The Brady Bunch

Ken and Chrys are still married

2010-10-19T17:11:00.000-07:00

Ken and Chrys are still married.

In one of my recent posts I was referring to some difficult times we have faced in the last couple of years. I do have every intention of writing more about them although for most of you it will only be repetitive. My mom keeps telling me I really need to write about these experiences. I will. I really will.

At any rate... I mentioned that I've seen parents get divorced and I have. I do consider Geoff's parents to be my own. Just to make it perfectly clear, Ken and Chrys are still married. It will be 42 years this December!

Divorce is devastating. It has been one of the hardest things we've had to experience. I hadn't seen Geoff cry until then. We cried together. We cried alot together. Even now thinking about it and the circumstances around the divorce it still makes me cry.

Dinner experience last night

2010-10-19T17:06:00.000-07:00

Me and the 4 kids at the table. We were eating our dinner and having conversations. Here's how it went down.

Caleb: "mom, you should be a lunch lady at our school cuz you make yummy food."
Tyler: "yeah mom you should. Guess what nice surprise I found in my taco today?"
Me: "what?"
Tyler: "a big long hair"
All of us: "eeeewwwwwww"
Tyler reaching into his pocket: "yeah and I think I still have the hair. Wanna see it?"

And after the leggy soup I was sure it wouldn't get any more fun.

Yes, Tyler really did save the hair. Why, you might ask??? Me too!!!

Dinner experience 3 nights ago

2010-10-19T16:58:00.000-07:00

Caleb: "Mom, this soup has bugs in it"
Me: "no it doesn't. It's just the seasoning I put in it."
Tyler: "Then your seasonings have legs because mine has legs also."

After checking my soup thoroughly I had to concede.

I noticed that I had a bunch of cream cheese in the fridge so I planned to get some milk and broccoli with my food order at the Bishop's Storehouse, which I did. I decided that I would make a huge pot of it and have it for a couple of days. We had it one night without any gliches (concerns about leggy seasoning). It was the second night when we had it for leftovers that the legs were discovered!

I have a huge container of chicken bouillon and it is about 5 years old. Apparently you can't keep bouillon that long. Unless you like leggy seasoning. And then some could argue the added protein is good for you. I, for one, don't like leggy soup or seasonings so the whole pot was dumped.

So was the bouillon.

What we cheer for!

2010-10-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

I've been watching some ads on t.v. that advertise a trip to Disneyland. You've probably seen them too. The ones where the parents have surprised their kids with a trip to Disneyland and the kids start cheering and screaming with excitement.

I went to the Bishop's storehouse the other day for my first ever food order. It was an interesting first. I remember a couple of years ago sitting with sisters filling out THEIR food order. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought it would be my turn in a couple of years. Never. But it happened. (and, by the way, how thankful I am for it!!!)

So I brought the groceries home and asked my kids to go out to the car and help carry groceries in. My kids went out to the car, and just like the kids on the commercials, started screaming and cheering that we had food.

It was a moment not to be forgotten. And now it really won't because it's here.

My Weakness

2010-10-13T11:56:00.000-07:00

I have found my limit! I have found my red light. I've discovered what I CAN'T do.

I know that I CAN run a 200+ mile relay race over 2 days.
I can run my house. I can run 3 businesses at a time, be Relief Society president and full time mom all at once.
I can raise 4 crazy kids.
I can live through a ruptured tubal pregnancy (barely made that one!)
I can live through 11 miscarriages and make the decision to not try any more.
I can lose a house and car. Well, I know where they are- just not in my possession anymore.
I can lose our 3 businesses we worked so hard to make successful.
I can lose property and valuable "things".
I can live through parents getting divorced (although the stitches in my heart are still mending) (***EDIT: Ken and Chrys are still very much married and in love! I do consider Geoff's parents my own as well. Sorry about such confusion!!! Stop the gossip quickly!)
I can live through unkind things said about me and nurturing a budding desire to forgive.
I can move several hundred miles away from my parents who have lived down the street from me and my kids for 14 of our 16 years of marriage.
I can move away from all my friends who I love and admire.
I can live everyday wondering where the money will come from for the next bill.
I'm living through the scary thought of one of my kids having a brain tumor.
I can do hard things. I can. I do.

But what I can't do is be without Geoff! He's been gone for 3 weeks and I've got 2 more to go. Time can't move fast enough. I'm falling apart.
I'm so in love with my husband.

Happy Father's Day, Dad! I Love You!

2010-06-14T22:28:00.000-07:00

Wow! Where do I even start.
My dad, my hero.
He means so much to me. Here are a few of the things I LOVE about him.

He's taught me that learning is endless. He ALWAYS has his nose in a book. I grew up always seeing my dad excited and anxious to learn more about the gospel. Scripture study is something he never misses. I know at the crack of dawn I will find him in his favorite chair studying the scriptures and then moving on to some other gospel book.

He's taught me how to use duct tape in 350 different ways including (but not limited to because there really is no end to what you can do with duct tape or in my house, grey tape) mending holes in your shoes, belting loose jeans, patching torn jeans, hemming church pants, art work, plumbing issues, fixing a broken handle on the car, putting the rear view mirror back in place, patching a hole in the boat, patching a hole in your hat, getting rid of warts.

He's taught me there is no if, only when. I can do anything I decide to do.
He's taught me to be dependable at any cost, that doing hard things makes me stronger. Never say no to a calling. Obedience is ALWAYS first priority.

Work so you can have fun. Make vacation a priority. Love your spouse. Never forget the Lord in anything. Who cares what you wear, just be glad you have something to wear. Make yourself work hard.

Wrong turns aren't really wrong turns- they are just another adventure.
He taught me to love camping, fishing, Mexico. He's the reason why I am a creative cook because, as he says, "if a little is good more is better", and that a banana in most anything tastes great (well anything, if you ask him). He helped me see the value in a long afternoon nap. He also helped me see just how quickly I could get out of bed bright and early in the morning when he poured freezing cold water over my face.

He's quiet and strong. He taught me to work hard and to not let being female limit me in any way. He expects alot from me.

He's taught me a love for giving. He's the most generous person I know. He has a humanitarian spirit that is contagious and I'm so thankful for his example. I've learned through the years from him that giving is always more fun than to receive.

Last August it was time for us to make our move to Utah. We have been best friends with my parents forever and now we had to say goodbye. After we did the last final loading of the truck we headed down the street to my parents to say goodbye. That was one of the hardest days our family has had. We stood in their kitchen and I watched my parents and my kids hug and kiss and say goodbye with many tears in their eyes. It was my turn. I looked at my dad and he reached into his wallet. If you know him you know he always carries a $100. bill neatly folded up and tucked away in the corner of his wallet, "for emergencies", he says. So he took out his $100. bill and hands it to me with tears in his eyes. I watched him take it out and like a little kid fold it up for me. Then he hands it to me and says, "put this away in a far corner of your wallet for emergencies". I took it, then we hugged and cried our eyes out together. I think that's a memory I will never forget and I told myself that I would never spend that $100. bill.

That $100 bill is gone now. Not because I wanted to but out of PURE DESPERATION. One day we were down to nothing, again, but this time we were racking up the overdraft fees faster than I could scream and I couldn't figure out how to make it stop. I found every penny we had and deposited it but we were still short. I knew that money was there but there was no way I was going to use it-- not THAT $100. bill. But that was all I had and I knew it had to be deposited. I took it to the bank crying like a baby. Not about our poor financial situation but because of how much that bill meant to me. After depositing the money the lady at the bank said, "oh, you look like you need a sucker". I wanted to punch her.

I climbed my mountain that day and cried the entire 3 miles up. I kept trying to tell myself that it was only money. But it wasn't only money. It was special to me. The value of that bill far exceeded its face value and I didn't have it anymore.
What I do have though is the memory and that can never be taken away.

I think my dad thinks I'm awesome. I hope he knows how awesome he is to me.
I love you, dad.

My Mountain

2010-06-03T11:26:00.001-07:00

One of the perks of living in Pleasant View is that we live at the base of some beautiful mountains. We discovered that there are several hiking trails on these mountains. It's a 7 minute drive to the start of the hike. We started hiking this mountain last year during the fall season and loved it! I could hardly wait till the snow melted to get back up there. One of the hikes is about an 11 mile round trip hike but for a daily hike I just go about 2 miles up to a lookout that is stunning. Every other day I go a little farther and one day I'll make the 11 mile roundtrip hike. I hike up and run down. The other day while I was running down I passed a man who said, "wow, you have way more energy than I do" to which I replied, "yes I do. My extra energy is stored in my backside. See my three rear ends"? He laughed and I told him not to rub it in next time.

This hike has become one of my newest best friends. It has heard my cries, my prayers and my gratitude. It's also teaching me so much.

The other day it was windy as heck and I decided that I was going anyway. There are several switch backs. I was cursing the wind the entire time until I got to the last switch back. Just as I was the most tired and had been fighting this wind the whole way up- almost blew my hat off a few times- I realized that on my last switchback the wind was blowing me forward and pushing me along. It became easy to get to my goal.

I think this has been my last few weeks. I feel opposition in many ways and the challenges are regular. When I have felt the most tired the Lord puts out a lifeline. Sometimes it's a friend who asks how I am and REALLY wants to know how I am. Sometimes it's a phone call from my parents (who are my best coaches!). Sometimes it's an unexpected gift dropped off at the door. Sometimes it's understanding as I read the scriptures. Sometimes it's a check in the mail. Lots of times it's a hug from Tyler and flowers from Caleb (he brings me flowers everyday! I don't know who's yard they come from but THANK YOU neighbors for planting such beautiful flowers for Caleb to pick and me enjoy at my desk or in the kitchen). It's tight squeezes from Geoff. It's personal revelation and feeling the Spirit. It's realizing that we have been blessed in so many ways.

I'm learning that the Lord will always be there but most especially when I feel my most tired. He will always be there.

Smarter Everyday!

2010-05-26T14:47:00.000-07:00

I'm...I'm....I'm becoming a smarter mom! I'm tongue tied, actually. Ok- I'm so excited I just had to share! It has to do with laundry, Tyler and Caleb.

So the boys room has been a huge mess for days. Today I had enough with the mess and made them stop playing to clean their rooms. I know, duh! Should've done that a LONG time ago but they capitalize on my absentmindedness(could that be one whole word?) and busy-ness (I purposefully didn't want to say business-because there is none!) that I just haven't been the world's greatest mother. That's right, no "Mother of the Year" award--AGAIN.

ok- anyway. So Tyler and Caleb are cleaning their room and I make an effort to get my buns upstairs and just check in with them when to my horror I find Caleb bringing down this MOUNTAIN of laundry. Just looking at it at a glance I see clothes that I KNOW they haven't worn for a while but there they are---IN THE DIRTY LAUNDRY PILE.

So I say, "don't even think about it!". Then I tell them that they will go through every piece of laundry and check to see if it is clean or dirty and that the pile better be AT LEAST half the size when they are done. I leave to use the restroom.

I have revelation while using the restroom! No joke. I clean up and go back to the boys room all smug and smart and everything and I say, "ok- I take that back. You can put as much laundry in the laundry room as you want but you won't be able to play again until the dirty laundry has been washed, dried, folded and put away by yourselves. One load of laundry will take about an hour and a half."

YOU SHOULD SEE THE SIZE OF THEIR PILE NOW!!!

See??, I AM getting smarter!

The Lord has reduced my numbers!

2010-05-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

I have so much to catch up on. I feel like this post is a middle chapter of 100 and you may have no idea what the beginning was like. One day I'll go back a year or two. But today I've got to post what's on my mind. I think it was revelatory for me.

Let me first say that lots of my posts seem to have a downer mood. Life is crap right now!!! I won't even try to flower it up because it hasn't been flowery. It's been crap. BUT we have also found peace and yes, even happiness. We are happy.

We continue to be left wondering every month how we'll survive yet another week. With no work and limited funds coming in our bank account has suffered. (Friends and family- this is not a call for help). I remember better days when we had 3 successful businesses going. I would make a deposit twice a month and each time I had to make a deposit it took me 3 hours to put it together. We had tons of checks that all had to be matched against the accounts receivables. Then I had to make copies of each check and then enter them on my deposit slip. We had to special order deposit slips because there was not enough room to list all the checks. You know what?!!! I COMPLAINED about how long it took me to get a deposit together!!! Today I laugh. I have special order deposit slips with line after line to enter checks and I have 1 check to enter maybe once a month. We started a new business selling Italian Ice. LuLu's Italian Ice- www.LuLusIce.com. We travel to different shows and festivals selling our ice and custard. On good shows we come home and I have to wash out several buckets and they are a pain. One night after we came home from a sale I began to complain about washing out those darn buckets and I remembered my deposit experience. I haven't complained about washing out buckets again. Washing out buckets means that we sold out of ice and were blessed. Now I pray to have the chance to wash out as many buckets as possible.

My story is getting long so I better cut to the chase. Our numbers have been reduced. We don't even deposit 1/10th of what we used to. We would be elated if we were just able to maintain a balance of zero. Those overdraft fees really add up!
Our little family has seen such hard times in the last 3 years it really is amazing. In so many ways! The financial part is just a part of it- there has been so much happening- so much that we have faced together- so many struggles, trials and challenges. We are on empty in EVERY way. I have often thought why has it had to be SO hard. Why so much in such a relatively short amount of time? I know the adversary would like to have me and I also realize that some of these thoughts are what he has planted. Nonetheless these questions have often been on my mind. I can understand why the Lord would need to polish somebody. I totally get that. It's necessary and a huge blessing- in the end. We have just experienced SO MUCH.

So yesterday during Sunday school I had personal revelation. The lesson was on Gideon of the Old Testament. Here was the question thrown out at the classroom, "Why did the Lord command Gideon to reduce his army of 32,000 to 300 to fight the Midianites?" Well, we know why. So that the Israelites would trust the Lord and recognize that it was the Lord's power that delivered them and not in any way was it their own wisdom, strategy or power.

It hit me like a ton of bricks! I had been praying and searching for answers and I received it during Sunday School yesterday. The Lord has reduced our numbers, strength, pride, everything, so that when He brings us up and delivers us, we will know that it had nothing to do with our smarts, strength, strategy, power nor any of our abilities but everything to do with His power. Why does it have to be so hard? So that we will know when He rebuilds us that it was by His power.

As it seems right now- I can't see the end. The challenges and struggles still come but I believe with all of my heart that one day the Lord will deliver us and when He does my family will know how we were delivered.

Scripture Power

2010-05-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

Our Relief Society lesson this past Sunday, 2 days ago, was on the scriptures. The lesson was great and it surfaced a memory I have from an experience a couple of years ago.

I had the kids in the car and we were headed somewhere. It was a pleasant day so we had the windows down. We stopped at a red light and the car next to us was blasting (as loud as he could) music with foul language. Yikes!!! I was fumbling around trying to get the windows up but realized that wasn't going to be fast enough. My fingers kept fumbling around the music player and I pushed the first button I could push just to get something else playing so my kids didn't hear what was outside. To my pure delight and surprise, the children's primary song, Scripture Power, began playing. I blasted the music and our whole family started singing at the top of our voices.....scripture power....everyday I need the power that I get each time I read. Our windows were not quite all the way up so now our song and voices were even louder than the foul music right next to us and we sang like there was no tomorrow. I paused and listened to my kids belt out the song. It was powerful! Not just the loudness of it all but the words to the song and the conviction I felt about the message in the song.

I'm alive

2010-04-20T14:49:00.000-07:00

It's been so stinkin' long since I last posted. I keep thinking I just need to sit down and write something....ANYTHING! Well, here it is.

One day I'll take us all back to June of 2009 and update my blog journal. That's really what this is for me, my journal. Since I don't keep any other sort of life record this is it. So much has happened and hasn't happened. I've learned so much. I'd like to think I'm evolving into.....not sure yet but somethig different.

So here's a thought I've been pondering for a while. While my mom was visiting us here in Utah we had a chance to squeeze out life and visit a bit. She said something that I've been thinking about. She said, "It's easy to be sad and blue. It takes alot of work to be happy". Being sad, mad, blue- you can call it whatever you want--- is the easy way. It really does take work, motivation and determination to be happy. I guess we can sit on our rumps and play the blame game or get up, get going and make our own happiness!

I know some of these thoughts don't make sense for some of you- but again, this is my journal and these are my thoughts right now, so there!

Mormon Message

2009-11-22T20:11:00.000-08:00

I LOVE those Mormon Messages!!! I found this one tonight. Wes and I watched it and I looked over at him and said, "wow! that makes me cry." This one is a tear jerker for me. I hope this works and I can get it copied here so you can watch it. (it may take a few edits-- be sure to pause my playlist so the music is not a distraction!)

A couple of years ago when we were getting ready for our annual Christmas humanitarian project in Mexico I watched my dad grab some clothes we were organizing into various bags to be distributed among the Mexican people and he began to stuff the pockets with money. This reminds me so much of him. This is my dad's character. He is my hero!

I guess we just never know what our random acts of kindness will do for others. We truly can be tools in the Lord's hands.

Who was it???

2009-11-21T15:13:00.000-08:00

When we moved (that story to come later) I left my house needing to be cleaned. Geoff has been back a couple of times to the house and he told me that some of my darling friends cleaned my house for me!!!

Darling friends--- please confess so I can send a proper thank you! I have a big feeling that one of them was somebody who's name starts with J, has an o and a d in the middle and ends with i. I think there were more. I think the other may start with L and end with i also.

Whoever you are you just can't know how much I appreciate that!

Random thoughts and sayings

2009-11-19T11:05:00.000-08:00

The other day Ashlyn said, "I'm getting tired of having patience"
I just thought that was funny.

I drove by a sign that read, "Thanksgiving is a word of action"

I listened to a youth speaker at church quote somebody who said something like....where there is gratitude there is humility.

You know it's bad when......

2009-10-22T16:08:00.001-07:00

You know it's bad when you can't afford to be the tooth fairy.

Caleb keeps losing teeth and I don't have a dime! Just today he lost another tooth. Then he put it in a little paper cup filled with a little water (the tooth fairy pays more for clean teeth) and set the darn thing right next to the sink in the kitchen. So guess what I did when it was time to tidy up in the kitchen? Yep, looked at that little paper cup and knew it needed to be thrown away. I dumped the water down the kitchen drain and threw out the cup. Then I started to rinse the dishes in the sink but the sink was plugged so I ran the disposal!
You can imagine how Caleb felt when he came in, so excited and asked me where I put the little cup with his tooth in it.
So how do you fix that you wonder? You write a note to the tooth fairy explaining that you put your tooth in a cup cept your mom cleaned the kitchen and threw the cup away and don't forget the p.s. part.....the tooth was extra clean!
Anyway- a small part of me was so excited because then I wouldn't have to figure out where to find a buck. What ever happened to $.25 for a tooth? It's Geoff's fault. All his fault. He's the one who started handing out dollar bills for teeth. Well so now I have to make up for this whole thing and make it really good. Maybe I'll just stick my credit card under his pillow.

Come on guys- add your "you know it's bad when....". I'd love to hear it. Come on! There's got to be something better than mine.

A sad funeral

2009-10-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

I went to a funeral yesterday. A very sad funeral. A 28 year old sister in our ward died of cancer September 28th. She left behind her husband and 4 small kids all under the age of 5.
Of course this family has a testimony of the gospel and the plan of happiness. They know they will see each other again. That's the happy part-- for all of us.
She was just so young! It was so very sad.

Here is a link to her blog if you'd like to know:
http://jeffandashleighfarnsworth.blogspot.com/

Sitting there listening to the memoirs of her family and their kind words of her very short life I began to think of my own loved ones. I wonder if they really know how much I love them.

It's sad to think that it seems to be much easier to say unkind things to each other than it is to acknowledge the good, compliment each other, offer praise and support, express in words and actions that we love each other.

And so I'll say now to all my family members, even those who can't stand me, that I love you all. If I died tomorrow I would want all of you to know that I admire each and every one of you and love you tons!

I'm sorry to those of you who have problems with me that I'm not who you've hoped I would be. Your judgements of me are harsh and untrue. My bad feelings for you are unfair. When will it ever stop? It'll have to begin in our own hearts. But I want you to know that I love you and always have- always will.

My dad is my hero. My mom has been a savior and exemplar. Geoff is my everything. He has brought sunshine, laughter and happiness to my life. I live everyday for him. He's my best friend. My children are my angels.

My Dear Moms

2009-09-07T13:48:00.000-07:00

Let me write about Sunny.

I met Sunny in a funny way, kindof. I went to Geoff's homecoming talk at his ward in Mesa. I was living in Tucson. Geoff and I had become good friends through mail while he was on his mission so I decided to go to his homecoming talk. Afterwards he invited me to a little luncheon that his mom was putting on. That's the first time I met Sunny. I remember that day.

There's lots to love about Sunny. Lots and lots. I wish I knew her a little better but I know her well enough to see what a wonderful person she is.

She is a woman of independence. Her love is dance. She has been dancing since she could walk. She's taken this love and talent to make a successful business. She has been teaching dance for several years and has had several hundred students probably even thousands.

She is loved by many people and has been a great influence on many. She has a great talent of making friends. She laughs at herself. She's a great story teller- she'll keep you for hours telling a story ;) She's a humanitarian.

When I think of Sunny I think of strength and faith and trust in the Lord. I love her testimony of the gospel. In fact, most times when we're talking she takes our conversation somewhere having to do with the gospel. I love that! She's often shared with me an experience she had at the temple, of visiting teaching, or something she's read or understood better in the scriptures or a chat she had with one of her church leaders or a lesson that was discussed during Relief Society or Sunday School. I LOVE this! She has a beautiful, strong testimony of the gospel. She knows who she is. She knows what she stands for. She has taught her children the gospel and for that I am eternally grateful.

She is a woman of courage. Even in such challenging times as now she is a woman of faith, hope and strength.

I love you, Sunny!

Let me now tell you a little about my mom.

I'm drawn to her priorities. First she loves the Lord. She loves my dad and she loves her family.

She has been my best friend for years. She is a source of light and strength for me. The thing that most impresses me about my mom is her devotion to the gospel and our family. She loves and loves and loves and loves deeply. I know my mom loves me without any question.

She is an example of unselfish service too. One of my favorite memories of her was when I was growing up in Tucson. She was ALWAYS making something to give away. She made scrumptious homemade bread, cookies, cakes and dinners. Many times she was cooking for somebody else. In fact everytime she was making something a member of the family would come in and ask if that was for us. Her answer was usually, "no, it's for the family down the street" or "no, it's for somebody in the ward". It seemed that she was always making something for somebody else. Sometimes when we asked who it was for she would giggle and say, "it's for our family". Now it's kindof a family joke. Whenever she's making something that smells so good we joke with each other over this memory.

She's a perfectionist! She taught me to make things right. Well.....she tried to teach me that, anyway. We laugh at each other in the kitchen because she's so perfect and I'm so NOT! She follows recipes to the T and it's far and few between that I even find a recipe. She sets the timer when she's mixing a cake! I just guess and mix until it looks good.

My mom taught me how to pray, to read the scriptures, to have faith, to hope, to serve others, to love my spouse. She tried to teach me how to keep the house clean, to keep up on the laundry, to have dinner ready for my husband every night, to make my bed everyday but these things didn't sink in. She loves me for my diversity and rebellious spirit anyway.

She's a natural teacher. It is, in my opinion, one of her greatest talents. I love to listen to her teach the gospel. I love to hear her testimony. I know she's touched many with her testimony and understanding of the gospel. That has become my greatest blessing- the teachings of the gospel from my mom.

She's also a survivor! When she was diagnosed with breast cancer about 5 years ago I prayed hard. I couldn't imagine life without her and I told the Lord that. I was living in Queen Creek at the time and she was still in Tucson. She had begun chemo therapy and her hair was falling out all over the place. I took on the job of shaving her head for her. I remember the drive down to Tucson that day was very short because my thoughts were of her the entire drive down. I told the Lord that if he needed her more to help me understand but that I thought we needed her more in our lives right here. I reasoned with the Lord asking him how her work anywhere else could be any more important than what she can do in and for her family. I pleaded with him to give us more time. Well.....we have it. I love her in my life and in my family's life. I need her. We need her and until it's time for her to go I'm going to get as much out of her as is possible!!!

These are a few of the things that most impress me about my mom.

I love you, mom!

Keys in the Toilet

2009-09-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a long story that nobody cares about.

Yesterday was a lovely day at church. It really was. It was a beautiful day and I was surrounded by wonderful people.

I drove to church so I was responsible for the keys.

After Sacrament I made a pit stop before going into Sunday school. Geoff took my scriptures and went ahead to save me a seat. I went into the bathroom stall, looked around for a place to set my keys and found what I thought was the best place; the top of the toilet tank. What I didn't know was that this tank was slanted just ever so slightly. I put my keys there and began to get ready to use the toilet when all of a sudden the keys went kirplunck! Right into the toilet! They sank right down to the bottom, of course.

I sat there for several minutes with a wrinkled forehead, really just stunned. I rolled my eyes a few times, even thought about swearing. I didn't though (mostly because I was at church not because I don't know any swear words!). I said several "Oh my gosh" es and decided that the only way to remedy the problem was to stick my hand down the toilet and get the keys. Well really...how else would I get them out??? Of course I would've grabbed a plastic bag had that happened at home. Well forget that! I would have bribed Tyler or yelled at Geoff to save me or anything. But no- there was nobody but me. So I did it. Yep- stuck my hand down the toilet, well by the time I got to the keys half of my arm was also in the toilet. YUCK!

I washed up- several times- and scrubbed the keys with soap. Thank goodness there was an ample supply of soap that day.

I went to Sunday school, found Geoff who had saved me a seat and told him I dropped the keys in the toilet. He leaned over and said, "it seems like you've dropped your whole life in the toilet so why not the keys". Yes, it was symbolic.

Oh Wesley!

2009-09-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

So Wesley's cousin was playing football and Wes went to one of his games and came home and said, "mom, I can play because those guys are wimps. I can knock them down". And so we signed Wes up for tackle football. He loved it. He was the tallest on the team and one of the largest so he got to practice some intimidation tactics.
He was awesome! We loved watching his games. We got Grandma Sunny, Papa Boyd, Nanni and Poppy, Aunt Jodi and whoever else we could grab to come watch the games with us. I hope he signs up next season.

May 09

2009-09-02T15:51:00.000-07:00

May was a busy month! After the baby blessing Geoff and I celebrated our 15th anniversary on a cruise- our first. My parents watched the kids while we left it all behind for 7 days. We went from Long Beach, CA up the coast and into Canada then back down the coast. When we got to Vancouver we got to rent a car and go see Geoff's grandparents for a quick visit and lunch out on the town. So glad we got to do that! We had a fantastic time together! Here are a few pictures for evidence. The picture of the house is the house that was used in the movie, "Goonies". We walked right up to it! The picture of the other couple were Aaron and Hilary Croft. They shared a dinner table with us every night and the two guys were our awesome waiters. Geoff was able to walk right up to some sea lions napping on the dock. They didn't like to too much and barked at him quite a bit but he got some good pictures for proof.

April 09

2009-09-02T15:35:00.000-07:00

In April my mom was an honoree at the "Relay for Life" in Queen Creek. This is a 24 hour walking relay. Those who participate help raise money for a cure for cancer.
They start the entire night with the survivors walking together just after sun down. Geoff, Jodi and I got to join my mom as she walked with the survivors in their "survivor lap". It was really a neat experience. I was really touched to see perfect strangers interlock hands and arms as they walked together no doubt remembering their fight to survive. They had the track field lined with luminaries with names of those who lost their battle. We walked, quietly, remembering not only the struggles our family members went through but what others may have gone through as well as we passed each of those luminaries. It was amazing. Quiet. Reverent.

I love you, mom! Thank you for letting us join you that night. It's something I won't soon forget.

May 09

2009-09-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

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Then we were off to Georgia- well, I was off to Georgia. Geoff stayed home with the kiddle E dees so I could be with my brother and sister-in-law and their new baby. Adeline's baby blessing was such a fun time! I've got some wonderful pictures and more at: http://picasaweb.google.com/lezliebrady/Atlanta09#

April 09

2009-09-02T14:29:00.000-07:00

We grabbed the family and my parents and headed to Rocky Point for a quick trip to the beach. We had one SUPER FANTASTIC day and then came hell!

The night we got there we found a campground right on the beach and it seemed to be nice. We found a place away from everybody- we like peace and quiet.

By about 7pm the winds started to pick up and so did the partying. We had several EXTREMELY LOUD neighbors. In fact one neighbor had a party with loud Latino music blaring until 3am.

The winds picked up so much that things were blowing off the tent trailer we were camping in! Nobody slept all night. Morning came and we were gathering our belongings from clear down the road. The wind was horrendous! When I lifted my foot to take a step the wind blew off my flip flops. It was awful!

But here are some pictures of our wonderful first day. What a sunset!

Grandpa turned 90!

2009-09-02T13:48:00.000-07:00

In February my grandpa turned 90 this year. We had a huge party with friends and family and had such a fun time.

My favorite things about grandpa:

He LOVES chocolate
He LOVES ice cream
He always has candy and soda around the house and in every corner
He's one good looking grandpa
He calls me Les
He can make a coin go from one ear, knock it around in his head and make it come out the other ear. (He wears dentures)
He's been to most of my special events- baptism, graduation, baby blessings, etc.
He gives the best hugs
He loves to tease and be teased
He's a master carpenter- actually just stopped working last year!
He gets emotional telling stories from his past
He has a soft heart
He has a strong testimony
He loves me back!

I'll have to post pictures of him later. The office is in a scramble right now!

February 2009

2009-09-02T13:37:00.000-07:00

Alrighty! It's time to get with it. I said I'd start with February- here it goes. Since it's been so long I'm working from memory here so if dates are wrong give me a break people!

I've had the wonderful opportunity to work in Relief Society on a stake level for the past year. I've been able to serve with some wonderful, beautiful women. We went together (minus Tiffany- we missed you!) to Salt Lake City for some training and had so much fun together.

Cristi Martin, Mindy Hall and Tiffany Johnson

Thanks for the fun memories. It was so much fun to work with you ladies. You're awesome! I love your testimonies and spiritual strength. You've all been wonderful examples to me and I love you!

Too busy!

2009-08-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

I don't even know where to start! Life has been full, rich, exciting, challenging and new along with crazy, ridiculous, nerve wracking, exhausting, stressful, sad, tiring and maddening.

I plan to start with February. And then move on to March, April, May, etc. etc. etc.
..............One of these days.

If you're here to get information to use against me (AGAIN) please stop reading my blog. I intend this to be for those who care about me and my family.

Progress

2009-04-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

I have been training for....uh hmmm (clearing my throat- and letting my head get a little big) a 178 mile relay race that takes place in June! Logan to Park City, Utah.

I have decided to chart my progress on this blog because I love progress.
I AM making progress. I run easier. A little lighter. A little longer.
Guys- I think my buns are shrinking!

Here's a before picture. Check them out and see for yourself....(about 6 months ago)

Here's now! Look at the difference! -may even be a slight fudge to say they are shrinking.

oh- darn! I'm having issues loading the pics.
(Like I'd EVER publish pictures of my big back end! Had you, didn't I!)

Happiness

2009-04-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

mmmmm- One of my favorite things is Dove Desserts Collection, silky smooth chocolate promises. You know- the little candy pieces that have a heart-warming message on the wrapper. Well, I was eating one today, ok-- 5, 6, maybe 7- shut up! (that's a swear word in my house, by the way)

Who would know such a nice message would be inside???

"Happiness is in the heart, not in the circumstances"

I'm thinking of my family and friends. The circumstances we find ourselves in. I've been helping one of my friends pack up her house so she can move- not because she wants to. One of my other friends' husband is without a job and has been for about 6 months and lost their house, another friend will be moving out of state for work because that's where they could find a job, not because she wants to. One of my friends down the road just had a baby, got deathly sick and had a hysterectomy. One of my friends recently got divorced. I'm thinking of family members who have had feelings hurt by other family members. I'm thinking of family members who's lives have been completely changed by decisions of a loved one.

I'm thinking of all these circumstances that are, for the most part, out of our control, which have brought on so much sadness.

Is it really possible to look beyond our circumstances and be happy? Is it?

I believe so. It's just such a huge challenge! Some days I really wonder!

Not good. Not good at all, if you ask me!

2009-04-14T10:58:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had the day to myself. sigh. It was good. sigh. Not to rub it in, friends but... wow! So I know what you're thinking.....what does a girl do with a day to herself. Well, laundry, laundry, laundry, dishes, a little more laundry and a lot of reading. I loved all of it except for the laundry and dishes.

Geoff was gone (again. He works so stinkin' hard; too stinkin' hard). He was all over the state yesterday, in fact. So I had the day alone.

After laundry and dishes (well to be truthful I mostly didn't do laundry and dishes because let's face it; you put a load of laundry in and have to wait an hour before you can do more) I read. And read. And read. I love reading. I love reading your blogs, I love reading books, short essays, General Conference archives, magazines, blogs of writers, recipes, journals, electric bills, street signs, menus, etc. etc. etc.

I'm getting to the point here. Give me a minute to muse already!
So I spent most of the day reading friends' blogs. Of course they were mostly all about the Easter holiday and how darling your kids were in new clothing and stories of the Easter bunny, what you made as special treats for the kids, Easter egg hunts, candy, candy, candy, the scrumptious dinner you prepared. It was fantastic and I was jealous!

Why, you wonder? Because Saturday night Geoff dear announced to the whole family that the Easter bunny had died. Now... I read one of my friends' blog about how she sunk the entire Easter bunny thingy too but that she was honest with her young kids. She just right out told them that those Easter baskets they see in the grocery stores were for parents to buy to pretend to be the Easter bunny.

And again, I know what you are thinking..... wow! Doesn't she (Lezlie) have older kids? Yes, I do. Oldest is almost 14; youngest is almost 7. But I grew up always believing (or was so told by my parents) that as long as you believe... they will come; the Easter bunny, Santa Clause, the tooth fairy, etc. etc.

Geoff dear and I disagree with the death of the Easter bunny and I wonder if it can be fixed. hmmm- maybe next year we can say that the Easter bunny had a cousin??? I don't know. Death is pretty final.

I was glaring at Geoff dear all day Sunday. Kill joy! Scrooge! Fun taker awayer!
No new dresses, no egg hunts, no Easter bunny.

DID HE HAVE TO DIE? Couldn't he just have needed some time off this year? Couldn't he have just run out of eggs and candy? Or even wounded his poor little thumper leg. Or been delayed with bad weather in Alaska? Or been short on the baskets what with these economic times and all?

We did have a lovely dinner and scrumptious dessert, wonderful FHE on the meaning of Easter, wonderful church meetings and talks. It was a good day.

Would've been better with the Easter bunny.

Sir Easter bunny----WHEREVER YOU ARE----I BELIEVE!!!

A moment of bliss...

2009-04-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

Last night as Geoff and I lay in bed after putting the kids to bed we were just chatting with each other when we heard singing. We stopped to listen and what I heard did my heart well. I smile just thinking about it.

We heard Wesley singing the words to the hymn, "Called to Serve Him" while he lay in bed with the lights out. It was as though he were putting himself to sleep singing sweet lullaby's. After a verse of that hymn he moved on to, "Ye Elders of Israel". After that, "I Am A Child of God" and a few other Primary songs.

It didn't even matter that his voice was cracking under the strains of puberty or that he didn't know some of the words to one of the hymns or that he was way off tune. What mattered was that he was singing them. Softly. To the best of his ability and it was good. Powerful, even.

Pinewood Derby

2009-04-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

I just love that time of year! The time of year that Geoff gets to make a pinewood derby car for the cub scout activity. Oh! Did I say Geoff? I meant Tyler. Right. Tyler worked to get the car ready for Geoff. Actually- they both worked together to make a great car. Tyler won several races and had a great time.

His car is the "Green Machine"

Katie's Birthday!

2009-04-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

Remember in one of my last posts I told you about my crazy friends kidnapping me for my birthday? Well, Katie was one of those crazy friends (I should say IS one of those crazy friends). I did get a little revenge. My other best friend, Stacey and I told Katie we wanted to take her out for her birthday but we didn't tell her that more of her best friends would be at the restaurant to celebrate with us.
We had a GREAT time! We went to Cheesecake Factory. I'm going to try to name everybody:
from the right side of the picture (cut off) is my mom, then Jodi, Lindsay Johnson, Katie, Shelley Wilson, Leilani Alger, Megan Tew.
From the left side of the table:
Susan Cook, Stacey Noel, Jessica Moss, Gayla Mead, Lisanne Steele and Melissa Masitis.

Arizona Sunset

2009-04-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

Showlow, Arizona

I was kidnapped!

2009-04-03T13:09:00.000-07:00

These are some of my goofy friends. Hey- the goofier the better, I say.
On my birthday (yeah- way back in Feb) they kidnapped me. Here's the story:
Geoff made a plan with me the night before. "Hey dear, let's go bowling tomorrow" he said.
I just looked at him with one eyebrow raised trying to think of the most sarcastic thing to say but only came up with, "are you feeling ok?" It was a Saturday and he NEVER instigates fun on Saturdays; it's for work and catch-up. I can't remember the last time he wanted to go do something fun on a Saturday other than when we're out of town and that does happen frequently. My sarcasm didn't work. He only dug in deeper, "yeah, let's go bowling. We'll take the kids too so don't plan anything for tomorrow around noonish".
Wow! A little reluctant but excited I agreed not to plan anything. I began worrying that his work load had really begun to get at him. I began to worry about his stress level. I just thought something was really "off" with him.

So the next day around noonish I was up lying on my bed waiting for Geoff to finish getting ready for the day when all of a sudden I hear people burst through my front door. I hear, "get down on your knees, this is a hold-up. Everybody down!"
I'm thinking what in the world when all of a sudden these crazy women with nylons on their heads are in my bedroom! They even held guns. It was my crazy friends coming to kidnap me.

I heard later from Ashlyn that Caleb was downstairs when they entered the house unannounced and he was so scared he was trembling!
They took me to lunch, a movie and shopping and we had a blast!
Here are the kidnappers in order from left to right:
Susan Cook, me, my sister Jodi, Paula White, Stacey Noel and Katie Clarke. Melissa Masitis met us later.
Thanks girls! I love you, too!

See, I knew something was wrong with him! He was in on the whole thing trying to make me stay home so my friends could make their plans a success.
A note to Geoff: If you're trying to surprise me you must act NORMAL. Things that you do and say out of the ordinary put up a red flag.
Way to go, dear. Thanks for helping my friends make my day so fun!

Sunrise in Arizona

2009-04-03T12:01:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to blog these pictures for a while now. You can see the date on them was from January.
These are pictures of a sunrise atop South Mountain here in Arizona.
BEAUTIFUL!

My mom's surprise birthday

2009-04-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

Yes- I'm a little late in posting. Her birthday was February 18th and her party was the 21st.

We decided for her "forever 30" birthday party we had to make it a surprise. We had a great time!

All of you who were there made it wonderful! Thank you for loving her too.

Here is a video we caught. Way to keep her preoccupied Tyler!

We had 40 people smashed into my kitchen area anxiously awaiting her arrival.

Amy Scott made that beautiful cake and my word was it delicious! She sells her goods, you know! Just call her up and order. (for privacy I won't publish that phone number but if you're interested please let me know!) I'm not kidding, guys! It was fabulous!

Full of it!

2009-03-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

I'm full of thoughts today.

I was reading one of my favorite blogs to stalk (she's a writer with all sorts of interesting things to read about) and read this. It's blog gossip because I'm telling you something about what she said about something she read.

But I loved it!

Ernest Hemingway:
"Sometimes when I was starting a new story and could not get it going, I would sit in front of the fire and squeeze the peel of the little oranges into the edge of the flame and watch the sputter of blue that they made. I would stand and look out over the roofs of Paris and think, “Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”-Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

The truest sentence that I know:
Today my sky is blue.

What's yours?

I am a Mormon girl through and through

2009-03-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you've all read or heard about HBO's show, "Big Love" and the controversial edition in which they claim they will have camera's taken into the temple.

I was reading the church's official statement that came out a few days ago. You can read it here: http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma

I love this direction. When the attacks seem so personal toward something we hold so dear I think it's easy to fall into being offended but I love this statement: "As Elder M. Russell Ballard and Elder Robert D. Hales of the Council of the Twelve Apostles have both said recently, when expressing themselves in the public arena, Latter-day Saints should conduct themselves with dignity and thoughtfulness."

Nothing reveals true character more than through conflict resolution. The church's message is to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. So they may say awful things about us, they may unrightfully judge, mock and scorn. Living true to our testimonies our response must be made in peace, not in returning an eye for an eye but love. It's the hardest thing, isn't it? To be given such offenses and return love. That is the Lord's way. That is the right way.

This is why you're fat

2009-03-12T14:37:00.000-07:00

I was blog stalking today and found this site. It's well worth a minute. Actually, I think Geoff would LOVE having some of these meals! http://www.thisiswhyyourefat.com/

This picture is just a teaser! (to visit the website-not to make your own oreo mountain)

And to think all this time I thought it was the girl scout cookies!

I've really got to lay off the pork brains in milk gravy!

Sewer fishing

2009-03-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

Oh Caleb! He had our entire house wired with fishing line. Everywhere you went you got entangled in fishing line. Even in the middle of the night when I had to get up to go poddy I tripped all over the fishing line. It was making me crazy! My cupboards had fishing line hanging out, the pictures on my wall had fishing line tangled around them, the front door was wired with fishing line so that when you came through the front door a dining chair would fall over. It was even outside! Tied all through the trees from here to there---EVERYWHERE!
Fishing line everywhere. But this one took the cake.

I went in to use the downstairs bathroom and this is what I found. He had tied fishing line to the handle of the toilet. I looked down to wonder where the other end was. It was not in sight.

Did you know that if you tie one end of fishing line to the flushing handle then flush the line down the toilet you can let that end go as far as it can and then you can retrieve the line and pull up treasure?

It's called sewer fishing.....a new sport Caleb invented!

Girl Scout conspiracy

2009-03-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

Watch out! The girls scouts are out to get anybody they can. That's right. You see them at the grocery store, at the school's health and wellness night, in front of the bank, in front of your favorite restaurant, on the side of the road and my favorite..... my front door!

I'm sending out a warning to all my friends. JUST SAY NO! If you don't you'll be like me.
One sleeve of cookies after the other, box after box after box. There's NO STOPPING!!! They've got me, guys. I can't stop! The bliss of package after package of thin mints is too much. I don't have the will power to stop and frankly don't want to. I buy a couple of boxes here and there thinking I've got it under control, eat them as fast as I get them and then I'm on the lookout for the girls in the green uniform for my next "fix".

The other day I had a whole box sitting on my desk. The next morning I came in to find it was completely empty! Oh boy did Caleb get in so much trouble. The words of an addict..."don't you even think about putting one finger on my cookies". Oh it's bad! The real trouble is that I realized how quickly I eat a box. One whole box to myself in about 15 minutes.
Surely Caleb ate that whole box......DIDN'T HE???? It couldn't have been me!

Beware friends! They'll get you too!

Happy Anniversary!

2009-03-04T10:50:00.000-08:00

Today my brother Kevin and sister-in-law, Kristyn celebrate their anniversary.
I hope you have a wonderful day!

Yesterday

2009-02-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

OH how I wish I was more eloquent to describe to you what I felt yesterday.

There often comes into our hearts (when we let it) this grand sense of peace and I felt that yesterday.

Earlier in the day I received the kindest email from one of my friends and I won't tell you that her name was Laurel and she's in my ward. It's amazing to me what kind words do for somebody. They bring smiles to faces and love into the heart. Oh the power!

My kids came home from school, well 3 of them. Wes gets home later. I love that part of the day. They are always excited to tell me about this or that- always all 3 of them at the same time too, I might add. Anyway- they got their homework done quickly and headed off to the park. I decided to join them.

This may seem silly but it was so enjoyable. I chatted with another friend, whom I greatly admire and I won't mention that her name is Rachelle and she's in my ward also. I'm awed by her. What a great mom. What a great friend. What a great example. After she left I picked a spot in the grass to sit and soak in the sun. It was almost sunset. It was about 75 degrees, barely any wind blowing and I noticed how beautiful the sun looks on the trees just before sunset. It's that amber color that jumps right out. Looking up into the sky I saw 2 planes, quite far from each other, but they made those white tails that linger in the sky after them. There were a few clouds scattered here and there- the kind that aren't big and fluffy- the ones that are a hint of cloud- the skinny kind.
I heard my kids in the distance laughing with each other and I remembered the kind note sent to me through email and I sat and smiled and smiled and smiled.

It was a deep sense of peace.

Scouts

2009-02-24T19:07:00.000-08:00

Tonight Tyler had a blue and gold banquet for scouts. There was a pie making contest althought they didn't give out any awards. Geoff and Tyler made a strawberry pie together. Way to go, guys!

Here is Tyler eating his yummy pie! It was pretty darn good.

Lunch for today was....

2009-02-24T19:02:00.000-08:00

leftover birthday cake from my mom's surprise party that Amy Scott made, (IT WAS OH SO YUMMY!)
and to be healthy I threw down some V8 juice.

Queen Creek Stake Women's Conference

2009-02-11T16:08:00.000-08:00

We've been working really hard to pull together our first stake women's conference. It's going to be so much fun! Please mark your calendars if you haven't already.
Here are some details:

Queen Creek Stake Women's Conference

"Encircled in His Love"

Saturday, February 21st from 9am till noon

We will have 2 guest speakers, President Clark from the Mesa Temple and sister Nielsen.
I know you are familiar with the temple president. It will be wonderful to hear from him.
Sister Nielsen is the mother of Christian Nielsen. He and his wife, Stephanie (aka nienie) were in a plane crash and survived this past summer.

We will also have 3 mini classes:
Creating a celestial environment in the home
Live simply, laugh often, love deeply
Mothers and daughters

We will also be serving you lunch and dessert!
You just can't miss this- it will be WONDERFUL!

One more Christmas post

2009-01-14T10:37:00.000-08:00

I tried and tried to find something for Geoff for Christmas. He's nearly impossible to shop for. With a little help from Ebay and other online retailers I came up with a few things.

He's always in need of shirts. He says he needs shirts that are a little more than plain t-shirts. You know, to appraise in. It's best to make a good first impression. Well, take this one for example.
And I think these pants may be the perfect shade of plum. These match the shirt.

These sweet shoes may be slightly too fancy for him but maybe not for date night. I checked to see what sizes were available. They definately have his size. After all, Geoff IS my star studded hero.Heaven knows he needs a new swimsuit. I found this one. The only problem I see is that Geoff really likes to put his keys in his pockets. I can't see any pockets on this swimsuit.

Or even this one would do. rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr (cat sound) rrrrrrrrrrrrr (more cat sound)
But he's not much of a "tassels" (or whatever the heck you want to call them) kind of guy.

After being a little discouraged about trying to find an outfit I settled on a fun, snuggly pet. The kids are just begging us for another puppy! I searched and searched to find the best one for our family. You know, one that we could easily get rid of. We've had several puppies. They grow up and get un-cute and we get rid of them. Here's what I found. This might cure the kids of ever wanting another puppy again!

After so much stress about finding the right gift I gave up. Geoff ended up with one of these for Christmas....... (a big one!)

My favorite person

2009-01-13T10:10:00.000-08:00

I love him. I love him. I love him.

The other day I was feeling blue. Geoff and I were sitting in the office and I told him I really wanted to run away and hide out in some big huge city like New York so that I could get lost. I could just wake up and watch people all day and not have a care in the world. I just wanted to run away. Just for a little while. Where nobody could find me.

A few minutes later on his way out the door he took my face in his hands and said, "I'd be lost without you."

He melts my heart. I don't tell him often enough. Whatever have I done so right to have him in my life???

The good days

2009-01-13T10:01:00.000-08:00

Yeah- I've got to take a minute and count the good days. Let me tell you about my day last Saturday. It was one of the best I've had in a long time.

6am: wake up and leave for South Mountain with mom and Jodi
7:15: arrive at South Mountain and hike to the top. What a beautiful view! You can see the entire valley. We got to watch the sunrise.
9:30am: home just in time to eat some breakfast and take a shower
11:30am: Pick up Jodi, Stacey and Katie for lunch and window shopping
3:30pm: home for a nap
6:00pm: out the door with Geoff, Wes, Ash, Ty and Caleb to see the zoo lights (Thank you, Sunny!)
10:00pm: home. Watch a little t.v. with Geoff
midnight: snuggle in my cozy bed but not before giving thanks for such a wonderful day!!!!!!!

The best part of that day was no worries. none. zippo. nada. Not even to clean the house.

When life gives you lemons make lemonade?

2009-01-13T07:20:00.000-08:00

After my last post I decided that I had better give some thanks for what I DO have!
If every earthly possession was taken away from me here is what I'd be down to:
The gospel
My testimony of the gospel
My marriage
My children

My greatest blessings ever.

There were some good things that happened in 2008. I have had many humbling experiences and so I relied on the Lord and my testimony heavily which strengthened my relationship with Him.
My marriage has been strengthened and we have a stronger resolve to do the things that will keep us together forever in love.
We have strengthened relationships with our children.
We have felt love and support from others who have been so willing to help.
I have a greater desire to reach out to others who may need my help because I have been a recipient of needed support and I know how appreciated it is.
I have a greater desire/need to live simply, laugh often and love deeper.

The past year has helped me see through so much of the world right to what matters the most; my testimony of the gospel, my relationship with the Lord and my family.

My thoughts of the year 2008

2009-01-11T15:45:00.000-08:00

(warning: This post is rated pg-13 for mild profanity)

Dear Year 2008:

I am so glad to be over with you! I will never have you in my life again. You brought me nothing but heartache, trials, pain, tears, unhappiness, sadness and stress.
You put me through so much that I never want to be reminded of you again! I've found 2009 and he promises to be good to me.
You can take all the pain and torment and you can go to hell.
That's right....go to hell!!!

p.s. that was me spitting in your face on New Year's Eve!

All I want for Christmas is...

2009-01-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

A BIG, HUGE, RED WATERMELON!!!
And that's what Ashlyn got.
Believe it or don't but she ate this entire melon to herself minus a couple of bites for mom and dad.
This girl LOVES watermelon. Her room is even pink and green. She paints her nails pink and green.

A little accident

2009-01-09T14:42:00.001-08:00

We had a great time taking the kids sledding behind the car......for a while.

You can see the frost on their faces!

Until we had a little accident. Wes and his friend were sledding behind the car side by side both on sleds and the car came to a stopping point but Wes wasn't looking at where he was in relation to the tow hitch on the back. He was busy watching his friend beside him. He didn't stop and ran straight into the tow bar and chipped several teeth, got a bloody nose and a bruised face to prove it.

It's a good thing he got some sweet friend lovin'! Actually they will both die when they see this picture!

A peek at our Christmas morning

2009-01-09T14:22:00.000-08:00

Moving on to....

2009-01-09T12:20:00.000-08:00

Christmas!

We made the trek to the cabin again. We left our house December 23rd for the mountains. The roads were pretty good until we hit Showlow. From Showlow to Springerville we traveled about 20 miles per hour on iced-over scary roads. I was driving and we were towing a trailer. It was a bit nerve wracking.

We got into Alpine at about 10pm and headed down the lane to our cabin. We got about 1/8 mile away and up ahead on the road were 2 trucks stuck in the snow right in the middle of the road and there was no way around them!

I thought about making the small hike to the cabin without the car but all of our belongings and overnight bags were in the back of the trailer all covered up. I thought about hiking without our things for the night but the kids had shorts on and I had slip-on shoes. All of our snow boots and gear were in the cabin.

We decided to turn around and got stuck in the snow trying to. One of the neighbors kindly came out to help us in 7 degree weather with the wind blowing something awful.

Driving back into the town of Alpine we realized that all the hotel parking lots were snowed-in and we couldn't even get in. We had no place to park. We did manage to find a hotel that would take us and with a good running start we got the car through the snowed-in parking lot.

The next morning our good friends and rescuers, Dan Nicolds and Dan Adair, came to give us some chains for the tires. I forgot to mention that we spent at least an hour in Showlow trying to find chains for our tires. Every place we checked was sold out! Dan and Dan even tracked down the snow plower guy and asked him to clear the road to the cabin. We made it!

Gotta go back in time.....

2009-01-09T11:52:00.001-08:00

To December 14th. (OK! to be honest, it was Dec. 12th, the party that is, not his birthday. Just wanted to put out that honesty because Melissa will check the dates on my pictures and see that, in fact, it was NOT the 14th but the 12th)

This was the day of Tyler's 9th birthday. Here are a few high/lowlights.

We had a big balloon fight.....

Some male bonding time......
A game of wrap the mummy....

a fun toilet paper fight...

and, of course, presents!

We also had a special birthday dinner with nonny and poppy. Growing up, every year for our birthday my mom fixed our favorite meal and we got the red "You Are Special Today" plate. It is a tradition I love. A couple of years ago for Christmas my mom gave me "THE" plate so now I can carry on tradition!

ok- correction. Jodi made a comment making sure I knew that I didn't get THE plate. My mom got us all A plate that looks exactly like hers, my mom's that is. Didn't mean to make it sound like I got the actual plate.

correction for Jodi- I AM THAT SPECIAL AND DON'T FORGET IT!

How do we get red potatoes?

2009-01-07T15:23:00.000-08:00

"Well......they just spray paint them!"

wise words from Tyler Brady

Anybody up for some fun?

2008-12-18T08:33:00.000-08:00

It's called the Wasatch Back relay race. It's June 19th and 20th. I'ts a relay race, 178 miles from Park City, Utah to Logan, Utah.

We are trying to gather a team of 12 by January 31st. As of now we have 4 with 1/2 dozen maybe's.

I just have to say how proud I am of my mom! She will be a runner with us this year. Wooohooo!
As many of you know, she was diagnosed with breast cancer 4 years ago. This past fall we thought she may have more cancer (tests showed uncertain signs). After several more tests she is free and clear! I'm so excited to make some memories with her during this run (AND TRAINING FOR IT!)

Hey guys- quit giving me your lame excuses! No you don't have to be a great runner, no you don't have to be in great shape, no it's not a ton of money! It's $85.00.
Yes, you do have to think positive and believe you can do it.

How do you like that for being on a soap box!
C'mon friends! Let's have some fun!
We're taking males and females.

Here's a phrase I copied from their information website:
"Running three legs during a 24-hour relay race is much easier than you think. Each team member runs three legs, ranging between 3 and 8 miles. This relay race is physically demanding, but legs vary in difficulty, and runners can choose their legs. This unique relay format makes the Wasatch Back an accessible race for beginners yet challenging enough for the most competitive".

Here is a link for more info: http://www.ragnarrelay.com/wasatchback/index.php

email me if you're interested! lmbrady@expressappraisalsllc.com

Merry Christmas family and friends!

2008-12-12T10:57:00.000-08:00

Giving Thanks

2008-12-12T10:21:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving for our family was a little different this year. We spent it together, just the 6 of us in our cozy cabin in the mountains. We've never spent the holiday without extended family. We missed everybody but we had such a great time.

Here are Wes and Tyler.......

We spent alot of time playing games.......

Here is our table set and ready for the feast......

Here is Tyler......
and Wesley holding the grub.......
We couldn't get enough of this (the snow not the harry snowman)......
Ashlyn getting ready for a snowball fight.....

Close-up shots are my favorite...

and here's Ash and Caleb.....

We couldn't get away without a snowball fight! Geoff and Wes tubing....

Me and Wes going tubing....

and, this is my ALL TIME FAVORITE!!!!! What is it about your man doing the dishes for you?

mmmmm mmmmm mmmmm!!!

EXTREMELY rare sight!

2008-12-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING! In fact somebody tell the world to stop. It's been spotted and what a sight it was!!! It's such an exciting time I just had to share this with all of you! I can't believe I've actually seen it with my own eyes. I've always wondered what it looked like. I was not disappointed. It's beautiful! It's so much better than I EVER imagined it could be. Never in this lifetime did I even think it may be seen but MY eyes have seen it! It's such a rare experience. It's said to be more difficult to spot than big foot or, like Wesley likes to say, a smart blonde. I'VE SEEN IT! I just can't believe it!
I don't think anybody else saw it and that makes me a little sad. I would have liked somebody else to enjoy this extremely rare, unusual, gigantic moment with me. Nobody was there. But just to prove it and show the whole world that it actually was seen I have documented the experience and taken photos. I wanted hard evidence that it was sighted. May even be the last time I see it. It only lasted for a brief few minutes and then.....IT WAS GONE!

Yep, that's the bottom of my laundry basket!
Beautiful, isn't it?! Wouldn't you agree with me?

Ahhhhhhhhhh! Look at that clean, empty corner!

Here's a before shot.

From my backyard!

2008-12-03T12:46:00.000-08:00

These flowers have been trying to grow now for the past 6 months and finally came to fruition. Too bad they are just seasonal!

It hailed a few weeks ago and this is what my backyard looked like!

This was also taken from my backyard- Nov 12th.

NOTHING- NO NOTHING beats an Arizona sunset!

A good reason for tears...

2008-12-03T11:55:00.000-08:00

The other night Ashlyn and Tyler were going through some of Geoff's bathroom items. Ashlyn found a stick of menthol (you know the kind you rub on sore muscles) and told Tyler to rub it into his upper thighs (groin area). Tyler quickly obeyed and soon discovered what menthol in the groin area feels like!

He came running downstairs to get some help from Geoff. He was walking like he had ridden a horse for a few weeks. His eyes were watery and no doubt his groin was quite uncomfortable!

Might be another good lesson learned but I don't know. We Brady's seem to learn things the hard way.

My sweet Tyler

2008-12-03T11:49:00.000-08:00

This is my son, Tyler. He is almost 9 years old- will be December 14th. Woohoo! I decided to write about Tyler although it's not his birthday yet. Tyler is the 3rd child born, 2nd son, second to the last kid. He is fun loving. What I love the most about Tyler is his sensitivity. I'm telling you I've never met a kid more sensitive.

A couple of years ago Tyler had 2 grandmas and 1 grandpa pass away all in the same year and it really affected him. He cried alot. Even months later he cried alot. After tucking him into bed I would hear him crying. I would ask him what was wrong and he would say he misses his grandparents. Or he would come into my room after I sent him to bed just crying because he missed them. Even now it's still a sore subject for him.

Last month, November 9th to be exact was my dad's birthday. We had a great time with a very small celebration of dinner with the family. That night after we all went to bed Ashlyn came into my room a bit annoyed and said, "Tyler is crying again". I told Ash to tell Tyler to come see me. I asked him why he was crying and he told me that he didn't want nonny and poppy to die. I guess he was associating poppy having a birthday, getting older and old people die. He was extremely upset.

I don't know if it was the right answer but the two of us talked about how important it is to focus on the good stuff. All the good memories we make having nonny and poppy so close. We're so thankful we live next to them and can have them be such a big part of our lives. We're not with them everyday and sometimes many days go by before we see them but they are about 7 houses down the street from us and we love it. It's our choice to be so close and it's the grandparents choice to be so involved in our lives. We are making lasting memories and love it!

He's my sweet Tyler and I love him!

Aprons and lots of other good things!

2008-12-02T12:11:00.000-08:00

Remember a couple of posts ago I told you about my friends making and selling vintage inspired aprons? Well, they are ready to go! They are having a boutique this Thursday, December 4th. I'm going to give you the details just in case the invitation to the right is too small to read.

December 4th
6-10pm
Riffey Home, 784 E Harold Dr. in Queen Creek
if you have questions or need to contact them you can reach Denice @857-7239
or Tammy @220-0404

There will also be other vendors there selling their goods such as Gold Canyon Candles, baked goods, scrapbooks and frames, handmade bags and tutus.

It sounds like such a blast!

Protect Life

2008-11-19T07:07:00.000-08:00

Please help me fight the Freedom of Choice Act that president elect Obama has promised to be the first thing he signs.

If I believed in everything president elect Obama stands for it would be for naught simply because he believes in abortion. I don't believe in what he stands for but I have friends and some family who do. I can't imagine why. Isn't this one thing the greatest issue of all? Life.

I believe in life. I believe that your choice happened in your decision to have sex. The consequences of that action, whether good or bad, no longer are your choice.

Life is something I WILL fight for. Please join me. Please do all you can to get involved against the FOCA.

I have a link in my sidebar where you can sign a petition against the act and get more information.

Grab a tissue before you start reading...........

2008-11-18T18:11:00.000-08:00

Because I've just got to tell you about condoms. I hate buying those things in the store. You know how it is- I know you've done it too. You are walking down the aisles in the store first just trying to spot out where the store has them hidden. You don't want to look too obvious so you pretend to be shopping for......uhhh........toothpaste. OH! there they are! Just keep walking, you say to yourself......keep walking. Well now that you know where they are you keep a look out for people who might be watching you. You casually walk down "the aisle". There they are. OF COURSE!!! They would have to have 100 different choices....colors, sizes, ribbed or not ribbed and also of course they are tucked in with all the other "sex things" which completely takes you by surprise as you are trying to decide what in the world this or that would be for. Tempting, but lets just get the condoms and get out of here. Oh crud! Somebody is coming down the aisle. Quick! Pretend that you are checking out the pregnancy tests so as not to be noticed shopping for condoms! Alright- it's clear. Back to shopping. Just grab the first box and run, you say to yourself! Yeah- I know you know what I am talking about. That's why I buy condoms through Ebay! Yes, they do come in bulk so I have a million of them but the deal I got! All in the privacy of my own office. It's definately the way to go.

So I've got a bulk size box of condoms which really doesn't make much sense coming from a girl who has struggled with infertility. I've always been TRYING to get pregnant not avoiding it. Getting pregnant for me hasn't been the problem though, it's been keeping the pregnancy. Oh we're getting off track. So to tell you the truth, I don't even know where the bulk box of condoms are..................................but Caleb does!

One morning, a couple of years ago, when my visiting teachers were coming to visit, I'm late, not paying attention to what Caleb is up to and the door bell rings. I hurry down the stairs to the landing to find Caleb in a pile of condoms all unwrapped and one in his mouth. He's blowing up a "balloon". Oh stink!!! My visiting teachers are at the door and Caleb is blowing up "balloons". I've got to get it cleaned up FAST! So I just take them all away and throw them upstairs over the stair railing then answer the door and let the visiting teachers in. They, of course, have brought their younger kids. Caleb immediately invites them upstairs to his room to play. Not thinking anything of it I let them all go upstairs. After visiting for a few minutes with my visiting teachers I hear Caleb upstairs talking with the other kids. "Hey, do you want a balloon?" he says!!! OH MY GOSH! I threw all those condoms upstairs and now ALL the kids are playing with them. I made up some lame excuse for me needing to go upstairs for a moment. All the kids have "balloons" and I have to be the bad guy before they start to head downstairs and show their mommy's the fun "balloons" that Caleb gave them. I quickly yank away all the balloons as quietly as I can and throw them in my bedroom and lock the door. Whew! Mom's never knew.

But we're not done yet. One day, Sunday as a matter of a fact, we took the family to church. Early because I like to be there a little early. I don't like sitting in the back or the front. We are more front and center. We all get our seats, Tyler and Caleb sitting next to each other and they have been giggling with each other. I told them a few times to be reverent.....to no avail. Naughty boys, I think to myself. But I divert my frustration elsewhere and try to feel the Spirit. I sit quietly, listening to the beautiful music and watch as everybody files in and takes their seats. It's time to start. Bishop stands up to start Sacrament meeting. Ahhhh. This feels nice. I look over at my beautiful family and to my horrification (new word), Tyler has an unwrapped condom in one hand and one wrapped condom in the other. They would have to be the multi-colored ones too. OH MY GOSH!!! Quick! Grab it, I think to myself and just as I reached over to take it from Tyler my eye catches Caleb. HE HAS A CONDOM ALMOST ALL BLOWN UP!!! You can just see the obvious tip at the end that screams "condom". All I can think is that if I reach over and grab it away and I miss, it will empty air like a balloon and soar everywhere and I will have to go chase down a condom before any of my ward members catch on to what it really is! All in slow motion I could see myself jumping over and underneath the pew to retrieve the condom. This isn't going to be pretty. So I grab some self control because as you can imagine I am ready to rip that kid to pieces! I calmly tell Caleb to stop blowing the "balloon" and hand it over. Just as though he was holding a loaded gun. Nice and softly, "ok Caleb....just take the balloon down, pinch it closed and hand it to me, nice and easy". IT DIDN'T WORK!! On to something more "NOW". I reached past 4 kids (I think it probably looked like some football player reaching for the ball)and as fast as I could I grabbed the condom, making sure not to let it go lest the air would send it all over the place. I got it. Whew, another close call. I sink into my seat. No don't lift your head. Don't move. Maybe nobody will notice you. Maybe nobody noticed Caleb blowing up condoms in Sacrament meeting. Oh man, how fast can I get out of here! Pure HUMILIATION!!!

Still don't know where the box of condoms are. I occasionally find condoms here and there- around the house. I think Caleb has a stash somewhere. He's keeping it a secret.

Now you all know! The stories with Caleb are never ending. That's another posting. Maybe next week.

unanswered prayers

2008-11-17T17:53:00.000-08:00

We have family home evening on Sunday's. Last night Caleb said the prayer for fhe. The only thing he said was, "please bless us to be kind to one another,.....amen".
Immediately and I mean IMMEDIATELY after Caleb said amen he turned to Tyler, who was standing right next to him, and sucker punched him square in the chest as hard as he could.

I somehow don't think we're getting the 'kind to one another' thing. Might be something to talk about next fhe.

Christmas wishes...........just a few

2008-11-14T15:11:00.000-08:00

I am going to post some of my happy finds. These things would make GREAT Christmas presents. Please leave a comment if you have a great find to share. I'm not into brand names or one-time-use items or anything expensive. These ideas are from the cheap side of my brain but oh so fun!

One of my new favorites: Where the Sidewalk Ends on CD.
You can get these really cheap on Ebay's Half.com-- I'm talking $5.00 maybe even under and most sellers will combine shipping.
This CD has brought me many laughs. My kids and I roll on the floor laughing. They would be great for school teachers, children of all ages, friends, heck I'm thinking I'll send one to Geoff's grandparents for Christmas too.
It is just so fun!

ok- I already mentioned the vintage inspired aprons I WANT. I'll let you know when my friends are up and running with this business selling vintage inspired aprons. If you can't wait you can get one on Ebay. Just look under Jessie Steele aprons (under $30. not including shipping). You can also go to the official website, www.JessieSteele.com to get one but they will be more $$$.

I have been reading a DARLING book titled, The Mother In Me by Kathryn Lynard Soper. If you follow NieNie you know about this book. Her sister, CJane is a contributing author.
This is a beatiful book full of inspiring thoughts on being a mother.
I LOVED it! It would make a wonderful gift for any woman of any age although the comments are focused on raising young children.

Another book I have been reading is the Love Comes Softly series by Janette Oke. Yes, that's a series of about 12 books. The movies I ABSOLUTELY LOVED!!! Again, you can get the books SUPER cheap on Half.com and you can get the movies at Deseret book or Sam's Club. Sam's Club is just a few $$$ cheaper. Currently there are 6 movies out at about $30. for a set of 3 and there are about 12 books in the series.
They are love stories with values, faith and God.

Etsy is one of my favorite places to find homemade, handcrafted, beautiful items of all sorts. Go to Etsy.com and start shopping for anything!

Scents are extremely important to me. I love smelling good, I love good smelling laundry, good smelling homes, good smelling linens, good smelling babies, good smelling deodorant my husband wears-mmmmm, you get it. Good smellin' anything!
Bath and Body Works is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE stores!!! Right now they have a big sale. You can get their antibacterial soaps 3 for $10. but if you use the coupon code 20FRIENDS you get an ADDITIONAL 20%off!!! Even on top of sale prices. It's only good till November 16th though.

My cousins just opened a shop selling girl's hair bows. They are so stinkin' cute!!! I love it. You can check out their blog at MyPrettyPetals.blogspot.com

Please Please Please comment if you have another great find! Can't wait to hear from you!
Remember:
1. homemade is ALWAYS better
2. the cheaper the better

My wishlist:

2008-11-10T14:15:00.000-08:00

Jessie Steele Aprons (any of them, really!)

Aren't these so dang cute?!!!

My good friends, Denice Riffey and Tammy Kleinman are starting a business selling vintage inspired aprons! I hope they are ready by Christmas- I can't wait to be their first customer!

I'll keep you posted on their business info.

Boogers on the wall!

2008-11-10T13:54:00.000-08:00

We have company over tonight for FHE. I've been busy cleaning the house getting ready and I've noticed all sorts of fun things. Yeah- boogers on the wall for one. Finger prints all over the place- dirty hand prints I should say. Smeared "stuff" all over the walls. One child forgot to put the top back on a container of fingernail polish and I dumped it all over the floor- lucky for me it was clear. I won't even tell you about the bathroom.

What am I thinking- having company over!

Please, somebody tell me how much I am going to miss this..............anybody.............mom???

Today I can't wait to miss it!!!
(note to self: tell audience about condom stories----later)

I've been tagged!

2008-11-10T08:57:00.000-08:00

So my friend, STACEY NOEL, picked on me. I wanted to be a devoted follower of her blog. When I went to read her blog this morning I found that she tagged me. I still want to be a devoted follower of Stacey! Anybody who is Stacey's friend is one lucky person.
So I'm supposed to pick the 6th folder, 6th picture and blog about it. That didn't work for me.
My 6th folder only had 1 picture in it. So I started counting from the bottom of the folders to the 6th up then found the 6th picture.
By the way, you're all tagged too now!

This is Ashlyn. She plays the clarinet and in this particular picture she was at one of her
school band concerts. I put some color on her- she's the one in the green shirt.
If you know Ashlyn, she's extremely shy.
Doing things in front of people intimidates her- well all of us, huh!
My in-law family (if I can say that! Well I can because this is MY blog) are all into
creative dance. To make a huge, long story short, we wanted to please grandma Sunny so Ashlyn signed up for dance.
Ashlyn's aunt Heidi was her instructor. I've never seen such an uncomfortable creative dancer!- Ashlyn, not Heidi.
I don't know who felt more torture. Ashlyn dancing or me watching her knowing it was not something she wanted to do.
I asked her if she wanted to quit. I was proud of her response. She said no, that she would quit at the end of the session.
She stuck it out! I was proud of her.
So this picture has some hidden meaning. It's not an easy thing for Ashlyn to perform in front of people.
I keep teaching her the lesson my parents always taught me: "Doing things you don't want to do builds character"

Our big day

2008-11-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

Here's how I hoped it would go.....

Stacey and I get a call at 2:30 in the morning. It's Katie calling and Darrin is still in Yuma working. Her water has broken she says and we have to leave now! Stacey and I dash over, in the suburban because I'm a smart woman, we pick up Katie and begin breathing with her. Stacey is in the back seat with her trying to soothe her and the contractions just keep getting stronger and stronger. "hurry up!" Stacey yells, "the baby is coming! hurry up!" then a scream from Katie. It's getting more and more scarey and I'm now driving like a crazy woman but obeying the traffic signals. Another scream from Stacey to forget the traffic signals and get us to the hospital. Sweat is dripping from my forehead as I'm listening to Stacey and Katie breathe. Oh dear! A detour! Out here in Queen Creek? That never happens. Oh my! More screams from Katie! Then another scream from Stacey-- "pull over! The baby is coming now!" We pull over. Remember, we're in the suburban-smart me. We put all the seats down in the back, put Katie in the back of the car and Stacey and I deliver a baby girl.

or it could have gone like this.....

I wake up early and get my bag packed because really, I'm going to be busy and it's always a good idea to prepare. I grab my favorite book but realize that I'm halfway through my book. I better grab another one. Oh throw in a few more just for fun. Yep, I'll need some snacks. A pear, some peanuts, chocolate teddy grahams and a water bottle. Oh! Can't forget about the lip balm. I will be asked to breathe with Katie. It's always cold in the hospitals so I wear a warmer shirt and close-toed shoes. I hate cold toes.

It's 10:00am and Stacey calls wondering where I am. "I'm on my way" I say and dash out the door. After picking up Stacey and calmly driving over to the hospital to meet Katie who has been there since 5:00am we, Stace and I, settle in to a nice cozy chair in the waiting room of the hospital. I've laid out all my snacks and books on the coffee table in front of me, put on the lip balm and grab my favorite book. After about an hour we go check in on Katie who laughs with us and visits for a while. She's dilated to 5. Then back out to the waiting room for more me and Stacey time and reading. "Oh" I think to myself, "this sure is nice to have an excuse to do nothing but hang out at the hospital and read a book and wait for that baby to come". After another hour we go back and check on Katie. She's dilated to 6. Stacey and I decide to run out and grab some lunch at a nearby restaurant. We're gone for 45 minutes and return to find that Katie has progressed another centimeter! Wow things are really moving now! We go back to our cozy chairs. Stacey and I decide to meander down to the cafe. She gets a diet coke and I order a nice hot herbal tea. We go back to our cozy chairs this time just visiting and laughing with each other when Darrin comes out to tell us it's time for Katie to start pushing. Stacey and I wait behind the curtain of her room waiting to hear a sweet baby cry.

BUT NO! THIS IS HOW IT REALLY HAPPENED.........

It's 8:30am. Katie has been at the hospital now since 5:00am. She will be given another bag of antibiotics at 11:00am before they give her stronger medicine to kick in the labor.

I pack my bag with my favorite book that I'm halfway through. It's going to be a long wait at the hospital so I bring another book to start. I pack enough snacks for the day, a pear, some peanuts, chocolate teddy grahams and a water bottle. I dress warm because hospitals are always cold. I definately wear close-toed shoes because I hate cold feet. Stacey calls at 10:00am and I say "I'm on my way". 15 minutes later I drove over to get Stacey and about 30 minutes later we arrive at the hospital.

We don't know which room she's in so we ask the receptionist where to find Katie Clarke. "Katherine Clarke is in room 2 but I'll have to call and see if she'll allow visitors" the receptionist says. Stacey and I look at each other and giggle. The receptionist gets off the phone and says "she's not taking visitors right now" to which Stacey and I reply, "what? we're her sisters". It didn't work. The sweet old lady wouldn't let us in. There's been a huge mistake-- it's Lezlie and Stacey! Katie wants us here. We go sit in a chair in the waiting room. Stacey and I call Katie's cell phone. No answer.

After Stacey breaks out in conversation with the hugely pregnant lady sitting across from us she comes up with a brilliant plan. We'll wait until a shift change and then just walk through the doors like we know where we're going. Lucky for us the receptionist is needed in a different room. After she walks away Stacey and I walk through the first set of doors to be greeted by a second set of doors. At these doors you have to use the intercom to state your name and your destination! Oh No! What will we do! But look! Just behind us walks in a couple going to visit their loved ones. We wait for them to be beeped in and we ride their heels through the doors to be greeted at the nurses station. Again, another stumbling block! We know Katie wants and needs us there! We just keep getting pushed out! Of course the nurses want to know who we are and where we're going. We have to tell them. Lucky for us we have batteries that Katie needs. We tell the nurse that Katie needs these batteries, "can we go give them to her?" we ask. But of course not! The nurse takes the batteries and heads to Katie's room. There's her room! Right there in front of us! Stacey and I feel like running through the barricade to get through everybody and to Katie-- because she needs us! But we don't. The nurse comes out and again says, "she's not taking visitors".

Stacey and I walk away, somewhat offended to tell you the truth! What could be going on in there? "Maybe she's getting an epidural right now", I say. How could she not want us here, we both wonder. After all, we're Stacey and Lezlie! We decide to go to lunch and come back later. As we get outside Darrin calls on our cell phone. "WHAT!" I hear Stacey shout. "She's already had the baby??!!!" We're both dumbfounded at the news. Darrin tells Stacey that the baby was born at 10:35am which was about 20 minutes before we arrived. No wonder she didn't want to see us! We run to lunch, grab a few things Katie requested and head back to the hospital. This time Stacey and I walk through all doors with all power and authority. This time nobody is going to stop us! We get to Katie's room, no problem and exchanged stories of the morning events. The baby was taken to the nursery and we didn't even get to see her. We left to go home about an hour later.

I didn't even crack open a book. No hot herbal tea. No teddy grahams. Only a short time to chat with Stacey. No running back and forth from Katie's room to the waiting room. No hourly updates on her progress. No helping her breathe. No trying to soothe her. No visiting the nursery to see all the babies. No sight of the baby. No pictures of the baby. No holding and snuggling with the baby. Not even time to get cold in the hospital!

Here are a couple of snapshot we WERE able to get.

Telephone manners

2008-11-03T07:13:00.000-08:00

Here's what some callers have heard from my kids when they call our house:

kid: hello?
Caller: Is your mom home?
kid: (screaming in the phone) m 0 m? mom! telephone!

or this
kid: (just picks up the phone and says nothing)
caller: hello? hello? heeeeelllllooooooooo?

or this
kid: hello?
caller: Can I talk to your mom?
kid: (again not taking the phone down) dad, where's mom? oh! (to the caller) she's in the bathroom

5 minutes later
kid: hello?
caller: Is your mom home?
kid: yep but she's still in the bathroom

or this
kid: hello?
caller: Can I talk to your mom?
kid: no (hangs up)

or this
kid: hello?
caller: is your mom there?
kid: (not bothering to cover the phone while the caller hears me screaming at the kids)

or this may have been my all time favorite (sorry, caller)
kid: hello?
caller: is your mom home?
kid: yep
caller: can I talk to her?
kid: well, she's in the shower
caller: is your dad home?
kid: yep
caller: can I talk to him?
kid: he's in the shower too

He's pure hillbilly!

2008-10-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

My dad came for a visit, sat down in the chair and I noticed this. I just HAD to get a picture and of course I have to blog about it. I don't know if anybody will appreciate this as much as I do. I hope you can see the detail in the picture. He has wrapped his shoe laces around his ankles and tied them in the back. I think he wore it like this all day. The thing that is so funny is he doesn't know why it's funny.
I swear he is pure hillbilly! Thanks for the many laughs I still have over this one, dad!

BFF

2008-10-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

Her name is Emily Clarke. She's Ashlyn's best friend. Ashlyn and Emily both have a locket necklace. Emily's says "best", Ashlyn's says "friend". And.......that's how it all started. Everytime Ashlyn calls Emily on the phone she asks if "best" is home. Same for Emily only she asks for "friend".
Here are the more common nicknames I've heard from them. Ashlyn is taco, Em is burrito. Ash is salt, Em is pepper. Ash is chimi, Em is changa. Ash is root, Em is beer. You get it. The whole point is they are BEST FRIENDS and will be FOREVER!

Why I love "best":

She makes good choices
She's very outgoing
She loves life
She has a good self esteem
Best laugh I've ever heard and heard and heard and heard and heard........................
She calls me aunt beautiful although she's not family- may as well be!
Always looking for fun
Has a soft heart
Cries when it hurts
Did I mention her laugh? At everything!
Treats my best friend good- her mom
Smiles at the drop of a hat
Starts laughing at the thought of me poking her ribs
She loves Ashlyn

My grandparents

2008-10-30T13:54:00.000-07:00

Grandpa

Grandma

So dang cute, aren't they!
Love you!

Funny faces

2008-10-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

This October over our fall break we headed over to San Diego for some camping on the beach with our friends and my parents. We went to see my grandparents who live about 2 hours from the beach. Here are a few snapshots I thought I'd share. Fun times!

Birthday news

2008-10-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

Read below for all the details. Here we all are right after the "big surprise"

Birthday preparations

2008-10-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

This is kindof a bad picture. Here's Ashlyn, Caleb and Tyler preparing for the birthday bash.

13 years with Wesley!

2008-10-30T12:46:00.000-07:00

This is what Wes woke up to last Friday. It was his 13th birthday! I think we all know who it was........ Wesley was the one to point out the fact that poppy uses red duct tape. Poppy is his grandpa who lives down the street. So when Wes walked out he said he knew it was Nonny and Poppy. One of those "perks" of having mom and dad just down the road.
I wish I could remember how the candy gram went. Mom, you'll have to fill us in please.

So the week before Wesley's birthday Geoff and I asked him what he wanted to do for his b-day. I listed off all kinds of fun ideas.....invite some friends over for a movie night, go to the movies with some friends, hang out at the mall, go shopping for new clothes, take some friends out to dinner. Guess what he said guys. "mom, I'd like to go out to dinner with my family". What a guy!

Here's how the night went down. We took the family to Wesley's favorite restaurant, Carrabbas. He got to pick anything he wanted.... steak, of course. We're all feeling fat and happy and at the end Wes said, "I hope they don't sing happy birthday to me here cuz that would be embarrasing". Well they didn't. They brought him a big plate of dessert the whole family shared. We had a great time.

In the meantime.........my mom and dad were at home decorating the house with his friends for a surprise party! He caught him completely off guard! He didn't have a clue! We pulled up to the driveway and told everybody to jump out, go in and start baths (the usual nightly routine) except for Wes because we were going to pick up his best friend, Nic. After everybody got out of the car Geoff came back outside and told me I had a phone call so I told Wes to go in the house with me for a few minutes.

He meanders down the hall singing some silly song to himself when out jumps all of his friends and Nonny and Poppy screaming, "SURPRISE"

It was a hit! All of his friends sat around just chatting and eating the food I had prepared. Wes got a pan of cinnamon rolls all to himself. I made a banana cream pie too and we had some chips and nacho sauce. Good combination, eh!

After sitting around for a bit we decided that we needed to have a good game of manhunt. I guess some people call it fugitive although it IS different from manhunt- slightly. It's an adult game of hide and seek, in the neighborhood. Here's how it goes..... the group is supposed to get from point A to point B without being spotted by the person in the car searching after you. Geoff and I were the drivers, of course and the rest of the group was running through the neighborhood dashing through the bushes, diving on the ground and running their hearts out. It was a blast! After 3 games of that everybody was wiped out. We came home and the kids watched a movie on the big screen in the movie room.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WESLEY! We love you!

A moment of pride...........

2008-10-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

or should I just say well pleased? Anyway you want to say it...............THAT'S MY BOY!

It's called A/R reading at our school. It stands for accelerated reading. It's a program where the kids and teacher set reading goals. Tyler is supposed to read _____ amount of books and then take tests on the books. This chart records all of the tests he's taken and received 100%, as you can see. If I might just brag for a minute and say.... he's top in his class right now. But he better watch out! One of his very good friend's who happens to be a girl is right on his tail!

Way to go Ty!
Love, your proud mom

2008-10-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

THE HAIR DOOOOO
Yeah- you can borrow my kids- I know you like the hair!

2008-10-29T16:25:00.000-07:00

Eat your hearts out! One of my most favorite thing is to lie down on the family room floor. For some reason this has something to do with Pavlov. Whenever I lie down my kids either ask if I want my back rubbed, feet rubbed, hair done or we have a heated wrestle. Here you can see I'm getting the special treatment. Tyler is rubbing my feet, Ashlyn is doing my hair and Caleb is giving me a back rub.

And..................I bet you're wondering about the hair doooo............................

2008-10-29T16:22:00.000-07:00

Geoff and Caleb making breakfast the morning of General Conference. This is a tradition. Not sure where or when it started so here's my story and I'm sticking to it. Long, long ago in a land not so far away (wherever your imagination takes you) there was a father who loved cooking breakfast (Geoff's dad) and he made breakfast as often as he could (or was allowed, what with leaving a huge mess and all). His family loved his cooking which only increased his desire to cook. So it was...... a tradition started with a whole bunch of details missing. Now his son, my husband and Caleb's dad, loves cooking breakfast for the family on General Conference Sunday. Geoff is teaching his sons early...... we must continue tradition! We all love it too.

My date with Ashlyn, Tyler and Caleb

2008-10-26T07:54:00.000-07:00

Friday is ALWAYS date night but this past Friday was an exception. Exceptional I should say! Geoff and Wes went to a scout overnighter so as you read in my previous post, Geoff and I had a lunch date.
We saw Geoff and Wes off at about 6pm. I'm sitting around being lonely for Geoff- I hate when he has to go. Afterall, he's my best friend. Me and the kids are sitting in front of the t.v. and I'm just not wanting to do a dang thing but decide I need to do something with the kids. I check the dollar show listings and we find a movie, "Kungfoo Panda". I grab some energy and my 3 hot dates and we all go see the movie and have a great time. Then we head off to Target to do some last minute shopping for Wesley's surprise party Saturday. I'm a sucker so I let Tyler and Caleb pick out a $2. toy that they are both pretty pleased with. It's about 9:30pm by this time and as I'm leaving the Target parking lot it hits me that I haven't fed my family anything for dinner!
I love breakfast for dinner, always have, but it's definately not something Geoff is fond of..... but he's not here with us. We head over to Denny's for some breakfast. I love all that greasy, cheesy goodness that comes with the Grand Slam. We all got what we wanted and topped it off with some hot chocolate.
We are driving home with Caleb sitting in the front next to me. He looks over at me and says, "mom, this has been the best day of my life" to which I reply, "really? Why?" He said "because we got to go to the movie, we got to shop at Target and get a balloon and we got to eat breakfast". Ashlyn in the backseat says, "NO! Disneyland should be the best day of your life" and Caleb clarifies his opinion by saying, "yeah- Disneyland is first and then today".
My last minute efforts to do something with the kids turned out to be one of the best days for my 6 year old son.
At the end of the night I walked my dates into the house, tucked them all in bed and kissed them all over. Then I thanked the Lord for my sweet angels.
It turned out to be one of the best days I've had too.

Good thing I got out of bed.....

2008-10-24T11:30:00.001-07:00

Because Geoff just called me and asked me out on a lunch date! He asked me where I would like to go. I'm going to The Cheesecake Factory!
I wonder if he knew I needed something fun today!
Beside that.....IT'S WESLEY'S 13TH BIRTHDAY! I've got something more to blog about. I'll post that next. For now- everything can wait till tomorrow, I've been rescued by my night in shining armor!

Drops in the bucket

2008-10-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

We came home Saturday from a much needed camping trip on the beach last week to find that I hadn't paid the water bill. Wooohooo- save some money! So the camping continued through the weekend- no water. Also discovered that the upstairs A/C is broken as well as the upstairs tv projector. TV isn't a necessity- that can wait.

Funny thing is last time we left for a few days we came home to find the house flooded with a broken toilet line upstairs! I guess at least this time the house didn't flood.

Another one of THOSE days.....

2008-10-24T10:59:00.000-07:00

It's 6:15- my internal clock goes off and my head tells me to get out of bed but my body has other plans. The mattress monster has got me! I can't get out, no not even to check my stock options. Why? Just to see them lose value again?!!! Nahhh- so why get up? To do the mountain of laundry in the laundry room? Nahhh! To clean up from last night's dinner still sitting on the counter? Nahhh! To pay the bills? With what money? The garage needs cleaning, I can't get through the office with all the junk sitting around, the family room is a mess, the garden needs weeding and picking, the dishes done, mail to go through, insurance issues to deal with, tax issues to fix, NO, NO, NO!!! I'm not getting out of bed!
Alright- to see the kids off to school. I did it. Got out of bed.

Angels

2008-10-08T16:50:00.001-07:00

On a serious note, I have to speak about angels. I'm usually a private person but I must tell you the feelings of my heart! It's been stored up for a while so it may get lengthy. I promise to lighten up next time!

This past year is one I never want to repeat! I have struggled with many troubles.

With the housing market as it is Geoff struggles to find work everyday. By January we may be completely out of the appraisal business. Our other real estate investments have completely gone sour. Most of my family is in the real estate business and many of us are struggling right now. We, like many of you, find ourselves wondering where we will be tomorrow. My two best friends are wondering how long they will be able to keep their homes. Just the financial issues is enough to drag anybody down!
For a while now I have struggled with fertility issues and had my last miscarriage this past summer. The decision to make it my last has been torture.
I'm struggling with some behavior issues from a couple of my kids and some extremely sad decisions of another family member.
We came home from working on the cabin a couple of weekends ago to find the downstairs dining room flooded and part of the ceiling falling in from a broken water line on the toilet.
The list goes on.......and on.......and on.....

One night this past summer I was thinking about all these issues I was trying to deal with all at once (isn't that how it always is!-- can't have one at a time!) I began to feel like big boulders had knocked me flat on my chest. It felt as though more and more boulders kept falling on me making sure I wasn't able to get up. I started thinking about the scriptures and how it is that angels appear to so many people. I thought of Nephi, Laman and Lemuel. If an angel could appear to Laman and Lemuel who were so disobedient why, then, couldn't the Lord send me an angel. Afterall, I'm a good person trying to make good choices. I don't think I'm quite as disobedient as Laman and Lemuel so I asked God to send me an angel.
The night of my last miscarriage my mom came up to my room to see how I was doing. She cried with me and offered me words of comfort. I told her my wish for an angel. She continued to help comfort me.

Life went on. Slowly, slowly I am more able to pull one boulder off at a time. I was really looking forward to General Conference hoping for some words of comfort and support.
That's exactly what I got! I was so moved and impressed with Elder Holland's talk on Saturday afternoon. Please, if you haven't, go listen to the talk. The written talk will be available tomorrow. Here are some of his words: (God speaking right to me!)

"From the beginning down through the dispensations God has used angels as his emissaries in conveying love and concern for his children".

"Angels are still sent to help us".

"When we speak of those who are instruments in the hands of God we're reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with here, now, everyday. Some of them live in our neighborhoods, some of them gave birth to us......."

"God never leaves us alone".

Let me tell you about my angels!

That night of my miscarriage, God sent me angels! There was my mom standing over me, crying with me, hugging me and helping me feel better, offering me merciful attention. As I went downstairs there was my dad. He gave me a big hug and told me he loved me. Then I had a visit from sister Martin ( I work with her in my calling) with a gift of love and a hug.

The next few days as I still cried I would walk into the room where Geoff was and he let me lay in his lap and cry some more. There was my angel husband trying his best to help me.

I can't tell you how many times Geoff and I have gone to my parents house asking for help and counsel on behalf of our kids and another family member who has made such sad choices. They have been angels! I know they pray for us and feel our pain also. They have given us inspired direction and counsel and continue to listen to our worries and offer comfort and support. My dad called Geoff the other day as Geoff was faced with a difficult task. My dad offered Geoff words of counsel and support and helped Geoff feel confident in what needed to be done. I have an angel dad!
Last week my mom took my kids for the week so I could go to the mountains with Geoff. We needed that break together so badly and oh how we appreciated their help! I have angel parents!

I have angel friends who come to kidnap me and take me to sonic and let me talk out some of my feelings. I love the trips to the store and I appreciate so much their patience when I don't want to talk about "it". My sweet friend let me come over at 10pm to cry on her shoulder and let me listen to her troubles so I could forget about mine for a bit. I have angel friends!

Bishop's wife is another of my angels! Sister Kempton teaches in Relief Society. One Sunday she brought a picture of Christ hugging a man. Tyler, my son, walked up to the picture after Relief Society and was quite moved by it. He just stood there and stared for about 5 minutes! The next day sister Kempton brought Tyler the same picture for him to keep. She'll never know how much that touched him!

Just yesterday my mom, again, took my kids so I could go with Geoff to Tucson to make a visit with a friend and do some business things. She took care of my kids all day long. Then when it looked as though I would be home really late she brought my kids to my house, got them in bed and cleaned my kitchen! Again, an angel sent to help me!

That same day, yesterday, my angel sister sent me a bouquet of flowers to brighten my day! Just completely out of the blue! She'll never know how much I appreciate her thoughtfulness and love!

I AM SURROUNDED BY ANGELS! I thank you all for your love, friendship and support! You'll never know how much I appreciate all you do for me!
I can tell you that God hears and answers prayers! He sent me angels. I am inspired to live a little better so I can be somebody's angel!

WHO ARE YOUR ANGELS?

Sunday night conversation

2008-09-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

Me: "I've been looking into adoption."
Geoff dear: "oh yeah?"
Me: "yeah- I think we should check it out. It'll cost between $4000- $10,000."
Geoff dear: "do you think they have a layaway plan?"

Oh so yummy!

2008-09-16T15:31:00.000-07:00

I found a new recipe and thought I'd better share it! I've never had dumplings before so this was fun to do something new. It was a bonus that it was delicious! It's so easy too, guys.

It's called Blueberry Dumplings and I found the recipe on FoodNetwork.com. It's one of Laura Deen's recipes.

First combine 4 cups of blueberries (fresh or frozen) to 2 cups water and 1 and 1/2 cups sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil.

While you are waiting for the blueberries to boil, sift 1 cup flour with 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder and a pinch of salt. Cut in 1/2 cup of butter and mix with a fork or pastry cutter. Add 1/4 cup milk and mix well.

After the blueberries boil turn the heat to low and drop the dumpling mixture by the spoonful into the blueberries. DO NOT STIR. Shake the saucepan a touch to get the dumplings to sink. Cover with a lid and cook for about 20 minutes on low. Do not remove the lid until after 20 minutes.

Serve hot with vanilla ice cream or a dollop of cream. Love those dollops!

I was thinking that I might try some cut up fresh peaches instead of blueberries and put some cinnamon in the dumplings. Yum! I'll let you know how that goes!

A little discovery!

2008-09-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

I'm a mom who believes in natural consequences. I'm also a mom who is trying to teach modesty. Yes, even for boys.

This morning we were all working on chores. My oldest son (12), Wes is out back mowing the lawn. He's got no shirt on.
Me: "Wes, get a shirt on"
Wes: "It's too hot"
I go back to cleaning out the garage. We were all going to meet up in the kitchen to clean. We get our chores outside done and go into the kitchen. There's Wes without a shirt on still. Hmmmm, I think to myself. How can I teach this kid modesty?

ok seriously guys- It bothers me to see grown men outside working without a shirt on- call me weird but that's who I am. So yes, I'm trying to impose my belief system on my sons.

So we meet up in the kitchen, all of us. I'm busy doing the dishes with Ashlyn beside me, Wes sweeping and mopping the floor- still without a shirt on and a great idea comes to mind! The idea is instantly repulsive and I think to myself........no, I could never do that! But oh yes, I can do that! Wes leaves to go get some cleaning rags. Yeah- you got it! I take off my shirt- yep! Clear down to my nothin's. I'm stark naked from my waist up doing the dishes.

Ashlyn: "MOM!!! What the heck are you doing?!!!"
Me: "making a point"
Tyler: "Oh my gosh!"
Caleb: says nothing but tries to divert his eyes

Wes walks in and doesn't immediately notice my naked state and all of a sudden...... it hits him!
Wes: "OH MOM!!!" and quickly turns his head and walks immediately into the laundry room and puts on a shirt!
Me: "I was hot today while I was washing the dishes so I decided to get cooled off. Must be ok if you do it"
Wes: "hmmmm" shaking his head.

WHAT A DISCOVERY! I was secretly sweating it the whole time hoping that nobody walks by in the backyard since I was backyard facing! Yes, me, an ex RS pres!
It worked!

Let me be clear..... I was in a position where my kids did not see a frontal view.

I have a friend who has a 12 year old daughter who is experimenting with makeup. She puts on way too much black on her eyes (in my friend's opinion). I wonder how she would take it if you came down one morning with as much makeup on as she puts on! Try it!
Oh I love being a mom!

Ahhhhhh, the kids are back in school

2008-08-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

What a great day it is when summer is over and it's time for the kids to go back to school! Yes, I'm one of those moms who celebrate the day. Oh, I read many blogging posts from my friends about how emotional the day is (especially if you have a kindergartner). It is an emotional day for me too. EXTREME HAPPINESS! IT'S PARTY TIME FOR MOM!
We had a meet the teacher night a few nights before school started. When I went to meet Caleb's teacher, my youngest son, she handed me a packet of information and included in it was an interesting little ziplock bag. After closer examination I couldn't believe what I was seeing! The contents included a tissue, a bag of soothing tea and a cute little poem something about...... there will be tears when your child starts 1st grade so use the tissue...... and use this soothing tea to comfort yourself........ I immediately handed the bag back to the teacher and asked if I could have the party bag instead. I'm not sure she appreciated that all too much.

Beach, Summer 2008

2008-08-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

2008-08-16T14:06:00.000-07:00

This summer was Caleb's 6th birthday and we had a great party with neighborhood friends! We went on a treasure hunt, had a bubble blowing contest, a balloon popping contest, pinata (of course!) and decorated our own cupcakes. What a great time!

Fishing with the Johnson's

2008-08-16T13:40:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of an fhe fishing trip to a nearby neighborhood lake with some of our good friends. You can see that Maylee caught the grand prize winner! The tiniest catch of all.

It was a dare and well, if you have boys you know that a dare can not go unattempted. He was supposed to kiss the fish. He did.

2008-08-15T16:11:00.000-07:00

This is the back view with the shingles on both back dormers.

2008-08-15T16:10:00.000-07:00

This is a view of the front. The shingles were just put on. There will be shingles on the other dormer in the front, not yet finished

Closer view of the front dormer

This is a front/side view of logs, batt and board and shingles

2008-08-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

Dan Nicolds and Dan Adair took over the building project after my brother, Kevin left.

This is the bathroom upstairs. Obviously unfinished but we couldn't wait to see how the tub will look so we put the tub in temporarily.

This is the loft flooring that Geoff and I just stained.