanted to just have some alone time with my husband. But I am extremely glad that I went.

Some thing I remember, and really liked.

-The family is important, more important than all of the extra-curricular activties you can put your children in.
-We shouldn't be selfish, too many people think they need more ME time when we need more family time. We need to do more service for those in our family and others.
-No matter where we are we will have family, our ward becomes our family. Every ward you can find a Grandma for your children.
-Family Home Evening, Scripture Study, and Prayers will help keep our children strong.
-Love at Home, first thing we need to learn. (I love this, I want my home to be a haven a peace, somewhere that is away from the World and place where people feel the Spirit.)
-The World has always been evil and wicked, that is why we have the gospel, we shouldn't fear raising our kids in the world they are blessed to have the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There are so many more. It was uplifting and edifying. I walked away knowing that I can raise my children to grow up righteously. The Lord is so aware of us, and of the struggles we go through and He has provided many helps for us along the way. The Family A Proclamation to the World was inspired by God. He is helping us if we will look and reach out. I needed this meeting more than I knew. I am grateful for parents who offered to watch our kids so we could attend, and my husband who was more than willing to go.

Update

I took Little Miss to the doctor for her Post-Op appointment, things are going good. Her healing is going along just perfectly, and the scabs that are falling off of the back of the throat make it sore to eat, (that makes me want to throw up.) The nasal squeaky Minnie Mouse voice will go away once the swelling is gone in the nose and throat, and once she learns to adjust to breathing through her nose. The milk and other liquids coming out of her nose is from her being able to move air and other things through because the blasted adenoids are now out. The screaming, they think it is night terrors caused partially by the medicine, but it should be clearing up. She slept much better last night. I think it is because she had a blessing. And today is much better than yesterday! We did watch Peter Pan and snuggle most of the day, but it is looking up! WOO HOO! I am ready for my poor girl to be well.

Tonsil Drama

Little Miss had her tonsils taken out 10 days ago. You would think that she would be better by now. You would think I would have been rejoicing the blessings this has brought into my life with how excited I was about this. I had done this before with Little Man, he bounced back quickly and he was only 3 1/2. This couldn't be any worse with her. I was WRONG. Horribly WRONG.

Little Miss has lost five pounds, that may not seem like a lot but it is over 15% of her body weight. And if you have seen her she didn't have any to lose to begin with. She still is having a hard time eating anything, much less something that will keep her from losing weight.

Her voice, well it sounds like Minnie Mouse on Helium who is liquored up so all words are slurred and it is EXTREMELY hard to understand. I was told it would be high, and seriously nasal but I truly am shocked, but they assured me in the next few weeks it will get better. We are going to Elsa (speech therapist) tomorrow so hopefully she will help us.

Little Miss has not been able to breathe through her nose, who knows if ever. She now when drinking randomly has it come out of her nose. Seriously that just seems miserable.

She has screams randomly and very often for the past three nights in a row. I stayed in her bed all night last night in hopes that it would provide me a little more rest, and her with a little more comfort. Have you ever smelled the breath of someone who just had their tonsils out? It is nice. It is as though my daughter is having withdrawals from the pain medicine. It breaks my heart for her to be struggling so much.

She has become a permanent fixture to me, either lying or sitting on me at all times unless I am in the bathroom or shower. And even then those must be quick. I remember when I didn't feel good, Mom just makes it better. At least I know I am providing her comfort, the poor kid is just having it rough. Thankfully we go to the surgeon tomorrow for a follow up.

She is eating popsicles today, and is quite the Connoisseur on them. I bought the Jell-O pudding pops for her and she doesn't want the chocolate it tastes like Costco Chocolate Cake and don't I remember she doesn't like it right now! Umm.. I guess I missed that memo.

I feel for Little Miss. I know how horrible surgery can be. I wish she wasn't going through such a hard time. I want her back to her happy self, instead of being moody and telling me, I AM HAPPY MOM, I AM NOT CRANKY. Sounds believeable huh? I want her to be able to eat, to drink and not have it come out of her nose, to sleep and not scream, to just be my Little Miss.

Tagged a MeMe!

Thanks Tiffany for the tag.

1. Ten years ago: I was 17, soon to be 18, soon to be graduating from Pomeroy High School, (GO PHS!!) I was have a heck of a time with my asthma and in the hospital all.of.the.time. I swear it was constant. How the heck am I still alive? I was enjoying hanging out with friends that I haven't seen in nearly 10 years.

2. 5 things to do on my to-do list: 1. Take a Bubble Bath 2. Get a massage 3. Get Ainslee better 4. Relax 5. Make it through another week

3. Snacks I enjoy: Anything with sugar.... Sugar is my friend.

4. 3 bad habits: 1. I stay up late.. way too late 2. Procrastinating 3. Stressing over that which I have no control of. Working on that one.

5.If I suddenly became a billionaire: Pay off my house! Invest and save and live off of my interest.

6. Places I've lived: Washington State.. and Washington State

7. Jobs I've had: All of the jobs I have ever had? Oh boy! I mowed lawns with my brothers growing up, and not just a few a good 30 a week. And then I waited tables, worked in a department store, worked at a daycare (yuck), bank, brokerage firm, and medical lab.

8. Things people don't know about me: Hmm.. this is my blog and I blog about lots of things, but I also blog about ME a lot. So what don't people know about me? I can palm a guys basketball. My hands are very long, and I have bigger hands than most guys I know.

So in honoring the tag I tag: Terilyn, Alli, Lisa, and Marilyn.

Always There

I came across this and I love it. I know that whenever we need our Savior Jesus Christ, He is always there. We need to ask and reach out to Him. He will help us through all that we endure.

The 16th Prophet

President Thomas S. Monson, Prophet, Seer, and Revelator. I am overjoyed at the news of our new beloved Prophet, of his Counselors President Henry B. Eyring, and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

I remember the first time I really noticed President Monson December 1988, the Christmas Devotional he gave a talk and related the story From Lucas To Santa, I loved the story, and during the broadcast we were no longer able to hear the whole talk that he was giving. I wanted to hear the rest, I was 8 and I fell in love with President Monson. I wrote him, and he wrote me back and included a copy of his talk. I was thrilled, and poured over it many times reading it, and devouring every word that he had written. He cared enough about me to send me his talk so I could hear the whole message. I wrote him a few more times and each time I requested that when I was in Utah next that I would love to meet him. That question was never answered. I was naive, I figured anyone could go visit him! I have each letter that he wrote me. I adore President Monson, and have no doubt that he has been called by God. He is a chosen Prophet and will go forward with this great work.

I am excited that my kids will know him as their Prophet and hope that he will impact their lives as much as he did mine. My heart is full. I know that our Heavenly Father is so aware of each of us.

Answers

I love when I read the scriptures and I recieve answers, and realize that I needed to read that just now and so have the comfort that I know my Heavenly Father is aware of me. I would feel ungrateful if I did not recognize it. Tonight we were reading as a family, and normally I am just trying to get it read and keep the kids quiet. As I read my verse Alma 36:3 this part stuck out to me. "... for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day." How grateful I am for this scripture, I feel it was written just for me. I have read it several times but this is the first time I believe it has ever been so clear and exact.

Surviving

Little Miss had her tonsils and adenoids out yesterday. She puked about 10 times before bedtime. Poor kiddo, the anestia hits her like it does Mom and Dad. The pukes haves stopped and she is resting. Her surgery went great! The doctor think we will see huge improvements, and she barely bled at all. She has had a couple of people bring her balloons and come to visit. Grandma even sat in her room with her and us for hours. She is surviving. She hurts but each day will get better.

And I am off to snuggle my baby.

Happy Blogging!

Today marks my Two year Anniversary of Blogging!
Here are some of my favorite posts from the past year.

The Brave Princess

The Hair Change

Lovin' My Kids!

In This Skin.. I like seeing my progress!

Feeling at Home

A Proud Mommy Moment

April Re-Cap

Celebrating ME! We all should do this.

I love HIM

She's Growing UP!

Special Olympics

Why my camera makes me better

I Will Cherish You because I love him THAT much!

Wow he is BIG!!

The DIVA is here

Summer FUN!

Success! Can you believe I am doing it again?

Get my a walker

This just makes me giggle..

General Conference

Growing up

Halloween

A good Motto

Vegas

Done!

6

Boots!!

Smile

364

The BEST women

Yeah there are lots of my favorites. And there are even more. That is a total trip down memory lane. I love getting to read about my life/thoughts and stuff. I have now successfully journaled for 2 years. Go me!

In Memory of our Beloved Prophet

I came upon this tribute, how beautiful and perfect. He was truly a Prophet of God. We were blessed to be taught by him and to feel of his love for each of us. I look forward to the progression of the Church and to sustaining our new Prophet.

President Hinckley

I am sitting here in shock. In disbelief with great sadness. Tears are streaming down my cheeks as I try to wrap my head around everything. Our beloved Prophet President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away this evening. My friend IM'ed me and asked if I had heard the news.. to which I replied what news? And she informed me that President Hinckley had passed away at 7:30 MST. I went to tell Randy and burst into tears. They are tears of joy, and of sadness. I am elated for the chance he has to be with his wife after nearly four years. But I am saddened that my children will not know him the way that I have known him. He is the first Prophet who I related to, and who truly made an impact in my life.

I was 14, almost 15 when he was called as Prophet. I loved hearing him speak. I had the chance to hear him speak in person at the Conference Center, what an amazing feeling and blessing it was. The moment he walked in you could tell he was truly a man of God. He challenged us as Saints to go out and to be better. He wanted us to try harder, to attend the temple, to enjoy our lives. He brought temples to many who lived so far away from them. He helped us to grow as Saints. I am saddened to not have his messages to look forward to, but thankful I can read the past ones.

I am sitting here thinking that there must be quite a celebration on the other side tonight. I imagine there is quite a party as he is having the chance to his beloved wife.

President Hinckley will never know the great impact he had on my life, and on many others lives. He inspired me to do good. I left each General Conference knowing that I could do better and it was doable. I felt uplifted. I have so much in my head, but I can't seem to express it all the way I want to. The world is missing a great man. The heavens have gained one.

God be with you 'til we meet again.

Why I am a Heathen

Evidently you all want dirt on me. Black mail? Maybe. But really it isn't juicy. We went skiing at Spout Springs on Monday. It was fun. Randy decided we should try these other trails further over. I reluctantly went with him. We were skiing in powder.. and not a little it was insane amounts and I was wondering if we were going to get lost and no one would ever find us and children would be left without parents. Why I didn't say anything.. I didn't want to be a wuss. So I kept going. It rocks to be so brave. ha! We get to a point, and sorry for the link, I can't get it to copy, save, or anything, CLICK HERE! And we went past lockjaw.. over to those other trails, the ones with the dotted lines, no longer dashed. (Does this sound smart? Do you get that Randy and I are just learning to ski.. they taught us how to put our skis on in the lesson.) Randy thought we could do it. I thought he wanted to take me off to get rid of me. Trade up for the newer model. (Okay not really... you can't get better than this.)

We kept going further following these lone ski tracks, seriously I don't know what we were thinking. We get to a hill, and then another one further over. I ask Randy what he wants to do, he said to check out the other hill. And like I explained I thought he wanted me to ski over there. I did, and a little down. He asks how is it? Umm.. I can't see the bottom, heck I see a ridge and then trees. Looks deadly.. think we should try it? He tells me to come back. Yeah right. Have you ever tried that on skis in powder so deep? Have you tried to hike up hill in skis? Or ski uphill? Doesn't he get that is why we have ski lifts, people don't do this. I start trying to step, walk, ski up the hill. It wasn't going well, and I kept falling and working my butt off to get up the hill. After just barely standing up to move for the millionth time I fell again and this time I cursed. I wish Darnit had come out.. but it's evil-step-sister did. I know I am a sinner. I felt ashamed. Really, I did. I know better and it is just wrong. I was so done and let it slip. The guilt. Who heard it? Me, the Lord, and Randy. Not millions of people, but I have guilt. I hate doing things like that in front of my husband, completely humiliating.

I took my ski's off and hiked in thigh high powder up the blasted hill and finally we got over to a decent trail and made it down. Lesson learned, don't ski in the deep powder and try and go up hill. I will say things I wish I never had. I apologized to Randy and he laughed.. it makes him giggle when I get that upset. Have I mentioned I am so lucky to have him? Because I am.

Blogger Block

Lately I don't know what to blog about. Do I really want to write about my daily life, got up, showered, brushed my hair, put lotion on my face. Fed kids breakfast, drove Little Man to school. Drove home. Hung out with Little Miss, ate lunch. Shopped. Browsed online, cleaned up the house, picked up Little Man. Somewhere in the day I talked with Tiffany, and then made dinner, and went to bed. Something along those lines. Do I care to ever read about it, probably not. Will it bore everyone else to tears? Definitely.

Any terrific ideas? I already told you how I had to hike up the stupid hill, I didn't tell you I was a heathen though.. I let a word slip. I know I am purely evil, and I have great guilt. I. Have.GUILT!. I could tell you that I haven't even started the Center Pieces for my Brother-In-Laws wedding that I am doing for Saturday, but I would look like a procrastinator.. and that is my secret. I could tell you about Randy's new saxophone and more but I want you to hear it. I could tell you about lots of things but I never know which one to pick.

How about you choose, anything you want to know, or hear about. What would you like to know about me.. or my life?

Skiing Fun!

Randy and I went skiing at Spout Springs yesterday. We had so much fun. I picked up our babysitter at 6:50AM and we left for a day of skiing fun. We took a hour and a half lesson and loved every minute of it. We did one run before we had our lesson and I fell getting off the lift, thankfully no one else was coming and I had to have the attendant help me up. It was awesome. And then I fell going down the hill, had to take my ski off to get up. Yeah, I felt so cool. I was thrilled to have a lesson and learn more about what I was doing. I skied in '97 and in '99 once each time. And Randy had skied back in '96ish before his mission.

The next time we went up the hill the attendant grabbed my hand to help me off the lift, I was so grateful, and I got good enough on that hill I could go down and not fall!! WOO HOO!! I was feeling pretty awesome. Then we went up the bigger hill. I fell getting off that lift too.. just the first time. After that I mastered it. We went down some pretty steep hills, and enough falling shook my confidence, but Randy did awesome. We both had some pretty good falls, but it was so much fun!

Randy later wanted to try a different trail so we went out into uncharted territory, the trail wasn't groomed it was deep fresh powder. I went to far, the hill had no bottom, it was like a cliff, I didn't want to die! I ended up having to hike up this beastly hill. Let me tell you, I was not a happy girl. I was grumbling and ready for someone to come along on their snowmobile and drag my sorry butt off of the mountain. Randy waited patiently trying to be encouraging and I finally got through and was thrilled to get to a still-steep-but-at-least-I-could-see-the-bottom-hill and go down.

We did at least 16 runs, I think more. We are going to go a few more time this year and take the kids so they can learn now. I had so much fun, and enjoyed 11 hours with my husband and having the chance to learn something new together. Thanks for a fantastic day!

And sorry no pictures, we are neither one talented enough to take a picture of the other one while skiing. So just pretend you see me rolling down the hill.

Engagement Pictures

There are a few up on my Photo Blog and I am thrilled. This was one of those shoots the whole time I was thinking I can't wait to edit these!! I think we will have almost 60! It was cold, very cold. But they were troopers and just terrific fun. And for those of you who don't want to click here is a teaser. I will be putting more up in the future. And aren't they so cute??

1 Year Ago

One year ago today's I posted about this, it was a joyous time. My beloved camera was finally in my possession. I had wanted one for months, and I was constantly showing Randy the best deals I could find all. of. the. time. I think he got so sick of it he brought it home so I would shut up and leave him alone. It worked! I still love my camera as much as I did the day I got it. And I have since acquired more lenses and a flash with two more lenses coming soon. I can't wait! And if things go to my plan it will be getting a new sister this year to accompany us everywhere we go.

I had no idea what getting my camera would do for me. I mentioned yesterday it brought me joy, and it has brought so much needed joy. And it has healed my heart. Not the actual camera, but photography.

I dreamed of having a big family. I would have a minimum of 4 kids and hopefully more. It was all going to be perfect. Then due to health issues (trying to die while pregnant) every doctor said we were done. I was betrayed by my own body. It had failed me. With all of my health issues I have never felt like my body was betraying me, but when I realized I couldn't have more kids I felt betrayed and like I was a complete failure at the one dream I had. My not being able to have more kids changed how I viewed myself and my body. I felt as if I was defined as a failure. It hurt. I cringed when I was asked when we were having more because I felt like everyone else could see my failure also.

This past year I have had the chance to bring my art back into my life. I used to paint, and I love to paint. My parents have my paintings and art is a passion of mine. I had shoved it back and down for so long because I didn't have the time. I decided with my camera I would start doing what I love, taking pictures and do something I know I am good at. It started slowly and I read and learned to understand everything my camera would do and also everything photoshop could do for me. I have taken over 44 pictures for other people in the past year. I had no idea it was that many until I just looked, (this includes my 5 weddings.) Somewhere along the way this year my heart was healed. I no longer feel that I am a failure. The number of kids I have does not define me, and my children are by no means a failure of my body. They are wonderful beautiful miracles. Capturing the moments people want to remember and taking the time to get to know people and learn about each family has brought a sense of peace and joy that I needed. I needed to have something I was good at that was mine. It was separate from that of a mother, separate from that of a wife, it was me. Nothing less, nothing more. A part of me that I lost so long ago was brought back and I feel whole. I no longer feel I have failed. Who knew what this camera would do, and that I needed it oh so much? I never imagined the healing it would bring to me when I got it one year ago. I felt guilt that Randy spent that much money on me, but I was thrilled.

Every infant, child, family, couple, wedding, that I take pictures of is forever imprinted in my heart. I love that I am getting to know so many more people and that they share parts of their life with me. I can't wait to see all that comes from 2008.

The Break is Over

I have had a good 3 weeks off of my photography and I miss it tons. It was nice to just be able to relax and not have photos waiting for editing, but I am ready to jump back in and get things going.

Tomorrow I have a super fun engagement shoot that I am beyond giddy for. It will be nice to capture them and they are up for a fun and funky shoot. Those are always my favorite. So be on the watch for some new pictures. I am so excited for 2008 and the progress I have seen in my photography and for some of the things I have planned.

And tomorrow marks the one year date of getting my beloved camera. Who knew the joy that it would bring to me. Dear Camera, I love you.

124

I realized I blogged on this blog 124 times in 2006, and 124 times in 2007. (I had my photo blog going for 2007, so I blogged on it this past year also, so I actually blogged more but different.) Think that will be the same for this year? I blog about 1/3 of the days. So not too shabby, because really I don't always have great things to blog about. Like today. I feel I should blog, but I am insanely busy.

Did I mention I have had my cute sister all week? It is so much fun, but I am running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Three kids definitely has thrown my life out of whack. I have no idea how mom's of many do it. You have my respect.

And because I haven't shared our 2007 Family Picture, courtesy of Misty, here you go! We took these the day we went to Las Vegas. These are what I have displayed in my home.

And here are a couple that Randy thought should make the cut to show us being real. Not everyone needs to see the backhanding. But the jumping, I totally love.

Have an awesome day. Go out and do something fun and make the most of this brisk January Day!

16 Days

Little Miss will be going under the knife. She will have those blasted tonsils and adenoids removed. They are extremely large, and are effecting her breathing, sleeping, speech, and even eating. I am thrilled that we only have to wait 16 days. I am excited for the surgery and to see the progress. Prayers that things go well and that the outcome is as great as they are hoping for would be greatly appreciated.

Yipee!

Little Miss is going to the ENT today at 11:30. We weren't suppose to get to go until the 29th so I am thrilled we are getting in earlier. Hopefully we will schedule surgery. Am I sick and twisted that I am so excited to get this done?

We had speech yesterday and I was talking to her speech therapist because I have several friends who teach K, that don't know LIttle Miss well but were talking about how they thought kids with summer birthdays should wait until they are 6 to start K. I asked Elsa what she thought would be best with Little Miss and she said Little Miss is totally ready and the S, L, and R are already progressing but she should have no problems. And hopefully getting the adenoids and tonsils out she should clear up soon.

I am looking forward to her being able to speak without it being such a challenge for her. It is hard when she is trying to get it out and she is so nasally and just so muffled that some things just aren't as clear as they could be. I can't wait for the surgery for her to be able to sound like herself.

Perspective

Do you ever feel you are sinking? Like your ship is going down? I do. And it is not a pleasant feeling, and one that I try my hardest to get to go away. I told Randy this AM I felt like I was sinking. I wasn't sure I was doing the best as a mother. Was I doing what my kids needed me to do?

Little Man has had his adjustment going back to school. I try my hardest to do the best but sometimes it just feels like my efforts are in vain. I have spent quite a bit of time on my knees praying for guidance with him. He is busy, he is good, he is creative, he keeps me on my toes, and he is a sweet loving boy. And after much prayer and contemplation I know that my reactions when he does things is what triggers his reactions to me. He mimics me. Nice huh? So the things he does that I don't like he just learned them from me. How is that for perspective? As I work on me to be better I believe that he will become better. I have a stronger influence than I realize at times, and one that can be for good or bad. It is up to me to teach him. The days I feel like I am failing him, he can sense my feeling of failure and picks up on it. My attitude and feelings as a mother greatly effect my child's action. I have more control than I want to realize I do.

I realize how little I know about being a Mother. And sometimes I feel very unqualified to have these special kids that my Heavenly Father is allowing me to raise. Thankfully our Heavenly Father blesses us with guidance and inspiration. I am praying for patience and the ability to step back and listen to the Spirit in situations where I am frustrated. My kids deserve this. I can do this. Perspective.. it is all about realizing what is important, and what isn't. Getting rid of the things that don't matter, forgetting the worries and stresses and focusing on what really matters in life.

The Real Story

I decided after pondering all day yesterday to make an appointment with Little Man's teacher. Anyway I called his Spanish Teacher and set up an appointment, and thankfully he was willing to meet with me yesterday afternoon, once school was out! YAY! And even better Randy was able to go with me.

I went in trying to remember to not be short because I am my child's advocate but I also like his teacher. He wanted to know what Little Man had said the reasons for not being allowed to go to recess were and Mama Bear came out, and shortly after I started speaking I realized that my position was quite hostile looking, arms folded (just like you need at Church) voice slightly tense, and a little more intense than I meant to be. I thought whoa.. bring it down girl. And so I took a breath and tried to make sure I was calm collected and could explain myself without putting his teacher on the defense, because he is a great teacher and I was sure this would all be fine. Things came out calmly and collected, I was pleased. Because Little Man's teacher cannot speak English to him at all there is a big language barrier when discipline happens. Little Man was in trouble because when one of the para-eds was helping him she was wanting him to say a few simple words he knows well in Spanish and he decided to say Caca. Now my niece who is 2 calls everything Caca, and we have never considered it a bad word. His teacher informed us you know what that means, so we can't allow him to talk like that and ignore it. Randy and I laughed and looked at each other and said he doesn't have any idea that is bad in Spanish, he isn't trying to cuss, he is being silly and thinks it is funny. Mimicking his cousin. Mr. Solano looked relieved and shocked, but realized we don't speak Spanish and why would are kid be swearing in Spanish. He never swears in English.

We talked and got things straightened out. Little Man had gotten in trouble for good reason, but he didn't understand the reason. Now we have a notebook and he has our cells and email addresses to call if there is a problem so we can make sure Little Man is clear, and it will help the both of them. Going back to school after Christmas break has been an adjustment for him. But I am sure that with a little more time things will smooth out.

We left on a good note, Mr Solano grateful that we are involved and wanting to help, and me grateful that the teacher isn't going to punish my boy for throwing his hat. And the worry and stress was gone.

Private!

Ohh.. I am private now. Thrilling huh? I left it open hoping I could get every one's emails who wanted to still read. So if you hear of someone who doesn't have an invite send them my email or send me their email and I will invite.

Some positive things about being private, I can share more stuff I want to, including my kids names! Aren't you thrilled to finally hear them.

Some current things, Little Miss had her first speech evaluation. WOO HOO! She has a hard time with S, L, and R. And with the blends on those words. So for consonant sounds she is in the 7th percentile. I was shocked it was that low considering those are the letters that Elsa (speech therapist) said she needed to work on. Those are her only letters she has a hard time with but S in blends makes up a lot of blends, but we are working on it and she is already showing progress. YAY! Elsa imagines 2 months of speech and she should be pretty cleared up. And getting the tonsils out will help immensely, she said right now she just sounds severely muffled and no amount of speech will help that, the tonsils and adenoids are just too big. January 29th we get to go to the ENT, and I am anxious.

Little Man is loving school. He is learning Spanish and really excelling, even though it is hard. He was the first English speaking kid to read Spanish in his classroom and is very proud of that. He likes to have fun and play around which sometimes gets him in trouble. He ended up not getting his afternoon recess yesterday because he threw his stocking cap up in the air. He was quite heart broken, he was just trying to make a basket. lol. I felt so bad for him but he has to obey the rules. I would like a different punishment than missing all of recess, maybe 5 minutes instead? Or something else. He only gets two recesses as it is, and he is 6 he needs to get some of his wiggles out so he can concentrate. It is hard he goes from his Grandmother-ish English teacher to the 25 year old Senor. They have very different expectations of these kids. I am pondering what it is I need to do. I want to be my kids best advocate.

Being Mom.. it is fun, rewarding, and great. But sometimes it is hard when you watch your kids struggle and try to figure out the best way to help them.

Just a Quick Reminder

I need email addresses from many of you. email me Thanks. Or leave your email in my comments.

Going Private.

So I am feeling the need to go private. I like to blog for myself, I don't do it for anyone but me. But I hate seeing where people stalk my blog for hours on end. It is creepy. So my blog is going private. If you want to still read it leave me a comment with your contact info.
Editing more.. because I have been so busy and in a hurry I don't always get my thoughts all out.
It isn't just seeing people on my blog for a long time.. but I also have been hearing lots of stories that kinda freak me out. And doing some research I don't want my pictures of my family pulled onto other peoples web sites for weird things. I hope that explains things better. Clear as mud? I am just trying to take more safety precautions on the Internet and be a smarter blogger.

Seriously.

I am editing what I wrote.

Hi! Due to recent events I am editing my blog to only allow people with blogger accounts to post comments.

Hope your day is just awesome.

Thank you,
The Management

2008

New Year's Resolutions.

I don't really have any. There I said it. I am just going to keep doing my best, and I am not going to beat myself up for just doing my best. I am going to try and be the healthiest, happiest, best me I can be. That is all I ever want to be is me. I want to be true to myself and who I am. I want to be the best daughter of God, Mom, and Wife I can be. And this isn't a new goal for myself, this is part of my daily life. Always trying to be my best self, not anyone else's best self.

I like myself. That was a goal I have had over the past few years was to like me, and I like me now. And part of liking me is just trying to do my best at life.

Happy New Year. I hope everyone can like themselves as much as I like myself. It sounds humble, I know. But really it is good to like who you are, and to feel okay in your own skin, and not need approval of others and to realize not everyone likes you, you can't please them all. It is okay. Just like you and be true to you.