Protect Life

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...........

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

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

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:

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!

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!

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

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

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!

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

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

Grandpa

Grandma

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

Funny faces

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

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

Birthday preparations

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

13 years with Wesley!

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...........

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

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

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............................

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

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.....

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

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.....

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

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?