Round Two. . .

Here we go again! Alex has submitted his mission papers and now we are just waiting. If you would like to make a guess as to where he will serve, we would love it! Personally, I'm rooting for Salt Lake City, Utah.

A Letter To Santa . . .

We Must Never Forget

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was fixing breakfast for my children and listening to the radio. The news came on that a plane had flown into one of the twin towers in New York City. We only had a small black and white TV with an antenna on it at the time. We ran downstairs and turned it on to watch the horror unfold before our eyes, the feelings of terror, shock and despair were overwhelming. I could not believe it – how could such a terrible thing happen in such a great country? I got the kids ready for school and then spent the rest of the day watching TV and crying at the senseless death and destruction. I cried for the poor people in the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and on the plane which crashed in Pennsylvania, I cried for their families, and I cried for America. It was something I will never forget. I was and still am angry at the hatred that was directed at innocent people. I am fearful for the brave people who defend our country and freedoms. At the same time I am grateful to live in a country where we are free to live our lives in the way we desire. I am grateful to live in a place where I feel safe and I have my family around me. I am proud to be an American, God Bless the USA – we must never forget!

Happy Birthday America!

A Bird's Eye View

Happy Father's Day!

I've always thought that I had the BEST DAD IN THE WORLD!! Even when I was a teenager I thought my dad was awesome. I thought if I could marry someone as great as my dad that I'd have it made. Well, I did and now not only do I have a wonderful dad but my kids do too! I love you both very, very much and appreciate all that you do for me. You make me so happy!!!

Hope you had a GREAT DAY!

Primary Post

I teach the Sunbeams in our Ward's Primary. The kids are so cute and say the funniest things! Today our lesson was "I Am Thankful For My Eyes" so I decided to make a coloring page and an "I Spy Bottle". They turned out pretty cute and were very fun to make. Gary helped me and they went pretty fast. I just used rice from our food storage, Gary's empty Dr. Pepper bottles, a few things from around the house, and then bought a few more things from the dollar store. Gary filled the bottles about 1/2 full of rice and then I put (shoved) the trinkets in. Then Gary finished filling the bottles with rice, leaving about 2 inches empty at the top. I hot glued around the top of the bottles and then screwed the lid on. Then I hot glued around the bottom of the cap. I put a smiley face sticker on the top of the lid and put some glue "stuff" on top of it so it made it look 3D and also so it wouldn't come off. I tied on some ribbon and added an "I Spy With My Little Eye" card to it. The kids LOVED them!

Scapegoat

Spring!!!!

So, Spring Break begins immediately for me, because I don't know how long this beautiful weather will last! It's heavenly having the sun shine again and it could stay this temperature year round and I wouldn't complain. As for the "real" Spring Break" I'm hoping to have a lot of fun with some new paint. Now I'm committed. Leslie, hurry and come over - I need some help! :D

Recommended Reads!

The past couple of weeks I have done some SERIOUS reading. I didn't really think about the books that I read until I was half way through the third one. Every one of them was historical fiction. The first one, The Help, (by Kathryn Stockett) takes place during the late 50's and early 60's during the Civil Rights Movement. LOVED this book! The second one, The Lake of Dreams, (by Kim Edwards) is about the Women's Rights/Right to Vote period, LOVED, LOVED this book!! and the third book is The Rebellion of Jane Clarke (by Sally Gunning). This book takes place during the pre-revolutionary war period. All very interesting and enjoyable. Apparently I really like historical fiction, haha.

I'm Tired. . .

I'm tired. Tired of snow, tired of cold, tired of no sunshine. Tired of clutter, tired of stuff, tired of being unorganized. I need a change - a BIG change. Probably this kind of a change!!!

He's Home!

The Real Reason For Christmas

Where's the Line to See Jesus?

I LOVE THIS!!!

My Happy Birthday . . .

I'm too tired to write about my birthday tonight but I just want to say what a sweet family I have. I'll give details about it all later but I will share the gift I just got tonight . . . all the way from Linden, Guyana, South America!

For My Sister . . .

"You know why!" Love you!!

Simply the Sabbath . . .

"It is good advice to slow down a little, steady the course and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions . . . resist the temptation to get caught up in the rush of everyday life . . . there's more to life than increasing its speed." ~ President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I LOVED this talk. Definitely something to work on!!!

Time For A Craft

The Before: (Sorry for the poor quality picture - Leslie is definitely the photographer in our family!!)

Since I've been under the weather and don't have a lot of energy, but pain keeps me moving around, I did a little craft today.

I bought this picture on clearance at Tai Pan for $3.00. I didn't love the print but the frame was awesome, however there was no glass in the frame. I didn't really have a plan for it but knew that sizewise it was a good fit for a spot in my kitchen.

I have always loved a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson which says, "Let us be silent that we may hear the whispers of the gods" so I took a tiny detour to make the quote fit what I wanted and then because lately I've been a little obsessed about fleur de lis, I added one that I liked to the bottom of the quote. I printed it out on my computer using a brownish/sepia color ink on textured, heavy, white paper. I lightly stained the main mat, painted the silver part of the mat a brown, and then glued down the quote (after slightly inking the edges, of course). The frame was spray painted a satin black and I used gold rub & buff (my knew favorite thing!) on the "beads" around the edges.

TA DA!! The After ~ Love It!

Poor, Poor Me . . .

Yes indeed, I am having a Pity Party, all by myself. Don't get me wrong - I have plenty of sympathy from loved ones but I truly have more pity for me than anyone! ha

So, the last few months have been pretty trying. By June I knew that I needed to go to the doctor. So, having only gone to an Internist for years I had to find a new ob-gyn ( and NOT for the ob part-THANKFULLY). I went to Dr. Craig and she is wonderful, I really, really liked her. She had me scheduled for a complete hysterectomy just a few weeks later (I will save you from hearing all of the "details").

I went in for surgery on Monday, July 12 and came home from the hospital on Wednesday afternoon, July 14. By later in the evening I started not feeling well at all. I was up all night with terrible abdominal pain, severe nausea and intense shaking. By Thursday afternoon I was SICK!!! Gary called the doctor who had me come into the office. Now you know that I'm way sick if I went in with no makeup, my glasses on, in sweats in the middle of July! I didn't even care that I looked like the Bride of Frankenstein. I could hardly walk and when Dr. Craig came into the room and touched my hand (which was like an ice cube - IN THE MIDDLE OF JULY!) she pretty much just sent me back to the hospital. Lucky for me, it was just a walk (in a wheelchair for me) down the hall. I did get to go back home on Friday night and felt much better. Apparently I not only had a weird reaction to medication but I had some odd virus on top of the misery of the surgery. Then my tailbone started hurting and didn't let up for weeks.

I was told to take 6-8 weeks off of work but I went back in 3. I was just starting to feel pretty good - except for the exhaustion when I started having a headache and then back pain. Fast forward to this past week, Thursday, the 16th, and the pain got BAD FAST! Gary took me to the ER and we all thought it was kidney stones, but after blood work, urine tests and a CAT scan NOPE! I got pain pills and went home and suffered until Monday morning when I called my own doctor. They saw me right away and I have been diagnosed with . . . the SHINGLES!!! Three new prescriptions, rest, no stress, etc.

Boo Hoo, poor me. Okay, let me just say at least the new pills work better than the ones they gave me in the ER. Yayy!! Now I just need to get better fast and get back to work before they fire me!

disclaimer: These are not "my shingles" just an example



Better luck to me next week :o)

You Know You Need Psychological Help When . . .

Today we went to see a movie, Toy Story 3. It was awesome!! Before the main show began there was a little clip about "Night" and "Day". Night and Day were kind of like people and without telling about the whole thing or giving the end away let's just say that they had their problems with each other. Sometimes they didn't like each other but there was one part in the clip where they smiled and hugged each other. There was a little girl in front of us who at that very time, cried out, "Look, they're happy now!!" Kids really tell it like it is. Let me digress into this for a moment: My brother and his wife have their home on the market right now. They have a darling little boy, East. The other day they had some people who came for a showing on the house. East followed them around and watched them. When they opened the door to the furnace room he put his head inside the door and looked around. Then he said, "No mouse." They walked around the rest of the house and when they looked inside the cellar he looked around the corner to see and said, "No mice." Needless to say, East isn't invited to any more home showings! Lucky Grandma and Pop pop! This is a picture of Mr. Cute: