I saw these on Cousin Sarah's blog (old world enough?). She's private now, so I felt compelled to share them, no obligated to share them. So funny! What is it about Edward?

I can't believe tomorrow is April 1st! Let's hear another chorus of "I can't believe how fast time flies!"

Yesterday morning Lu and I went with Debi and Austin to check out the camp ground for the 11 year old scout camp out. It was a fun drive, and a nice camp ground...except for the poison ivy, everywhere, poison sumac a plenty, and the oaks that have some dread tree disease and are falling down causing car damage and wrecking havoc on the paths. Pretty much Camp Shrek! I'm kind of glad I don't have an 11 year old scout! (Although I am sure they'll have a great time)

Last night we had the missionaries over for dinner, where we put on a lovely show, becoming the poster children for birth control as the kids squabbled at the table and got sent to their rooms not once but twice. Nice. ...thank goodness not typical, but still so embarrassing.

and to end on a positive note:

Things I am looking forward to (in no particular order, except number 1 which is really number 1)

1. Baby Ziggy's arrival!!!!
2. general conference
3. Easter
4. my birthday ( I want a ________ and a ________...)
5. Greg's birthday (we're birthday twins~ also Joy is a birthday twin with me)
6. Greg's graduation from college at the end of April! Way to go Greg!!
7. Sierra's graduation at the beginning of June!!!
8. Rob's birthday
9. Summer!
10. going to Utah to visit
11. selling our house (that should move up the list)
12. going to Nauvoo (we just decided that on the trek from Utah to MD we are going to stop there and I've always wanted to go!!! and a stop in Ohio)
13. the new Harry Potter movie
14. Brother's field trip
15. warm weather

guest blogger, from a school work assingment

February 24, 2009
HMU

Painting with Words~ Monet's Artwork

Claude Monet. The Walk. Lady with a Parasol.

One day I stepped through a magical frame and found myself in the middle of Monet's painting "The Walk. Lady with a Parasol." I met the Lady with a parasol and the little boy. We danced along when we fell into a field of tulips of all spring colors, shapes and sizes. Then we jumped into the parasol and flew into the clouds. The sun's rays shined on our faces. The clouds were light and puffy. Then we looked down we saw the flowers, we felt a light breeze washed a smile on our faces. We came down when our thoughts led to the flowers. We played and picked flowers. I pulled out a ribbon and tied a bouquet of tulips. The scent of the field made me feel like I was about to fly up then suddenly I did! I flew to the sky as the little boy yelled for me to come down. When I heard his cries I came down and landed in the field. We ran all the way to a picnic. All of the kitchen supplies jumped up and down. The stove was our cook. Then suddenly night fell over us. Then all of the flowers jumped up and danced. The moon was our spotlight. I was the star of the star. Then I had to leave so I jumped out and said "I will be back tomorrow!"


Age 9

old friends

Saturday night the girls and I went to Genghis grill, so yummy and fun then to the broadcast. While we were sitting and waiting for it to start Heather walked in and said "I have a surprise for you" so I followed her to the foyer and there was Connie and Ashlie!! I hadn't seen them since we moved to TX! How fun!!

When I went to work J was little, just three years old, and Connie watched her. Actually two Grandmas also took turns and Connie. It was the ideal arrangement. Grandmas~ can't beat that. And Connie, she was wonderful and kind and treated J like her own. J and Ashlie are the same age and became fast friends. They were so cute, little tow headed Ashlie, and J with her long dark locks. They loved to play together. Shortly after we moved to TX they also moved, to Virginia.

Now they are here for a week visiting with Heather and Brian and taking care of some family stuff. Last night we had the whole gang over for dinner. Mark and Connie and 5 of their 6 girls (Steph is at BYU), Heather and Zach, and niece Kailey. We had such a fun night, we cooked, the kids ran around. We talked, the kids played outside. We had dessert, the kids jumped and skipped. We played games. J and Ash discovered "they were just alike" and it was a great night.

It's such a small world :)

the one where I ramble about many thing

Yesterday some one came to look at the house. We've been having quite a few showings, I think we've had about 12-14ish in 3 months so that's not too bad. It think someone will want it eventually. Originally I had scheduled April 1st as my 'to panic by date' but I think I'll extend it a little. It really is a nice house so there you go. I was picking up yesterday and happened to look out at the pool and I wondered who would be swimming in it this summer. It's always odd to think of someone new living in your house. When we moved from our Babbling Brook house it was very odd to go trick or treating in the neighborhood a few months later, mostly so our little old neighbor next door could see the kids, she always was so sweet to them and loved to see them, and to knock on our old door. The new owners invited us in and it was strange to see their stuff and what they had done to the place. I hope they've been happy there. We were. They were sort of odd ducks, which certainly doesn't mean they couldn't be happy, thank goodness since I am a bit of and odd duck at times myself. When Heather and Brian moved into our ward it was funny to me to see them, since I had known them in CA, and even funnier to realize that we had both lived in the exact same home, rented from my MIL. I sometimes wonder who lives in the "fountain house" on 12th street. I really liked that house with it's beautiful wisteria and huge laundry room.

I sometimes also wonder about previous occupants. For example, the lady who built this house was super nice and neat. She collected giraffes, which I remember from our visits prior to deciding. She held women's Bible study in her living room and the house had such a inviting peaceful spirit to it, I really was grateful for that.

This morning we went to Kenna's baptism. It was very nice. Of course. I love President Hadley. I loved hearing the little vignettes about each child. E and Ryan listened so closely, both looking forward to their own baptisms. Ryan's this year, E's next. I felt a little sad that we wouldn't be here for it. It's been a long move for us, which is emotionally taxing. When we moved to TX we found out in Oct and were here by Dec. Quick, crazy and then done. That's WAY better. We came here thinking it would be forever and now we have to leave. I was thinking today that next spring Katrine will get married (one of Dani's good friends) and I would have loved to be here to go, and if we were here this summer then J could lifeguard at the rec center with Emma and what a fun time that would be, and S could start school just down the road, and Beloved and H could get their black belts with Mike, and we would be here to see how the ward is split. I am sure it will turn out fine, and we might even love it there, it's just difficult now. Many moments become bitter/sweet as I think "oh our last Easter, we better have a huge party and hunt for eggs in our yard for one last time" or this is the last __________.

I've been reading about the women back during the American Revolution and it's been so interesting. They were so strong and patriotic and hard working. Reading has made me SOO grateful for the blessings of living in this day. The medical advances alone are worth a week of gratitude. First of all birth control: tremendous blessing. Really. Can you imagine if there was nothing you could do to prevent pregnancy, many women could expect to bear a child every other year for all their fertile life time. That is a lot of babies, and a lot of toll on a person. Many women died in childbirth, something we hardly ever hear of in our country today. In fact, I do not know a single woman who has. Amazing. Also so many babies and children died. It was not uncommon to lose half of the children you gave birth to before they reached adulthood. How sad. And Immunizations! Another HUGE blessing. I have been reading about all the deaths from influenza, small pox and dysentery and the huge risk it was to be inoculated for small pox and the horribly long processes it was, yet many chose that rather than risk getting the disease. Today we go get a shot, and while there are a small number of adverse reactions for the most part it works great and many killers are now obsolete! Miraculous! And the work, cooking, cleaning, making soap and fabric and everything. Wow.
I have also been touched by the great sacrifices they made. Living for months or even years alone managing the farm and family while a patriot husband went to fight for liberty. The women were true patriots as well. What great love they had for freedom and hopes for a new country. Do we love it still? like that? I wonder. Do we work hard? I don't have to wonder there.

Watched the end of Pride and Prejudice again last night. I love the part where Mr Darcy comes walking out of the mist and he and Elizabeth finally, finally, realize their love aloud.
"Mrs Darcy. Mrs Darcy. Mrs Darcy" swoon :)

Crock pot week, which was so dismal, is being revisited, sort of. I got several wonderful sounding recipes from several good friends and plan on trying a couple each week, starting with tomorrow. Yumm.

Tonight the big girls and I are going to the General YW Broadcast. I am looking forward to it. A couple nights ago I watched a wonderful talk on BYU TV it featured Leriel can't remember her last name who is a convert from Brazil and her story, which I found so inspirational.

Lastly, I am going to miss our pool. We moved once that I remember when I was young. We lived in a house from the time I was in K until the end of 3rd grade. Then we moved. I remember going to look at houses and we looked at one that was right across the street from Monte Vista and it had a pool. Alec and I wanted it. Mom and Dad picked a different house. I don't really know why, although I am sure there were many reasons. I remember that pool we didn't get. I always wanted a pool, even though I am not a strong swimmer. I love going to the pool, I LOVED going to the beach as a girl and a teen. LOVED it. The best part of this house has been the pool. If I were a poet I'd write an ode. Instead I'll satisfy myself with a poor haiku.

nope, can't think of one.

wait.....

nope.

Okay, here goes:

glistening water cool
shrieks of laughter fill the day
splashing, jumping, fun

Over.

first pedi

Today H and I went to get pedicures. It was her first and a momentous day. It was a celebration (I have her permission to write about it). Finally, after a long time and lot of struggle and embarrassment and what not, H is dry at night!!!

Shortly after H was born we noticed that she was getting what we thought was a rash. It never got better and in fact continued to grow. Sadly it wasn't a rash. It was a hemangioma. A hemangioma is a benign vascular tumor, H's grew quiet large. It was all under her diaper, down one leg and on her foot. Later we found out it was also in her lung, spinal column, pelvis and the back wall of her bladder. When she was little she suffered greatly. She would get ulcers on her hemangioma and when she would wet or poo it was sting and she would scream. She bled a lot, hated baths, hated her diapers, and cried and cried. For over a year. It was heartbreaking. We took her to several doctors and were told there was nothing we could do but that it would most likely go away by the time she was 5. Which it has not, although luckily it is much much smaller. We did eventually find duoderm patches which we put on the ulcers and that helped some.
Somehow we all survived that first yearish and eventually she stopped getting the ulcers and had less pain. I think this really affected her a lot. Imagine if you spend your first year of life in great pain, your personality would be altered in some way. H has always been a challenge and I really feel that it was because of this very difficult start.

Once the pain and diaper problems were done we thought we were through the hard part and in many ways we were but that didn't mean her struggles were over. While she was very little we had to watch and make sure her spinal cord didn't get strangled by the hemangioma. I feel very blessed that it did not and she's always had good motor skills.

When it came to potty training we discovered that she didn't have the sensations that she needed to know she needed to go, and with the back of the bladder covered in hemangionma she also didn't have the ability to void completely. When she has to go, she has to go right now! I think she's got a pretty good handle on it now and is learning to take potty breaks on a schedule. I didn't know if we would ever get night time dryness though (and for a long time I didn't know if we'd get it down in the day either, but we did). Then last week during spring break, late one night, like at 11pm, she told me she was out of "good nights" and I was very unhappy at the news. I told her I had been feeling like she might be ready to try and go through the night. I really had been thinking about it just the past few weeks and for some reason had a hunch that she really could do it. So she went to the bathroom and went to bed. About 3 hours later I woke up with a start and ran to her room and woke her up to go, and she was dry. Same thing in the wee hours of the morning. When she got up for the day we had had a successful night!! Miraculous!!

We decided to try again the next night. Same thing, I woke her up twice and she made it. The next night I only woke her once and every night since then we are down to only getting her up one time and she's been dry EVERY DAY!!!!! I never thought we'd see the day. Really. And I am so excited for her.

This has been such a good year for her, she's grown and matured and is helpful and much more calm and settled and sweet as can be. And now she has passed this next big hurdle.

I know this is not the end of hemangioma issues for H but hopefully all the others will turn out as well in the long run. Anyway, I am not one to borrow troubles from the future, who knows how things will unfold anyway?

Meanwhile this was definitely worth a celebration!!!

games and books

It's been a busy week, although I don't know with what. Brother was home sick for two days. He was not sick enough to lay around, but did have a fever and cough. Tuesday Lucy went to play at Emmie's for the morning. They learned about the letter "D" and Angela was impressed that Lu could recognize her small and capital letters. All of our little group are doing well. They get impatient with coloring but are smart little guys. Lu is the only one who will not be old enough for Kindergarten this fall. Yesterday she went to Austins and they played number games. This morning Austin is here. Baylee and Austin are both having surgeries today, Baylee might be done and I hope it went well. Austin is having his teeth cleaned but needs anesthesia for it. Lu is concerned about them both and we've been talking about it a lot. It is always so neat to watch compassion develop in a little child. Even little babies, barely walking and talking can show care and concern for their friends when they cry or get hurt. It warms my heart to hear a little one pray for her friends, or comfort them. It's very sweet.

This has been dental week for us. In the last week we've had eleven appointments, that's a lot. That's more than we actually have mouths but it's been more than one visit per person in some instances. We just switched to a new dentist, and I have to say, even though I am a bit of an antidentite (sienfeldism) we have had a good experience. We've been going to Ballard Family Dental and the office is so friendly and we never have to wait and it's clean and nice. So, there you go.

Our new obsession this week is sequence junior. Such a fun game. We've played it many times each day this week. Lu also likes Uno and TrafficJam.

Lastly, I've read a couple of fun books. The first was "Gideon, the cut purse". It's the story of two children from our time who accidentally travel through time to the 18th Century. It was fun to read and next time I go to the library I am getting the next one. Also it's on my list to read aloud to the kids this summer. I think they will really enjoy it. Right now I am reading "Founding Mothers" by Cokie Roberts and I am really enjoying it as well. It is a collection of mini biographies and engaging vignettes of the lives of the wives and mothers of the founding fathers and their rolls in the birth of our nation. It's been so interesting for me. A lot of the information comes from letters that they wrote to one another or to their husbands and it is full of stories about their families and daily lives, as well as the politics of the day and their worries and hopes for democracy. Two thumbs way up!

recap

Our weekend was busy. Friday we got lots of errands done in the afternoon, which was a good thing, but not necessarily a fun thing. On the bright side the littles behaved nicely while we sat at discount tire waiting for our tires to be rotated and for a patch where we ran over a nail. (it probably helped that we walked next door to Taco Bell and ate some tacos for lunch) And they sat nicely at the Social Security office where we sat and waited our turn to get a new card for S, who lost her wallet, the day before she was supposed to fly to Utah. And they were pretty good at the DPS where we stood in line for a new license. "Funny thing". If you want to get a new drivers licence you need to bring in two forms of ID, including your SS card. If you want to get a new SS card you need your drivers license. If you lose both you get to stand in a lot of lines and fill out a lot of forms and then go back and do it all again. It can be done, but it's not quick. So don't carry your SS card with you. Ever.
Friday night Beloved and I went out. We went to Central Market where they had live music, which was fun, and we did some shopping and went to 1/2 price books and then ate at Olive Garden.
Saturday was karate day. I took the other kids to the library. Always a treat. And to Krogers, not a treat but the kids like to have food to eat. Then Rob called and wanted to know is we wanted to go get fish with them, and we did, so it was a two date weekend, which was fun. The company was great, the food was very good, the waiter was on top of things, it was a fun night.
Yesterday we went to church and Lucy got to have Haylee come and play, which she thought was great.

And now this morning it's windy and back to school for us.

house news: none.
well, we've been showing so that's good. I'm crossing my fingers that we get a sale soon.

bummer

Yesterday

Today

wehadababyitsaboy (remember that commerical?)

While S was in Utah visiting Dani and Greg they went to a doctors appointment and had their sonogram. They are having a BABY GIRL!!!! I couldn't be more thrilled. I was hoping for a little pink bundle :) I can't wait to go there this summer and be with them, and throw Dani a pink shower and then hold that sweet little baby. My only sadness is that we live on practically a different planet than Utah and I won't be there all the time to baby sit and play with her and see her smile :( Stoopid utah.

last day of spring break

saw this image on google this morning (minus the big caterpillar) and thought "is today Eric Carle's birthday?" because certainly we couldn't let that go by without celebration. I love his children's books and art. So lovely and engaging.

Anyway it's not but it is the 40th birthday of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", a classic.

Today is our last day of spring break. We started it off with some dental visits.

On the agenda is laundry, a trip to discount tire and hobby lobby, a date night for Beloved and I and probably a stop at redbox.

day 4

This morning we toured Mrs Baird's bread factory. It was interesting and fun. We had 23 in our group, and then there were some other groups with ours. Everyone had to take off all their jewelry and no phones or cameras were allowed in the plant. We wore nets on our hair, and helmets with speakers in them so we could hear, and had to stay inside the white lines. It was very organized. It was fun to see the bread and all the steps to making hamburger buns and loaves. They make 18 different products in all. R took a picture of all the kiddos in front of a giant inflatable loaf of bread, as soon as she posts it I will copy one here too.

This afternoon some of us had dentist appointments. Some of us will go back tomorrow.

This evening we went to a concert in the park. We brought a picnic and joined some friends for a frolicking fun evening of jazz music, eating and laughing. It was very very pleasant.

We also had some accidents today. This morning Lu dropped a 2 lb weight on her big toe. It bled and bruised and I think she might lose the nail :(
This afternoon Brother was playing at a friends, actually he and H both got invited to play at the Cooks and when I went to pick H up for the dentist he came out limping with a bandaged toe. I was told he cut it and was waiting for me to clean it. Well I was running to the dentist and said I'd do it when I got back. When we got back he had his shoes on and they told me he had it cleaned and put neosporin on it and a band-aid. Ok, great. Off to the picnic we all went.

Well, after that I went home and got stuff for Brother to sleep over with EC and to bring the girls back here to sleep over I finally got a look at the toe. It was a pretty bad cut, and his foot was kind of dirty so by the time I got home with the girls I was fretting over it. I told Beloved that he should go take a look because tomorrow we are supposed to go swimming and I was worried about taking him to a public pool.

Side note: years ago I remember camping one summer and Julie's Aunt Kristy was there. She was so funny and was a songwriter to boot. One song she wrote that just cracked my mom up was about an over protective mother. Each verse described the perils that can befall someone in the most innocent situations and ended with "and then you'll die". Sadly, I am that mother. I've come to terms with it. Beloved is equally bad and we feed off each other. This is not to say that I think this is a bad thing. On the contrary I love it about him. I don't have to worry about the children while they are in his care, I know he is careful. He might not put them to bed, but he won't lose them either.

anwyay I asked him what he thought, and did he want to go look at it. Which he did not. A little while of worrying later I decided the foot must be soaked, with salt water, the magical cure all. So we called over. No answer. Texted. No response. After a little debate I headed over. No one answered the door. Now I felt silly and headed home, only to learn that Beloved had in the meantime headed over himself. I believe he snuck into their backyard and knocked on the kitchen window to gain access to the boy's toe.

we are pathetic.

In our defence antibiotic resistant staph was just diagnosed at our elementary school and we all know how bad that is AND our little friend Jared cut his foot on a hoe and a week later was in the hospital with cellulits, also not good. and lastly at least we're good song fodder.

spring break day 3

Today we went to the dollar show and saw Inkheart. I read it long ago and forgot many of the details. This allowed me to enjoy it quiet a bit. The Cooks came with us and the kids were thrilled to see it with them.

After we went to Sams then came home and got a call that our house was to be shown. We RACED around getting ready and then out the door again.

J went to play at Emma's. The rest of us went to play at the park. Two dusty, fun filled hours later we came home and got ready for dinner.

Brother has C spending the night. Tomorrow is H's turn.

S is on her way home from Utah. I am excited to hear about her trip and to have her home.

Spring break goes by too quickly!

just like being there!

San Antonio Temple

Day two we got up, got ready and then went to Ihop for breakfast. The kids favorite restaurant. We decided to stop by the temple on the way h0me and enjoyed a quiet hour walking around and looking at the beautiful windows and enjoying the grounds. It was peaceful and nice and the kids were quite happy to go there. H in particular wanted to see it.

Our drive home went well. We stopped at a Redbox in route and refreshed our movie supply and made it home in time for Beloved to go to karate.

Happy St Patricks Day!!

Sea World

Lucy riding her first roller coaster! Which she loved and wanted more and was very upset to be too short to ride everything in the park.
We had planned a trip to Sea World for the beginning of Spring Break. We haven't been in about 5 years and Brother and Lucy didn't go or didn't remember.

We actually kept it a surprise until Sunday morning when I was loading a cooler and suitcases to go to church...they got suspicious! Everyone was thrilled. (S is in Utah visiting Dani, and J didn't want to come so she stayed with Emma ~ where they, BTW, had a great time riding bikes, watching movies and going shopping)

We had everything in the car and after church hopped in and headed down. The drive there was pleasant. The kids watched movies and ate snacks. It took longer than we expected but was a happy drive.

When we got to the hotel we had a suite, which we were not expecting! So Yea! The first night there some one's car alarm kept going off. Very annoying, but other than that we had no complaints. We were at the park when they opened and headed straight for the Shamu show! It was awesome. The whole day was wonderful. The weather was perfect, the smell of sunscreen was in the air, the shows were magical & funny, the rides were fun. The day went so fast and everyone LOVED it!!

After the Viva show, our favorite, the kids got to meet some of the acrobats!

At the petting tank at the end of the day.

The sea lion show, so cute and funny!

getting wet by the Atlantis ride! The reason it's all white behind her is that is a wall of water coming straight at her!!

4-D movie experience "Pirates". Lucy thought it was scary, Brother wanted to see it again :)

Bird Girl~ what H and Lu both want to grow up to be now.

Shamu

polar swim

yesterday

We were watching Throwdown with Bobby Flay ,who I heart, and he was challenging the Casserole Queens from Austin Tx to a pot pie throw down. They were so cute and fun and their casserole looked so yummy that I got the recipe and tried it and seriously, it's the best pot pie I have ever eaten. So Good. We had it and salad last night for dinner. Good thing there was plenty because unexpectedly (to me) J had Emma and Nicole and Sophie over for a "polar bear club meeting", movie watching and dinner.

sheet frozen puff pastry
2 tablespoons butter
1 roasted chicken, shredded
1/4 cup chopped red sweet pepper
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon, crushed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups peas, blanched
1 1/2 cups carrots, blanched
2 potatoes, peeled, diced, and boiled
1 egg plus 1 tablespoon milk, for egg wash
Directions
Thaw puff pastry according to package directions.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet melt butter over medium-high heat. Add chicken, sweet pepper, and shallots and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in flour, salt, tarragon, and black pepper. Add milk and cream all at once. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in wine, peas, carrots and potatoes; heat thoroughly. Transfer the hot chicken mixture to a 1 1/2-quart casserole. Place pastry over the hot chicken mixture in casserole dish. Brush puff pastry with egg wash then cut slits in the pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes.

It was very cold outside!! Very

another

S, Rebecca and J before the dance.
S got home LATE last night. She had the best time. There were 13 stakes participating and she said the dance floor was packed and she met so many fun people and danced the whole time! J went to Emma's for her birthday party so I will have to wait to hear about her evening until this afternoon.

This morning we had to get up early and get S on a plane for her spring break trip to visit Dani. She lost her wallet some where yesterday so we had a bit of a panic this morning trying to figure out how to get her ID straightened out (sound familiar Nana?) We never found it but she was able to use a birth certificate and her school ID card. She also broke her phone yesterday and I felt a bit like I was sending her off in to the wilderness with no way to get a hold of her. Hopefully everything will go smoothly in Albuquerque (her lay over) and she'll make it to Utah, albeit jacket less, and have a great time.

Other happens this last week, the kids had open house. Always very fun. They had a fund raising spaghetti dinner before hand which was both yummy and fun. Yesterday was book club, which I enjoyed very much. And Spring Break has officially started!!!!

Prom

pretty (silly) girls

shoes!!!

J and Em, Sweet 16

The whole gang!

decisions

this looks much more pathetic than it was.

Last week Brother came home complaining that his 'boy parts' hurt, he didn't say that, we use the real words, but I am not putting that here for any crazy to google and find. Anyway I didn't really know what was wrong and had him rest. It still hurt and he walked around bent over and was crying so I decided to take a look. Things looked in order. Beloved came home that night and he checked and thought he felt a little knot or something.

The next morning I called the doctor, even though Brother seemed fine at that point. He couldn't see me until the next day so I made an appointment and went about my business. Soon after his office called and said to go down to Cooks Children's and not to wait. I told them he seemed fine now but the advice didn't change. The worry was that he had a hernia or a twisted "T". So we went. We took some sketching books and reading books and prepared for a long wait. I was pleasantly surprised that it was super quick. We saw the doctor and she felt around around, had him turn and cough, and everything seemed fine, he did have some swollen lymph nodes but that was it. Since Beloved reported having felt a knot she wanted him to see a surgeon anyway.

Well a week has passed and he has been fine. Today we were supposed to go to our appointment. I felt like he was fine. Beloved did too. So we decided to cancel. It is always with a little hesitation that I do such things. I don't want to ignore a real problem. I also don't want to run to the doctor for any little thing ~ when I think a lot of things get better on their own anyway. Also we spent $150 last week for our little jaunt down and I didn't want to spend another $50 co pay for a specialist.

I think he's fine. Hopefully I am right.

what do we do all day?

play

crock pot bust

This morning the kids headed out into the dark, and the rain, to catch the bus. A far cry from last weeks scamper in the morning sun, wearing shorts and kicking rocks on the way. Texas weather! Got to love it...or if you don't just wait a minute it'll change :)

This week I thought I'd try "crock pot week". So far it's been a bust. Sunday I made chocolate pudding cake. The recipe said to cook it on low for 4 hours so I put it in before church and when we came home we were greeted by a cloud of smoke and a brick of burnt chocolate :( Very sad. Lucky for us Rob and Tori came over after dinner to visit cowboy cookies in hand, and they saved dessert for us!
Monday I made beef stroganoff in the crock pot. No one liked it. I thought it was okay but the meat I chose was a cheaper cut, I thought the long cooking of the crock would save it but it really didn't. It was okay, just not great.
Last night I made apple bean bake, which I really liked, but I don't think any one else did.
So now I'm declaring crock pot week over.

Monday Beloved took the kids to gymnastics and the big girls and I headed out to search for a prom dress for S. We found one that J and I loved on her, she didn't love it, lost patience with looking and was kind of grouchy. She's not a shopper that one.

I think I might be done subbing. I am not sure. Lucy has been throwing the BIGGEST fits when I go and really the only reason I thought it would work out, and in fact has so far, is because I thought she'd love going to play with friends. Which she did, until a month ago. Now, not so much. It doesn't seem fair to me to make her so miserable when I don't have to do it. Also Beloved wants me to be home to keep the house in order, which is such a fun task...but does need to be done, especially right now while we are trying to sell it. Not because he's Archie Bunker, but because I am most able (well, he's a good cleaner too, that's not what I am saying), and come on...I make maybe 60 dollars a day and he, well he makes more and we're trying to sell the house for a bit more so it makes sense that I do it. So I don't know. I'm not ready to say I'm done...but I am thinking about it. I am hoping she'll still want to go and play if it's not so long for her. We'll see.

Counting down to spring break! Can't wait!!

put on the whole armour of God

pre-school today. We made armour and talked about obeying the commandments and having faith.

a moment in our day

We try and have family scripture study every day. We fail. But we keep trying. Sometimes we'll do great for months at a time, then bam we forget a day or two and then weeks slip by. But we always come back to it.

Sometimes it's just a verse or two.

Sometimes everyone lays on the floor and cries.

Sometimes kids get in trouble and parents get mad.

But sometimes it's wonderful. We discuss and read and share.

Sometimes everyone listens and has comments and questions.

Sometimes we feel the spirit and are grateful for the Lord's blessings.

Always we know this is what we need to do so we plug along.

Last night was a good night, and Beloved had the camera, so we caught it and can remember! yea!!

pinewood derby & chili cook off

Last night was our ward social. I have to say it was short and sweet. We got there a little late, having had a full day of checking stuff off our stagers list of "improvements". And arrived with the festivities in full swing.

Our car, the shark, was slow due to a bent axle :( and it was single elimination so we were out early, but that was okay. The kids had a great time watching the other cars and cheering their favorites. And playing with friends of course.

Bro Ballard made a sail on the top of his and brought his leaf blower to give it a push! Nikko's DH plane oops I meant car, actually left the track and became a flying hazard so he never even raced his! It was fun to see the different designs and strategies people used.

The chili was also good. Sister Meyer won. I have never eaten anything that she has made that hasn't been wonderful!

We were home by 8:30 and had time to finish our list and get to bed at a reasonable time...until we realized it was spring forward night (boo hiss) and we were late to bed again.

freaky friday

so, today we had a stager come over. Our house has been on the market for about two months and while we've had showings there has been nothing promising.

She was very nice. Cute and friendly. She didn't really like anything we have however. She walked around making notes and suggestions. None of them cheap.

After she left we evaluated the list and decided on a few things that we thought would be good to do and then headed for the stores. Shopping and decorating can be fun. What is not so fun is trying to guess what someone else might or might not like. Especially a someone else you do not know at all. I didn't agree with all of her ideas, but many were good and with a limitless budget sure we would do it and it would look great.

I always thought I had pretty good taste and our home looked pleasant. Apparently not so much. Add to that that H wants me to go on "What not To Wear", Brother has suggested a few weeks on Survivor might be good because all the contestants lose weight, I hear regular complaints about my cooking letting me know I am no Iron Chef, and I am hair impaired and can't carry a tune in a bucket (and clearly watch too much TV :) )...a girl could get a complex!

...other than that fun time. Brother got to play with C tonight and H went to a birthday party at Brendalynn's and she and S went to see "Jonas Brother's 3D" concert. Beloved was home for an off Friday, but not in a very good mood with lots of work and moving stress on his mind.

and in other news Lu has been dry the last three nights and wants to sleep in underwear!!

Happy Birthday!!!

Today is my little sister's birthday! She is 23 years old. I remember the day she came home from the airport. We had a Japanese exchange student that came that same day, I went to pick up Meka and then we all went home to wait to meet Andrea. She was tiny and soooo cute! She had tons of curly hair and was the sweetest baby! She has always been the sweetest most fun girl. I know mom and dad have been so thrilled to have her as a daughter and she and mom have always gotten along so well and laughed together and enjoyed each others company. She has been a joy to our whole family. Andrea was just a baby when Dani was born and the two of them were bestest friends. It was so sad when we moved to TX and they couldn't be together all the time anymore. I was glad when she and Em moved to TX with mom and dad and the girls could be together again. Andrea was here only a short time before she and Dani moved to Utah together but during that time it was a joy to get to know her better and to have that time together.
Last summer I flew to Utah for her wedding and am SO excited to be there this summer when she and Yoho get sealed!!!

Andrea and S at Beloved and my wedding. She was so sweet and helpful. She played with all the little kids, and watched the book and smiled so pretty!!

One year I wanted to take Dani and Andrea to SeaWorld during spring break so I bribed them. They each had to read 50 books, I think , maybe it was 100, I don't remember. Anyway, they did and we went and had the best time. We went to the Zoo and Sea World and the beach and had a few fun big girl days!!

Andrea, Em, Dani, S and J dressing up in dancing clothes. My sisters all danced, forever, and we had TONS of dance costumes about that the kiddos loved to dress up in.

Trivia question: which sister wasn't allowed to dance, "because the costumes were immodest?" and it was "too expensive". If you guessed me you would be correct. Poor oldest child~ suffering so many injustices while paving the way for the youngsters behind her.

you guys are welcome by the way :) ... and you should thank your brothers who really wore the parentals down

Happy Birthday Ang!!!

today's recipe: PBJ by Lucy

H and I went on a field trip to the Stockyards today. It is my favorite field trip to take. So interesting. We saw a live auction of a bull, heard the history of Fort Worth, ran the human maze. Very fun. Did you know that the term 'shotgun' comes from the days of the stagecoach? The driver sat up on top, next to him sat the person responsible for the brake and the shotgun. Also, cowboys made about a dollar a day to drive the cattle to market. A cattle drive lasted about 3 months so they would make 90ish dollars. So many interesting fun facts!

On the way home Lucy told me she loves PBJ and how to make it. She was so cute I thought I'd better record it for posterity!

recent readings

Things I have read recently:

This one I ended up reading by accident. Beloved left it in the bathroom and I picked it up several times and before I knew it I was interested in what happened next. It's the story of Ginchin Funkakoshi who was the father of shotokan karate. It is a memoir and was very interesting. He was a humble, peaceful man, seeking self actualization and trying to avoid conflict by being stronger and able to defend himself and by being wise enough to avoid the fight.

I also read this book, another memoir about a young boy who is from Sierra Leone. When he was just 11 years old his village was raided and he was swept up into a war that has ravaged his country for a long time. He and his friends tried to find safety but ended up in the army. He writes poignantly and beautifully about the horrible experiences of war and his lost childhood. Eventually UNICEF came in and rescued and rehabilitated him. He testified before the UN trying to raise awareness and help for other child soldiers. It is a sad story, or course, but ended well..at least for him. Our world is filled with such sorrow and I am often so isolated and even unaware of it.

I also read this fluffy story set in the south all about weddings and children and friendship.

Now I reading "The Lincolns", "Be the Water" and am looking for a copy of "The History of Love" for book club.

report over :)