Drivers

Apparently I don't blog enough.  Last week I finally took Nick and Stephen to get their driver's licenses.  I am a nervous wreck at the DMV. I hate it, I don't want to be there and I certainly don't want to have to come back again.  Grandma let us use her car instead of the big van for their driving tests.  Stephen went first.  Let's just say, it didn't go well.  The lady actually told him she thought she was going to die.  She talked to me after talking to him and putting him in tears.  These were his issues: He stopped on a green light while turning right.  Automatic fail.  He went 36 in a 35 school zone.  He crossed a center line while avoiding big bags of debris in the road left by the landscapers. Pulled into the center lane while making a left turn instead of the far left lane. He went 12 in the parking lot (10 mph limit).  Crossed over the imaginary center line while pulling into the parking lot.  Didn't use his blinker to turn into the parking space.  All infractions, but seriously?

Next up was Nick, he got a different lady.  Stephen had told him all the things he got marked down for and warned him against it.  He left, came back smiling.  Passed.  Didn't miss a single point.  While discussing it on the way home, Nick mentioned that he had done all those same things Stephen did (including stopping on the green light) but she just verbally corrected him and moved on.  That is a hard pill to swallow when you are the one going home without a license.

It did make him feel a little better that he could blame it on his crazy instructor not just his crazy driving though.  We were very grateful to not see her when we went back today.  Instead, we breathed a sigh of relief when Nick's instructor got into the car with him.  We now have two more drivers.  Whew.

A Good One

For whatever reason, some days are just better than others.  Days when everything just seems to fall into line.  I wish I knew how to duplicate those days to make sure ALL my days work out like that!  Today was one of those days.  Started off early because I was taking Stephen to retake his driving test.  I wonder if I've blogged about that?  Anyway.. Mom, Stephen and I arrived at the DMV just after 8 to find it was almost completely empty. When does that ever happen???  Stephen only needed to drive again so he got right through.  As we watched to see who got into the car with him, it was the same lady Nick had gotten who didn't take a single point off for all the infractions he had, just verbally warned him.  Yeah!!  He came in with a big smile instead of tears this time.  Whew, two more drivers in the house.  AND my Mom is so great to get up early and come sit at the DMV with me to keep me company.

Stephen and I left and went to Wal Mart to grab a few things and cash his check before I took him back to school.  We were also right next to Costco, but I couldn't figure out how to get through Costco, get Stephen to school and get Katy by the time she was done with school.  I kept formulating new plans but they all involved a second drive over to Costco.  Just when I had given in to not going today, my good friend Jenny called and asked if I needed to make a Costco run.  Umm, yes!!  She picked up Katy for me and met me at Costco after I dropped Stephen back at school.  Perfect.  We had a good trip, ate some pizza and used my rebate check to renew my membership and pay for a few extra things.   We got back just in time for naps.

As I was putting groceries away before laying down, I decided to go check on the chickens and let the puppies out.  As I walked through my yard with the weather just at the perfect temp of 55 degrees, I had this overwhelming feeling of satisfaction.  Fed my chickens, whistled for my pups, grabbed an orange from a tree and went back inside my self-designed home to put away my ample stock of food.  My life is pretty darn good.  Then as Katy and I laid down in my very awesome bed, she snuggled right up to me and planted a big kiss right on my lips.  Yep, pretty darn good.

Lots of times when I have a day like this, my afternoon goes awry.  Not today.  I took Katy to dance class, Stephen to work, ran a few errands, picked up Katy and went home for dinner.  Fixed a simple meal complete with a salad filled with veggies such as spinach, kale, tomatoes and carrots and didn't hear a single kid complain.  Ok, maybe one.  But they all ate it, we watched a show together and ended with chocolate chip cookies.  Did I mention pretty darn good??

I finished my night by going back to the store to use up some coupons I had.  I haven't clipped coupons for almost 2 months, but while shopping earlier, I noticed so many things on sale that I knew I had coupons for at home.  So after dinner I went through them, stuffed them in a folder (unclipped) and went back out.  I spent an hour roaming the isles, clipping coupons and filling my cart.  When all was said and done, I saved $50 JUST in coupons, not sale prices.  Seriously, $50!!!  AND, it wasn't on things like poptarts and cheezits.  Real stuff I already buy and use.  I got toothpaste, deodorant, hand soap, Rotel, pizza and Capri Sun for free!!  Gotta say... saving like that makes me feel a little giddy.  Awesome awesome day.  Makes me a little afraid for tomorrow...

Just What I Needed

Sunday was our Ward Conference at church.  I had been asked to substitute in primary that day, but I was really struggling to say yes.  I didn't want to miss ward conference!!  I had the genius idea to ask Whitley to do it, her church is later and she loves the kids.  She agreed and I got to go to my classes.  As always, the morning was a little stressful.  I guess asking my kids to be ready the day before means something else to them because when Sunday comes around and we are still missing a shoe and someone just dripped jam on their white shirt, I get a little cranky.

Sacrament meeting was awesome. I love hearing from our leaders. It also helped me to lose the anxiety I always feel after I arrive at church knowing I just yelled at my kids for the last 15 minutes.  I'm trying..
I went to Sunday School not expecting to be completely moved and filled with hope.  The man teaching was someone from the Stake who I didn't know.  I won't go into a ton of detail, but let me just say his entire lesson was so powerful and meaningful and hopeful I just left there feeling like I was floating on a cloud.  He talked about his teenage son who wanted nothing to do with the church who was now on a mission and loving every minute of it.  See, there's HOPE.  I'm sure we all get different things out of lessons dependent on  our situations in life.  He talked about having Emergency Family Home Evenings right after something major happened in their lives to make sure they could discuss all the finer points of their experiences.  I decided my family needed one right away.  I had to share everything I was feeling.

I continued on to Relief Society where the lesson was on baptism.  I didn't hold out a lot of hope for a great lesson there since it was on such a basic principle, but I was wrong.  Again, so moving.  The whole day filled me with all the ideas and thoughts about what my family needed to hear.  I wished at that time that I was a better note taker.  That afternoon, I sat in my bed and made an outline of everything I wanted to convey including scriptures and stories to tie it all together.  The only real problem is that I'm not very good at saying what I'm actually feeling.  That's where the Holy Ghost took over and made it all work out.

The next morning, I called everyone together.  This was the only time we were all going to be available, except Glade who had to leave.  The lesson went so well, at least it felt like it did.  The kids stayed with me and as I taught and moved from one idea to the next, it actually seemed to make sense!!  It was very exciting to me.  In summary, we talked about God being real, Jesus being our Savior, every one of us being of equal importance, Satan desiring to derail us, God wanting us to be happy and to bless us, Us being strong enough to overcome anything because God does not put us here to fail, having faith in all of the above and believing that He hears us and knows us personally and that if we TRUST, we can find true happiness through Jesus Christ.  But that you must want it, believe it and be willing to DO it.

I truly believe my older kids heard me. I even think they believed me and one in particular may have had for just a small moment, a taste of the Holy Ghost telling him he can do this.  I can only teach and encourage, I can't do it for them.  I can't make them want it or desire it.  I have faith that if I share what I know and believe and do all the things I've been counseled to do as a parent, they will find their way.  But if in the end they choose another way, I won't wonder what I missed.  As for now, I have HOPE.

MLK Day - MajorLy Krazy Day

No school today!!  That means I sleep in till I feel like getting up.  THAT's a good start!  Yesterday was such an awesome day at church that I had planned an emergency FHE for this morning.  So I got everyone up and let them eat, then discussed all the wonderful things I had going on in my head.  That'll be a separate post.  It went really well and hopefully will be memorable for the kids.   I had made Visiting Teaching appointments because I didn't realize there wasn't any school, but we went ahead and did the visits anyway, thanks girls for being accommodating!

I had promised the kids a movie when I was done, so they were dressed and ready when I got home. We were really pushing time, but were going to give it a try anyway.  When I had started driving the van earlier, I had heard a weird clicking noise by the front left tire that kinda concerned me.  I had briefly looked at it, but didn't see anything right off that could be making it.  Before we headed to the movies, I checked one more time and noticed it was very wet by one tire but not the other.  As I drove along, I started to get a little panicky that something might really be wrong if a hose of some sort had come off and was spraying fluid everywhere.  If I stop at all, we totally will miss the movie.  I decided the safety of my children was more important, so I dropped them at a Taco Bell that was right next to a Big O Tire and went to have them look at it.

The guy looked and couldn't find anything loose.  The wetness was caused from a leaky coolant cap, no big deal really.  So the young guy and I went for a little spin so he could hear the noise.  Yep, he heard it.  As we got back to the store, he rolled down the window to get a better listen and see what he could see.  He immediately said he thought he knew what the problem was.  He couldn't believe it could be the cause, BUT... there was a long piece of duct tape hanging from my headlight.  It seemed to coincided with the clicking noise as it flapped against the side of the van.  Really??  Grrrr.. So happy it wasn't serious, but really, duct tape?  We had a small laugh, I thanked him for his time and as I started to pull away I thought I knew a guy standing on the sidewalk waiting for his car.  I brazenly asked his name and sure enough, it was the guy who taught our Sunday school class yesterday that so inspired me and gave me such Hope that I had an emergency FHE.  I was able to tell him how much I loved his comments and how grateful I was for his lesson.  Made me so happy to have that opportunity.

I went and got my kids from Taco Bell and made a beeline for the theater.  We were very late, but the kids still wanted to go see the movie.  We needed 5 seats, they had 4.  Hmmm.  Well I guess we'll all see the other movie together, nope..only 2 seats available.  Just not our day.  So I sorta snuck in and got our free popcorn and left for Plan B.

There's a new store called WynCo that everyone raves about.  So we decided to see what the fuss was about.  Not worth the craziness.  Some things were cheap, but not a whole lot.  And the people that shop there are even crazier/rude.  I can't think I would go back.  We left with some corn and apples.  We still had a couple hours till Stephen needed to be to work so since I was half way there, we ventured to the scout store.  It's kind of a really long ways away.

I'm newly a merit badge counselor and wanted to get these pamphlets that would be mucho helpful, so now was my chance.  They were $5 a piece!  I was needing about 10 of them but no way was I paying $50 for that.  Just one more thorn in my side from the BSA. So I bought one and a slide for Bo.  What a waste of my time and gas.  Oh, and as we pulled up to the scout shop, Dalin got out and puked.  Apparently his Taco Bell and movie popcorn along with the long drive weren't sitting well with him.

Stephen decides he wants to conquer the freeway and drive home.  We all buckled up and prayed and started for home.  I'm sure a dashboard camera would provide many a good laugh at my expressions as I feared for my life.  Holy crap... That's all I'll say for now.  We weren't 4 miles from home when Dalin starts making noises from the back.  He can't hold it any longer, he needs to pee.  So we pull into a semi quiet business complex and I tell him to try and find a bush or something sorta private.  Tacky, I know.  He takes off running through a wide open vacant lot heading straight for the main intersection.  Seriously, the kid probably ran a quarter of a mile!  We were all in the van laughing till we cried as we watched him running while holding himself straight towards the busy intersection.  What he saw that we didn't was that there was a small wall with some plants right before you get to the street.  Never mind all the walls and ditches and bushes  right outside the van.  We giggled so hard watching that kid run.  When he got back in the car and we started asking him why he did that, he simply said " I don't give a care, I'm FREE!"  That's my Dalin.

We made it home just in time to get Bo to piano and Stephen to work.  I made dinner and we all sat down to watch Odd Life of Timothy Green, which I loved just as much as the first time.  We finished the day with some ice cream and our new tradition of watching the Biggest Loser every Monday night.  I love that my kids love it.  As we were eating dinner, Rhett commented to Nick's friend that white rice wasn't really very healthy for you.. you should eat brown.  Awesome.

I didn't get my running in, or paperwork, or see a movie or get the scout stuff I wanted.  We spent way too much time in the car and wasted a ton of gas, spent nearly four hours on our rears in front of the TV and all went to bed with smiles on our faces and visions of Dalin running through an open lot.  Some days don't go anything like you planned, but end up pretty darn great anyway.

I feel like Bragging

We go through spurts around here of just some really good periods of time and then there a few rough ones. I need to make sure we acknowledge all the good stuff.  For starters:

Katy - She is reading more every single day.  Straight A's on her report card.  She is still taking naps mostly voluntarily every day and gets in the car after school with the question "what are we doing today?"  She seems to think we need to DO something every day. I think she's ready for full time school. She is starting a dance class next week and she is SO very excited, but a little shy.  That will be fun for her.

Dalin - Dalin received the Leader of the Month award for December.  No fuss, almost didn't even tell me.  He is turning 12, receiving the Aaronic Priesthood and becoming a Deacon.  He is so excited!  And such a great kid, does his jobs without being told and rarely ever complains.  Although he complains when I give him "long hugs". Apparently he has a time limit on his comfort zone with hugging.  Lucky for him, I don't care.  I like long hugs.  It's fun.

Rhett - Rhett made the honor roll, joined the chess team and started track.  He was going to do the school play but the performances were while we were at the beach.  He has been so great with the dogs too.  I love how confident he has become and how much I don't have to keep him doing the right things.  He makes me proud!

Brooklyn - Brookyn is still playing basketball.  She wasn't able to play the whole last quarter because of her grades but now she's good.  She doesn't get to play a whole lot, but she is by far the best rebounder.  That girl gets in there and gets it!  The fact that she is still getting to practice by 5:45 am every day all on her own and continuing to try is so great.

Bo - Bo is turning 8 this year and will be baptized.  He is way excited and gets to come to scouts with me as well.  That will be so fun to have him in my group.  He really struggled with keeping things together, but we are working on it and he is doing better.  He is sticking with his piano and has a "natural talent" for it according to his teacher.  (She may tell every mom that, but he really is pretty good)  Even when he is frustrating the crud out of me, he gives that adorable one toothed smile and it just melts your heart. He's such a sweet boy.

Stephen - Stephen has had a rough patch or two and has really risen up to his challenges.  He truly is becoming a  Man of God.  His GPA fell to 3.74 this quarter so we are working on getting that back up to a 4.0 (gotta have improvement Ü)  He is working hard and saving lots of money.  He still hugs and kisses me all the time. Hopefully he will be getting his license next week, woohoo!   It's fun to see them grow into men.

Nick - Nick has had all his own struggles and seems to make life more difficult than necessary.  I feel like he's in a pretty good place right now with some good goals.  He is taking a life guarding course at school and that will really challenge him.  He hasn't done anything hard in a really long time.  We hopefully have him slated to graduate by the end of 2013.  He will have to stay on top of it, but it's totally doable if he will stick with it.  Our hope is that he will be ready to serve a mission at that time.  If he chooses not to do that, he can work full time and finally strike out on his own.  He is more than ready for that. He works at McDonald's and not surprisingly, they love him there. In the meantime, he's pleasant to have around and helpful most of the time, when he's not being the torturous big brother :)

Whitley - Poor Whitley.  She is just sweet and nice and not sure what to do with her life.  She is still working at the theater and doing respite for our friend.  She loves both things, but she really doesn't make enough money.  She really has no real plans other than to find Prince Charming.  I absolutely love having her around during the day so it's hard for me to insist she go work, lol.  She's just good.

Chelsey and Spencer - If I haven't mentioned before... They're having a baby!!  That was our gift for Christmas.  We are so excited both for them and us.  Thus far she hasn't been too sick and heard the heart beat today.  She is due Aug 7.  She isn't going to school anymore and now just trying to keep herself busy till the baby comes.  I'm positive she'll be great at being a mom. ♥  Now if she'll just listen to me and move in down the street, it'll be perfect. ;)

Me - I'm still trying to get on track for the half marathon in a few weeks.  I'm getting better, but it's still hard. I eat way too much to lose any weight even with all my running.  Someday I'll figure all that out.  In the meantime, I spend my time doing paperwork, running and trying to stay on top of daily life.  I spend way too much time driving people around and my laundry is stacked way too high.  But I try not to stress and just keep plugging along.  Life passes way too quickly!!

Glade - Glade is working and making big decisions at work.  He spends a great deal of time doing his calling as Elders Quorum President.  He takes it very seriously and has been a great blessing to many that he serves.  He has been sick with a nasty cough for weeks so his running has virtually stopped.  We still go out every weekend and have a few little trips in the works.

We are far from perfect and all have our trials, but mostly we are just one big happy family!  We really are very blessed. ♥

we got puppies!

I'm a glutton for punishment.  And totally crazy.  And just plain insane.  A friend on FB was offering these pups for free. FREE.  I like free things.  I had already been contemplating getting little dogs and here were some for FREE.  So I got them.  They are a Terrier Beagle mix, girls.  8 weeks when I got them.  The kids were over the moon happy!  They even agreed to sleep in the living room to take them out at night.  I just want to say that it's been down to 22 degrees the whole week.  Rhett has been the trooper to stay every single night.  The other kids have all taken turns, but he has been every time.  The good news is that most nights they sleep till 4:30 or 5 am.  That's not too bad, just really cold!  

We are working on crate training them, but this is where we are weak.  The kids just like to have them out and always point the finger when they have an accident and say someone else was supposed to be watching them.  It's hard to watch them both, for sure.  We named them Lilly and Jules.  Lilly goes potty every single time we put her out.  Jules, not so much.  And after a week, they are still completely comfortable going in my house.  I just think there are too many of us for consistent punishment.  I know it's only a week, but its frustrating.  It's easier just to let them play outside.  But we are trying to stick with it.  We have to if we are to keep them.  

They are extremely playful and love to wrestle and chase each other.  We have a few toys they love to chew and tug of war with.  We are also trying to control the chewing factor.  I guess time will tell if we are successful or not.  But for now, it's a big commitment.  

Gingerbread Houses

After many thoughts of nixing all family activities due to insubordinate behavior by the older ones, I decided to give it one more try.  I'm so glad I did.  This night was practically perfect in every way.  It's tradition to do gingerbread houses before Christmas and Grandma  Green always comes.  I was afraid we weren't going to be able to fit it in this year, but we did.  Stephen had to work and Chelsey wasn't able to make it either but we invited our friend Mike to come help.  We first read the book the Three Trees and talked about the reason we celebrate Christmas.  Then we paired up and began the building.  I had my favorite candle lit and Christmas music in the back ground.  Not one argument.  no fussing, no mishaps... just fun and happiness.  As I sat at the end of the table and observed, I was almost moved to tears being so grateful for this family.  Not always are things rosy and perfect, but there are moments.  And those little moments make it all worth it. ♥

 Whitley's a little mad at me posting this, but it's so great.  I said "smile!", but she had candy in her teeth and was trying to get it out when I snapped the pic.  Classic.

 There was almost as much candy in the teeth as the houses.

 Brooklyn being accused of eating as much as she was decorating.  Notice the "wood pile" on the back of their house.  Grandma asked her to put some on the back to help even out the weight.  I think Gram thought it would be nice like the other side, but Brooklyn just slapped a bunch of pieces on top of each other.  Good times.

Christmas Angels

Every year we try to do something for a family in need.  In my shame, I must admit that it didn't really cross my mind until just a week or so before Christmas.  By then it's a little late to do something truly meaningful and well planned out.  When I was very first married and had Chelsey, I vowed that as long as I could provide Christmas for my own children, I would make sure we did  something for someone elses.  I hate that I had let that slide this year in all that I had going on.  The kids school had a tree in the lobby with Christmas Angel tags.  I normally do not like participating in things like that.  The requested toys were usually outlandish things I can't even afford to buy my own children.  But I was getting desperate.  So I looked at a few of the tags.  They were actually very reasonable so I checked with Glade and decided to go this route.

He was a little opposed because it felt like we were doing something just to say we did something.  Well, you're kind of right.  But to our kids, it's still a lesson of giving.  They don't realize we were slackers and it was a last ditch effort at service and my commitment to my vow.  So for family home evening, we had a lesson on giving, read one of our Christmas books and went shopping for all the tags we got off the tree.  We each took one and got one for Chelsey as well.  She and Spencer met us at Wal Mart to help us shop for the gifts.  It turned out to be a really nice night.  The kids were excited to pick out the gifts and they were gifts I was happy to buy.  It turns out that it was for Cardon's Children's Hospital, not just some random charity.  That made it a little better for me.  We also got a book and tie for a gentleman in our ward who was getting baptized soon.  His wife passed away just before Thanksgiving and he and Glade bonded while he visited her in the hospital.  He doesn't really have any family or friends so we have tried to include him in our activities.  He was very grateful and loved all the hugs from the kids.  I think we did ok this year, even for last minute.

Fever, Puke, Cough, Fever, Snot, Sore throat...

This has been the sickest winter our family has ever had.  We usually go through a brief round of something  but this year it's not been brief and it's not been something, it's been everything.  Bo had a fever off and on for a week.  His nose was so runny it was bloody and crusty most of the time.  Glade also had off and on fever and developed a really bad cough.  He even stayed in bed a while.  You know it's bad when Glade actually acts sick.  Those were the only two until....

Christmas morning I got a call from Whitley at 4:40 am.  I answered with a scolding that it was not yet 5 am so why was she calling me. She informed me that Brooklyn had puked and that she needed to come down so she could get all the smelly stuff out of her room.  Permission granted.  She threw up several times Christmas morning and felt much better by afternoon.  The next day everyone seemed to be fine.  We even went on an impromptu date to see Les Mis with a couple of friends.  We stopped off at Chipotle before the movie for a quick bite to eat.  The movie was pretty good and so was the popcorn!

That night, about 2 am Brooklyn brought a crying Katy to my room and said she had thrown up.  Dang it.  Well, I don't do puke so my fevered husband got up to take care of her.  Not 40 minutes later I was heaving Chipotle into the toilet.  I don't puke. Like ever.  I couldn't believe this was happening to me.  I laid in bed praying it would come out the other end, begging for no more puking.  That wasn't to be my lot.  I puked several more times over the next couple of hours.  My throat was raw and I was exhausted and frustrated.  Early in the morning, Whitley came down to tell me she had been puking for the last couple of hours.  She climbed in bed with me and she and I spent the entire day in bed watching movies.  We both had low grade fevers but were done puking.

Katy had apparently thrown up a few more times that night, but used the bowl and didn't come in to tell us.  As Whitley and I were laying in bed, we heard puking coming from the hall.  Dalin.  I called him in and he said he had been puking a lot of the night.  Later that day Stephen mentioned that he had thrown up at work the night before as well.  That afternoon I took Rhett to a friends house.  When I went to pick him up, he said he wasn't feeling well.  We weren't home an hour before he threw up.  Will it ever end??

That was the last of our puking, but now many are struggling with snot, coughing and sore throats.  Whitley even got so congested that her ear drum burst.  She had a fever and seeping from her ear for several days.  We took her to the doctor and they gave her some meds.  After almost a week of being down, she is finally up and around.  Ear still seeping and she's really tired, but over the worst of it.  Glade's cough continues to hang on, but the mucus and fever have gone.  Luckily for me, other than the puking and a sore throat for a few days after that, I'm good as gold.  No coughing, mucus, fever.. nothing.  I think that's how it's designed.  Things would not go well if I had been as sick as the rest!!

Santa!

The night we went to the Temple, our neighbors, Bro and Sis Winters, were having a special guest at their house until 8 pm.  We rushed home just in time to be able to see Santa.  The kids had seen Santa at our ward party but from what I hear.. Lame.  The party was when I was in Illinois, when I called to see how it all went I heard this "Santa was a fake!!"  Apparently his beard was below his chin and he wasn't nearly chubby enough.  I was seriously disappointed and was not looking forward to going to the mall.  This was the absolute perfect scenario.  We were the last ones to come so we had Santa all to ourselves.  It was very comfortable and not rushed.  I had Whitley give Bo some medicine and get him around so he could at least come see Santa.  So awesome!

 Bo

 Katy

 Whitley

 Brooklyn

 Rhett

 Dalin

Me and my good Friend Alicen.  Poor Santa, with all the flashing his eyes were getting a little kooky

Temple Lights

We had tried to get to the temple a couple of different times, but it just kept not working out.  Finally, less than a week before Christmas, we went.  Unfortunately, Bo came down with a fever after school and just didn't want to wake up to go.  So Whitley stayed at home with him and Nick and Stephen both had to work.  We joined a couple of families to look at lights and have hot chocolate and donuts after.  It was just cold enough to feel good but not be miserable.

 Jordan, Caleb, Rhett, Katy, Colt, Dalin, Kylie, Brooklyn

 All our future brides in front of the temple

Katy and Kylie, BFFs

A Sense of Humor

Ok, I think this is so freakin hilarious... but not all agreed.  Stephen had a gift exchange for choir.  It was supposed to be $10 and secret.  The kids all put down two things they liked.  His kid put down Panda Bears and Candy.  Nice.  He also happened to be moving to Alaska over winter break.  Stephen said he was kind of a quiet awkward kid.  We were coming up blank for Panda's and candy seems like a cop out.  Not to mention Stephen waited till the last minute to mention he needed something.

I came across this little gem and thought it was perfect.  He's moving to Alaska!!  We got quite a laugh out of the whole thing but apparently the kid didn't.  Bummer.  People should laugh more.Ü

Christmas Program

The elementary kids had their program right after I got back into town.  This is the first year this school has been open so I give them a little "pass" on how all this went down.  They didn't let kindergarten participate at all which was a little disappointing.  Bo's class was very first and Dalin's very last.  That makes for a very long two hours in a chair not designed for an adult.  They should have combined classes instead of every grade having three songs, but the stage would have been too small.  With that said, it was still cute.

Dalin had mentioned that he had a little solo part, but made it seem pretty insignificant so I was not prepared to video his performance.  My bad!!  He was so awesome.  One of their songs was a Christmas Rap and Dalin got the only solo (he was the only one that auditioned) that went something like "My name is Rudolph with the bright red nose!"  Let me just say.. Gangsta.  I know I'm biased, but seriously, he was so great.  Many children would have walked forward and mumbled something nervously, but not my kid.  He walked right to the center of the stage and with his booming voice and gangsta gestures let everyone know he was "Rudolph with the bright red nose".  I was so sad I missed it.  Then he went back to his place on the risers and continued on busting moves even though no one else was.  There's no apprehension with this one.  I love it.

 You can see him leaned to the side while everyone else is standing straight.  That's because he was groovin along without a care in the world.

Go Rudolph!!

Sandy Hook School Shooting

This was a horrific horrific tragedy for our country.  I won't go on an on about it because it's truly incomprehensible.  A young twenty something man went to his mother's home and shot her with guns he had stolen from her home.  He then proceeded to go to a local elementary school in Newtown, CT and kill 28 people.  Most of which were first grade children.  My heart just ached for those families who sent their precious little ones off to school only to find them dead and bloody just hours later.  

This all  happened while I was back in Illinois.  The hardest part for me was that I couldn't hug my own little ones.  I wanted so badly just to hold them and kiss them, but was miles and miles away.  The reality is that it could have been anyone's little ones.  There's no guarantee that won't happen at my kids school.  Lots of criticism was being tossed around about security measures, but nothing is going to stop a determined crazy with semi automatic weapons.  I don't care about your buzzer system.  

Sometimes I let my own thoughts torture me.  To try and imagine what it must have been like for those who endured this massacre   Imagine my sweet little dimpled Katy being horrified and helpless at the mercy of someone so evil.  It's just heartbreaking and sickening.  

The only thing that can ease my heart is the knowledge that those babies are in the arms of their Father in Heaven.  They were so sweet and perfect that they are guaranteed a place in Heaven for the eternities.  I don't worry about them at all.  I ache for their families left here to miss them.  To mourn them.  To spend Christmas with their unopened gifts under the tree.  Truly truly devastating.  But I also believe that there were angels there that day.  They couldn't stop the madness, but they could be with those innocent ones who were victims.  I don't believe God would leave them alone at a time like that.  

Christmas Cuties

 
 I guess it's become tradition to take pictures of these two in front of the tree.  At least that's what they tell me.  I don't mine, they're kinda cute.  Unfortunately I take way too many pics with my phone now adays so the quality isn't so great.

One of my favorite Christmas activities this year was Bo's piano recital.  As I sat there and listened to several little ones (and a few big) play simple Christmas songs, I had such a feeling of peace and contentment.  Like these are the things that make Christmas special.  He is a little bit of a stink and didn't really practice his piece at all.  In fact, it was only the day before that I found out he didn't even have his music, he lost it.  We scrambled and got what he needed.  He played the whole thing from memory at the recital. Imagine if he actually put a little effort into it.

22 Years

Twenty two years and counting.  Yesterday was our anniversary.  I always encourage people who are considering a wedding date to stay away from this time of year.  It's fun the first year, but kinda stinky from then on.  By the time I'm done with Halloween, Thanksgiving, the whole Christmas season, New Years and having my kids home for two weeks, I can barely think about my anniversary.  I'm just too exhausted.

This year in an attempt to at least make an effort, I planned a long date for us.  We didn't exchange gifts or even cards this year.  I made reservations for us to get massages at Massage Envy.  They have a couples room where you are together the whole time.  This was Glade's first time, and my second. The first was not a good experience.  He was really nervous about the whole thing.  I'm glad I didn't tell him till we were almost there, he may have backed out.  Turns out it was really nice.  Nothing we would do regularly, or maybe even ever again, but fun to have done it once.  After, we went for an early dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  It's great to get there before the dinner rush and have absolutely no waiting.

Glade had agreed to humor me in going car shopping.  We just paid off our van and have no car payment for the first time... ever.  Not that I'm looking for one, but I'd like to see what I could get if I saved all my car payments for a year.  I hate driving the big ol van around every where I go.  Not to mention that it's empty most the time as well.  The kids have beat the heck out of the blue one and that has become "theirs".  So I would like a nice little car with good gas mileage to get me around.  Well, cars cost more than I thought so that was a little disheartening, but it was at least a reality check.

Car shopping was the last thing on my "plan" (it didn't take very long) so now it was 5:30 and we had done everything.  Woops.  Guess when you're old...  So we did a little "shopping" close to where we were and then decided to jump across to the movie theater and see Parental Guidance.  Luckily it was starting in just 20 min so we got right in.  It was pleasantly surprisingly cute.  I had low expectations, but it was really funny and had me crying by the end.  We ended our night at DQ getting hot fudge/brownie ice cream.  Home by 9:30.  Sweet, cuz we started 8am church today.

We love going out with our friends and being with family, but sometimes it's just nice to have each other. ♥

Going Home

Mom and I made a trip back to see family in Illinois this Christmas.  I always look forward to that time.  It's so great to get to know my family again and not worry about entertaining my children and worrying about their needs.  I arrived on Thursday night where I was treated with my favorite sausage and potato pizza from Pizza Joint.  Yum!!  The next morning we just chilled and ran to the store to get a few things for the party that night.  We came home to awful news about a school shooting that I will post separately about later.  What an awful day.  

That night, my dad's family all came for dinner.  Jo Anne had outdone herself with the food!!  She's amazing. Everyone came and it was so nice to just chat and catch up with everyone.  I wasn't that close to my cousins growing up so it's nice to have them now.  

 Me, Dad and sister Sherri

 Me, Dad and JoAnne

Grandpa Joe

The next morning I got up and around and headed to my Gramma B's house.  Oh how I miss her!!  We went over to Lisa's for the family party with my Mom's side.  Again, almost everyone came out to see us.  We had an awesome lunch and played the white elephant gift exchange.  It rained a bit this day, but they were having unseasonably warm weather, go figure.  I barely even wore a jacket.

 Me and Gramma B.

After the party, we went back to Gram's house to play a little Eucher.  While waiting for Vickie, we had a nice talk about Grandma's life and her family, I love to get to know all the little stuff about her. Vickie came and we ended up playing cards till midnight.  Let me just say... laugh till you cry.  That's what we did.  "you could make a cheeseball out of it!!"  Fun times!!

Sunday morning came and it was time to go home.  We were going to go see Polar Express, but it stopped showing the day I got there.  Instead Dad, Jo and I went to lunch and then did a little shopping.  That's when I got this

It opens up and Santa is inside!!  I'm very spoiled and also very grateful, Thanks Jo ♥

We still had a little time before we went to the airport so we went to visit Grandpa Joe.  Again I got to hear stories from the past.  I wish there was an easier way to record all of that so I had it forever.  

The plane ride home was awful.  Mom and I finagled to get seats together and then chatty Cathy next to mom talked the whole time.  No biggie, I was tired anyway.  Oh wait, drunk guy in the row over was LOUD!  Seriously, people complained and the stewardess even asked him to be quiet a few times.  He didn't care, just made him louder.  Kept saying rude things like "get naked on the plane!"  Then when it would get quiet and he couldn't think of anything to say, he would start "ho ho" ing this awful laugh.  I wanted to kill him.  Not even my headphones with music could drown him out.  

I absolutely LOVE my family.  Both of them and I'm so grateful I get to share these times with them.  But on the way home, I was listening to the song "I'll be home for Christmas" and I got a little emotional about seeing my little family again.  That's really my home, where they are.