Almost 2012 already

I can't believe how fast time goes. Today we had a lot of fun celebrating the beginning of 2012. We had a lot of fun games for the kids. I took all the Christmas decorations off the tree and replaced them with New Year decor. The lights were left up along with kazoo's, beads, bubble gum, popcorn, a fun child's apron, bubbles, coloring book, a bag of chips and a few more items and ofcourse and large party hat for the tree topper. SO CUTE. That is our new tradtion.

We played some fun games for the kids.....New Year Bingo, a dice game, a card game and a smelling game. I had some bags full of different items and went around the room letting each kid smell what was in the bag. The person with the most answers right got to pick an item off the tree. It was fun to watch each try and guess what was in the bag. Items in the bags were a banana, boiled egg, pepper, powder from jello, vanilla flavoring, almond flavoring and peanut butter.

With each game the winner got to choose a fun item off the tree. The kids had a blast. Another idea would be to put money in balloons and have a child choose a balloon and pop it to see what was inside. Maybe next year.

We had some super yummy punch, nachos, veggie topped cold pizza (YUM), meatballs, bacon water chesnut wraps, homemade pretzels......and spam sushi...yeah I know...but you have to know my brother Ron. They weren't too bad. Not my first pick of a food but I can say I've tried them.

Then my sister in law made a really cute castle cake for her daughters 2nd birthday which is on Jan. 1st. We got to celebrate a birthday and New Years Eve. So much fun.

We were all tired out at about 8ish so we decided to have a small New Years for the younger kids. I'm not the cool parent that lets my younger ones stay up until midnight. The older two boys can. My parents always let us no matter how young we were. I don't like dealing with cranky kids the next day and we had all our fun early on so it was the same to me. BUT FUN FUN it was.

I am excited for a new year. The year 2011 was a bit hard and brought alot of hard times. But I'm excited for a fresh start and hopefully I can look forward to some new things.

Happy New Year everyone. We love you and miss you if you can't be near.

11 things on 11-11-11

I know this post is a bit late for that date but I wanted to write down what we did on that day. It was Veterans Day. I had been thinking and thinking of what I could do on Nov. 1st in honor of my father. I couldn't come up with anything. But finally something came. I found the idea on pinterest. OH how I love that...a little too much sometimes. So my youngest three kids and I decided to do some Random Acts of Kindess.....eleven of them. We didn't quite get them all in. We made up a sign that said..."You have been RAK'd today. And we let them know that it was Random Acts of Kindess. WE HAD SO MUCH FUN.

Our first stop was taking Apple Muffins to the fire department. When I pulled into the parking lot there was a firmen right there so I sat in the car and let the kids handle that one. Rachel and Ethan each had a plate of muffins and Mayah got to hand him the RAK'd sign. He was AWESOME. He sat there and talked with the kids asking each of them their names. He wanted to know why they were doing this and then gave each a big hug. I forgot my camera....UGH. What a great memory.

Second we headed to Walmart. We taped three quarters to a pop machine along with a RAK'd sign.

Third we taped two quarters to one of the games with a RAK'd sign.

Fourth we bought a box of crayons and while we were in line we asked the person behind us if they would like to go before us. Sadly, they said NO THANKS. Did they just ruin our fourth attempt at our random acts. I told the kids we would still count it. It's the thought right?

Fifth we really tried to smile at everyone we saw. This was hard. It was hard to smile at people when I was trying to keep the kids from running over people. (Ethan just had to push the cart). It was hard to smile at people when Mayah kept asking for EVERYTHING in the store. It was hard to smile when I was gritting my teeth. It shouldn't have been that hard to smile. I need to work on that one.

Sixth we headed over to Taco Bell. This might have been the the most fun. I had to wait just a bit. As soon as we saw someone coming into the parking lot and heading toward the drive through we went in. I didn't stop at the ordering place. I went ahead to the window. The lady kind of looked at me funny...prob. wondering why I didn't order. I told her we were doing some random acts and wanted to pay for the person behind us. I handed her the money ($5.38) and a RAK'd sign and asked her if she could just give that to them. We pulled out and the kids wanted me to wait so they could see the look on his face but the light was green and we couldn't wait. Rachel then said...this feels so good.

Seventh we headed to the ER and the hospital and left some coloring pages that we printed off the computer and one box of crayons. They kept them at the front desk and said they would pass them out as needed.

Eighth the kids colored pictures for the bishop. Do you think I can remember to take them to church tomorrow? They want to secretly put them on his office door. It is quite the mad house here in the mornings.

I have some super cute leg warmers made from knee high socks that need to be sewn and taken to a hospital with sick babies. Ran out of time. We wanted to take cookies to someone. Plus I had made enchilladas for dinner and would have loved to give someone a few of those too. It got pretty late and we didn't quite reach our 11 things. That's ok though. I know the kids had so much fun. They are asking to do more things for Valentines Day and other holidays. I really STRONGLY recommend doing this. It was a blast.

Dad this was for you....We love you and want you to know that your example of service will always be remembered. Miss you more and more each day we are apart.

WHO KNEW

So I have recently had to find work due to unforseen circumstances. It is odd working outside the home when I have been a stay at home mom for so long. I still consider myself that and have a hard time thinking otherwise. I have been very blessed in the job that I have though. I know Heavenly Father is aware of me and my family and our circumstances.

A family here asked me to be their nanny. I watch three kids ages 4, 2 1/2, 11 months. I am very lucky that I get to pick Mayah up after 1/2 day Kinder and take her home with us. All the kids still nap so there is a window of time that I get to spend alone time with her. We play games, color, play outside and read books together.

Although I find it a bit tough.....watching someone else's kids and then coming home to my own...I also feel very blessed and feel it works for us right now. It was an answer to many many prayers.

I get paid for seven holidays throughout the school year. One parent is a teacher so I get all the days off that she does...which is perfect for my kids. Plus I will be home in the summer with the kids too and at Christmas and spring break. BLESSED I tell ya.

Don had to drop out of Grad school. That was a sad sad day for him. He loves school and has wanted to get his Masters so he can teach. It must not be the right time right now. His back was giving him problems. I ended up taking him to the VA ER twice and the ER here twice. FINALLY....after an MRI...it showed that he has four or five bulging discs. He had a blessing from our bishop and 1st coun. He is walking just fine now and has even gone hunting. I'm thankful for the Priesthood and modern medicine.

Don will be doing some translation work from home. It is a brand new thing they are just starting. I hope it leads to full time and permanent. He is very nervous about it. He hasn't translated since May and going from English to Arabic like they want him to do now is much harder than what he had been doing in the past. He feels very inadequate.

I am home from work today. Second kid to get Strep. I will be home tomorrow too. Wondering if this will run through everyone or stop here. I vote TO STOP HERE. Don't want anymore sickies.

Thankful for so many things in life right now. I feel the hand of the Lord near even when things seem too difficult at times. He is so aware of us. I know He cares. He loves us and wants what is best for us. I so grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is a blessing and miracle to have the gospel.

9-11-2001

What a horrible day. What a tragedy. That morning I was awake with my two oldest boys. We were living in California. Don was studying at the Defense Language of Institute in Monterey. He was already at school for the day. I got a call from him telling me what had happened. He wanted me to know he was O.K. No one knew for sure if there were other places targeted. It was a scary time. I watched so much news. I am not a t.v. watcher. And I watched t.v. more in those few days than I think I have ever watched. I think my children were neglected for a few hours that day. It was all I could do not to cry ALL DAY.

Today is the 10th year anniversary. For dinner I set the table with a white table cloth. We used red and blue cups. We served red cherry tomatoes and blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. We also had delicious BBQ chicken, baked beans and mashed potatoes. I had made up some questions about what happened that day and put them in a pint jar in the middle of the table. Don asked the questions for the kids. Caleb KNEW ALOT. He even told us how Pres. Bush was reading to a 2nd grade class. Caleb went on to say that he got a 'look' on his face but composed himself enough to finish his reading. Caleb then asked if we were ever going to fly again. I told him I didn't know. He continued to ask....well is there a 'chance' we may fly again. Again, I said I didn't know. What a scary scary thing for kids. What a scary scary thing for all.

After dinner we had scripture study and read about Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty. Then we watched an emotional 8 minute clip from Glenn Beck about that day. The younger three kids were making and coloring flags. Tears were rolling down my face and Don got pretty choked up. The kids had a few questions but mostly made reference to my crying. What a sad sad day.

I am truly grateful to be living in the U.S.A. What a wonderful country. What a blessing to enjoy the freedoms we have. So blessed.....so very blessed. I'm grateful to all those who sacrificed their lives in helping on that day. It seems like no one questioned anything. They just got up and went to work. No one feared. They just worked hard to get a job done that needed getting done. Prayers going out to all those who lost a loved one.

I made red and blue jello for dessert but I forgot about it. Oh well. Now the FHE treat is done for tomorrow night. :)

Back to school 2011

I can't believe it. Summer is already over? It feels like it just started. Caleb is in 8th grade. Zach is in 5th. Rachel is 3rd grade and Ethan is 1st and Mayah a Kindergartener. YIKES.....It's a bit sad but exciting too. My kids were super excited this morning. Mayah has been wanting to go to school for sooooooooooo long. Being the youngest she has watched one of her siblings head off to school while she was left behind. FINALLY her day has come. She is in half day kinder and her teacher seems AMAZING. Can't wait to see how this year turns out for Mayah. Zach was excited to have a male teacher and then when he came home from school he said that this teacher is even better than his MOST favorite teacher in Virginia. Caleb had a good day..........so he says. He is a man of few words. We're working on it. He's getting a little more talkative but not much. Rachel and Ethan both had a good day too. At first, when I took Ethan to school he told me he didn't want to go to recess. I told him he didn't have to. He could just sit in the classroom before school started. Then he informed me that he didn't want to go to ANY recesses. That surprised me but I figured he would be fine once the day started. He came home to inform me that he got to go to THREE recesses. He loved it. Rachel was excited to play with a friend from church on the play ground. They are not in the same class at school or church but she knows her and that made her happy. We moved here in the middle of the school year last year. Because of a new elementary school here the boundries changed which caused the kids to be put into a new school. The old school gave us special permission to continue at their school but we would need to provide the transportation. That is understandable but at this time we cannot do that so we switched them over. I think all will be well.

Last night I found myself crying myself to sleep...just thinking of my kids getting older made me sad....and the thought of...Am I doing enough? Am I preparing them? Am I the kind of mother my Father in Heaven wants me to be? That is when the tears came because, honestly, I don't feel like I am. I have so much room to improve and I am always feeling guilty. I can't stop thinking that my kids deserve so much more. But they do teach me so much. They keep me on my toes and I love them. I hope they know just how much. They are truly a blessing to me.

Fun FHE activity

Don was on lesson tonight. He did an awesome job talking about order in the church and home. He read D&C 88:119 where it talks about a house of order. He told a story about Sir Isaac Newton and one of his Atheist friends. Newton built a replica of the Solar System. His friend had come over and couldn't believe his eyes. His friend asked him who built it and he said he didn't know.....it kind of just appreared. LIKE POOF and it was there. Thinking that was impossible......his friend said that it would have taken someone a long time to build that and there is NO way that it just happened. Newton was able to explain to his friend, who thought the Solar System just appeared with a poof, that it was all done in order and that God created it.

To show the kids about order Don made his own replica. He used 16 cups of exact size and lined 12 of them up in a square to represent the 12 apostles. He then stacked two cups on one end. Those represented the prophets counselors (Pres. Eyring and Pres. Uchtdorf)and then stacked one more on top of those two. That represented Pres. Monson. The last cup (which I held up high) represented the Lord or Savior (not that they are one person but they have the same purpose.) The replica of the cups looked like the temple. Mayah (5) was able to spot that right away.

I appreciate my husbands ability to teach. He was so patient as each of the kids layed on their stomachs on the floor with him in a cirlce. He didn't just tell them what each part of the replica represented. He asked questions so they had to think. And he let them take quite a few guesses before asking the adults to help out.

I am so thankful for the gospel. The church is perfectly ordered.

After the lesson and chocolate chip cookies we all went outside to enjoy the activity that Zach planned.....the BB gun...OFCOURSE. He set up pop cans to shoot. The person that could knock one over would get an extra cookie. It was Zach. Then Don set up the cans in a pyramid form. I shot....didn't fall down. Don shot....didn't fall down....then grandma came along and shot the cans down. She wanted to shoot again. Her next shot hit a can and it went flying. We should call her Annie Oakley. It was a super fun FHE.

BEST gift EVER

My sister-in-law, Lacey, is SO talented. I just really admire her. She went above and beyond when she took all of my dad's shirts and cut them into squares to make my mom and each of my brothers and sisters a quilt top. You should see the cute squares with buttons from his shirts and little pockets that she left in. SUPER CUTE......WOW....how do you even begin to thank someone for doing something like that? Thank you isn't even close to being enough. I was in awe when I first saw it. I looked at the quilt top and could remember my dad wearing certain shirts. It brought me to tears. After we shed a few tears we kind of joked about how big dad was. It made it possible to make SEVEN quilt tops for mom and each child. Lacey also had enough material left over after that to allow for 4 squres for each grandchild (22). I am so grateful to have this. It was such an amazing gift and one I hold very dear. This is probably the best gift I have ever received. I am excited to choose a backing and get it done. It really brings back memories of my father.

Today Rachel and I went together to take a load to the Recycling center. It was really fun being together. You really cherish the one on one times you have with your kids when you have a large family. Rachel called it our garbage date. :) We were driving my dad's pick-up. On the way home she started talking about dad. She asked me if grandpa liked things dirty (his truck is DIRTY) I kind of laughed and said that he certainly did. Then she went on to say that it didn't really matter if he was dirty because he was SO FUN. I then started talking to her about how she used to wake up super early. He was the only one awake and she would crawl up on his lap and he would read to her. After he died she cried and asked, "now whose lap will I be able to climb on?" It has been almost 9 months since he died and yet she couldn't even remember crawling up on his lap. Those are the sad things.....the fact that my kids will not remember the little but important details of my father. I need to continue to talk to them about him so they can keep it fresh in their mind.

Below you will find two pictures. One is the finished quilt that Lacey made for my mom. And the other is my quilt top waiting for me to finish.


Lacey......you are amazing. You have given me something to forever help me remember dad. I can't wait to finish it. I'm trying to decide if I want to use it or put it up and save it. But I can hear dad right now....just use it. Isn't that what it is for? Thank you is not enough. But I don't have the words. They just won't come. I am eternally grateful for your hard work and all the time it took to cut each of those squares out. THANKS.

Traditions

Every year most of my family gathers in Spokane to play and enjoy Hoopest. This year they had two teams...one with the kids and one with the adults.

My kids and I always stay behind and my Dad would take us fishing. I got a bit teary eyed as I was walking around the yard changing the sprinklers (always his job). The thought of no more fishing trips with him is sad. It is something he LOVED to do and he always took us when we were kids.

Now taking my family isn't considered your typical fishing trip.....you know the relaxing trip with a cool breeze and fresh air type of fishing trip? NAH...this trip is different. It takes a lot of work. It is exhausting. It isn't a TON of fun. But it is tradition. You see it goes something like this.......while one child is casting his line into the water another kid is running right behind him just in time to get a hook in his shirt. It isn't unusual to have one kid trip over the bucket of fish and get hurt. Last year Zach caught a HUGE fish but it got away.........in the corn field right beside the pond we were fishing in. Now this fish was important. It was huge. We kept telling Zach to hurry and get it. But he couldn't find it. He was too afraid to step into the water that was used to irrigate the corn. Every once in awhile we could see the fish and it kept getting further and further from us. I can't even remember now if he got that fish. But I can hear my dad saying....Zach you got to get that one.

While one child is fishing another one is throwing rocks in the pond making so much noise that the child fishing wonders why he isn't catching anything. Then you have another one of the Puhlman's that broke his hook. He wants grandpa to fix it. But grandpa is teaching another grandchild how to cast. The one with the broken hook can't understand why it is taking so long. HURRY GRANDPA. Grandpa....I need help fixing my hook. Are you almost done yet, Grandpa?

And so you see what type of trip this is. We would only last about an hour or so before it was time to head back home to clean the fish. If you caught a fish you had to clean the fish. And eat it too. Grandpa was good about teaching everyone how to clean these fish. But he sure tired out after a trip with five young kids. Not an easy task........but one he NEVER complained about or stopped doing. He was such an example of carrying on traditions.

Today was a bit sad. Being alone with no adult interaction made for a long day. With two sick kids and no fishing......made me think alot about my dad and his interaction with his grandkids. Do you think there will be fishing in Heaven?

Even though we didn't fish today I did take my kids fishing a couple of weeks ago to the same place my dad always took us.....in his honor. I am so glad I did. It was actually FUN this time and all of the kids, at one time or another, mentioned how fun it was.

Finally

It has been FOREVER since I have blogged. So much has happened but the real 'good stuff' won't be typed for all to see. That stuff is going in my journal. Don should be coming soon and I can't wait. It has been over 2 months and I can hardly stand this anymore.

Last week I was on the phone talking to Don. Mayah came out of the bathroom with a comb stuck in her hair. It was REALLY stuck. I told her to wait a minute and I would help her as soon as I was off the phone. She went back into the bathroom. Only two minutes later she came back out.......without the comb in her hair. I was impressed with how fast she was able to get the comb out.........that was until I noticed that she had CUT it out. YIKES.

Mayah is really growing. Her dresses are too small. I am all for finding awesome deals so we went to a few garage sales yesterday. I was super excited when I found the cutest dress for only .50 and a pair of super cute sandals also for the same price. SCORE. AND I LOVE polka dots.

You can't tell where Mayah cut her hair. I pulled some hair over to hide it.

How does your garden grow?

We were out of internet for three weeks...or maybe it was more. So happy to be back on again.

I have been wondering how I was going to get our garden in. My dads tiller has been sitting all winter. It has bad gas in it now. I know if he were here it would have been taken care of already. It has been at the shop for awhile but they are so busy. I worried and worried about it but one day Wally Bergeson from the ward came with his BIG plow and plowed the garden for us. The sound of the tractor made me think of my father and all the hard work he did in the garden. I cried........

I can now plant my garden. I have alot of ideas of what I want to plant. The weather has scared me a bit but I think it is time. Dad always said after Mothers Day we should be safe.

I am so thankful for the amazing people in this ward. They are constantly serving and helping and loving. Couldn't ask for anything more.

To repay the Bergesons for their help we decided to spend an FHE weeding their gravel. They had weeds that needed to be pulled from the gravel driveway. We were trying to repay them but they came out with cinammon rolls and a bunch of items for our kids.....a hat for Ethan. A jacket for Zachary. A camo jacket for Caleb. Then she went back in and grabbed two dolls for the girls........with clothes. I tried to tell them that we were there to help them not take from them. Didn't stop them.

Then Caleb got all excited when he saw that the camo jacket has the name Uhlman on it. Kind of funny. Only one letter added to that and it was our name. We couldn't believe it. We mentioned it to them because it was so ironic. And can you believe Sister Bergeson??????? She took the jacket inside and used her sewing machine to sew on the letter. I tried to tell her over and over that we would just use a marker. She refused to listen to us.

These are the kind of people that live in this town. Just constantly doing for others. They are such a great example to me and my family. My dad just LOVED these people........and their kids...ofcourse.

I did get a picture of him in his tractor. I just haven't loaded it on this computer. If I remember I will add it...but it might be awhile.

Back home

It has been awhile since I have blogged. There have been many times that I wanted to. But my mom's computer is sooooo slow.........so forget about downloading pictures. So much has happened.

1. We have moved back to Washington. We are currently living with my mom. I miss Don terribly. I hope he gets the house fixed up soon and on the market.

2. After a week of spring break here I finally have my kids in school. I was so worried about it and yet...ofcourse...there was NO reason to be. Caleb loves middle school here and has made some GREAT friends from church. YEAH....couldn't be happier. There was only one or two kids from church in his school in Virginia. And they weren't kids he hung around with so this is the best EVER. I love knowing my children are hanging out with good kids. Zach also has someone in his class from the ward. And they are good friends. It makes me so happy. Rachel is enjoying her class too. What a relief. I am bummed that Kindergarten is only half a day here. It is hard getting used to having to take Ethan to school every day in the afternoon. He rides the bus home but there is not transportation to school. I wanted to get a part time job in the fall once Mayah got into school but don't think that will work yet with half day kindergarten. OH well.

3. Zach is playing baseball. This is the first time any of the kids have been in an organized sport and I LOVE IT. I have waited for this day for a long time. I have tried convincing the kids to join something but I didn't have much luck until now. So fun. We love going to his games. I am now a taxi mom. The days of being home are no longer....but I love it. I enjoy going going going. Makes it a little trickier to schedule sciptures and FHE but we now have them ealier in the day when the kids first get home from school. We get Don on speaker phone so we can do these as a family.

4. We attended a benefit raffle for a little boy. My mom's home teachers grandson needs a Kidney Transplant. They had a silent auction and then a dinner and then a live auction. All the items were donated. My mom and I really enjoyed watching people open their wallets so willingly. I couldn't even come close to competing. To give you an idea of this auction.....plates of cookies went for $100. A painting went for $700. Pictures of the temple...for hundreds of dollars. T-shirts signed by Jimmer...also hundreds. I can't quite remember the exact amount but I'm telling you....I could have cried watching so many generous people. I wanted the 2 night bed and breakfast in Leavenworth. Don and I had our first date there.....fishing along the beautiful river. It sold for $600. AHHHH. The auctioneer said that he has traveled all over the state of Washington doing benefit auctions and he said the Columbia Basin (this area) by far....gives the most. There are some great people here. I know that is why people stay in this area.

5. Saturday night my mom and I attended the Junior Miss pageant. I LOVE attending things like this and it made it even better that I knew someone. A girl in our ward was in it and there was also 3 other members......I just don't know them well. It was A GREAT evening. SO fun. So entertaining and I am so grateful for my two oldest for babysitting. I did have the younger ones in bed but still. Such willing boys. Love em. The girl in our ward took 1st runner up. The winner and the 2nd runner up were members too.

6. We are going to Time Out for Women in Seattle at the end of the month. It is going to be a blast. I am going with my sister, sister in law and my mom. Definately gonna be a great girls weekend out. And a HUGE thanks to my little brother and brother in law for watching all the kids. They will have nine kids all together. I think they will do just great. Not an easy task...if you ask me.

I am thankful to be back in the area. I am so grateful for such a great ward. The scouting program in this ward just ROCKS. These men are amazing. When I told my brother who was in charge of the scouts he said "now thats Gold" I agree. My kids didn't have much of a scouting program in our old ward. My 10 year old never really had a leader. So this is great.

Rachel now goes to Activity Days. It is hard to believe that my kids just keep growing. It makes me feel old. My days of play dates are just about over. Seems unreal. I'm not sure I am ready to be done with them. I guess I don't have much of a choice.

We are doing well. I miss my friends in Virgnia. I miss our play dates each week. But I am thankful for our new adventures. I enjoy being with my mom. I enjoy our talks. I just feel bad for bringing so much noise and chaos to her home. Going from one person to a house full of six more has got to be very overwhelming. But she has been so welcoming. I am so glad.

more stuff?

It has been such a long time since I have posted any photos. All of my posts lately haven't really required any. I wish I could put pictures to our happenings this morning. We got ready for church this morning.....early in fact....but when we went out and drove down the driveway we noticed another flat tire. We were driving on the rim. So we backed up the driveway and Don attempted to change the tire. Well the tire wouldn't come off. The center of the rim was bent a little making it super hard to get off. And then as he was using the jack a piece of the handle broke off into the jack. SO there was no way we were getting to church in the truck. So Don told me to just put the kids in his car so we could go to church.

Rachel had a talk and since it was our last Sunday they Primary wanted all the kids to tell a favorite scripture story. SO we had a lot to do today and I didn't want to miss church.

Well a couple of days ago Don was out running some errands. He had taken a back road and met a deer on his route. A deer jumped the guard rail right into the side of his car. It's head hit the front windshield and cracked it in three places and then its body rammed up again the passengers side.....shattering both windows and breaking the mirror off and putting a nice dent in the side. You can still see deer hair all over the car. Glass got everywhere. Don just happened to be wearing his sunglasses even though the sun had gone down by that time. PLUS....he really tried to get Caleb to ride with him but Caleb was busy in the kitchen making cookies and he didn't want to go. THANK GOODNESS.....he would have been sitting where the deer hit and that would have been UGLY.

So we jumped in the windowless car and drove to church. CAN I SAY BRRRRRRRR. It snowed last night. But we were smart enough to take blankets. We were late but we were there. I was so glad to get to go since it was my last Sunday in this ward.

As we were driving to church Rachel brought up the fact that she was so glad that Dad had vacuumed up all the broken glass. We had just had a flat tire on the way home from my sisters a couple of weeks ago. I was so GLAD Don had just taken the tire in yesterday to get it fixed. We ended up having to buy a new one. PHEW....we had a tire to put on the car now. Don finally was able to get the tire off and use a different jack to fix it.

No matter what happens or what trials we go through there are always blessings and things to be thankful if we will just look.

Changes

I have been thinking alot about this word. Our family is about ready to go through a BIG change. Some think the change is good and some think it is bad. I remember talking with the counselor at the elementary school when we lived in Ellensburg, Wa. OH I LOVED her. She was awesome. She invited us to her house to ride horses. She was so good with the kids. I remember the comment she made one time.....she said that they had moved many times in her growing years. When I asked her how that was for her she just said, "It has made me who I am today."

Some like change and some don't. But it really is a part of life. And it is HARD. I am a little apprehensive about moving my kids in the middle of the year AGAIN. I play in my mind over and over how anxious they might feel on that first day. Everyone already has their friends and their routine. Everyone else is familiar with the school. Will they adjust well? Will this hurt them later in life? Will it be good for them?

But then I remember the answers to our prayers and know that we ARE supposed to move. And I try to take a deep breath and understand that because this is right I know that Heavenly Father will watch over every one of my kids. They are His children as well and He wants them to be happy and He will take care and provide a way for them to grow and learn from this change.

I read a blog today that had this written and I couldn't help but share it with you........

Change. It is inevitable, necessary, often painful, and hard to swallow. But it is part of life. And in the end, every change moves us forward and molds us a bit more into who we will eventually become.

And this quote was from a talk on Change by Elder Steven E. Snow and it says:

Second, keep an eternal perspective. Understand that change and challenges are part of God’s plan. By design this mortal existence is a time of testing or a time “to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abraham 3:25). In order to test our use of our God-given agency, we as mortals undergo a series of changes, challenges, trials, and temptations as we proceed through life. Only then are we properly tested.

So you see....in my mind it is all on how we deal with change that is important. We can put up a fight and be stubborn (like I have done in the past with this big move) or we can accept what comes our way and put a smile on our face and enjoy our blessings and make it into something positive. Baby steps people...baby steps.

The house is getting cleaner and cleaner. I had three other girls from church come over and help today. That was so sweet of them. I keep thinking we have a lot done but then I start to look around and think......ahhhh I only have 6 more days and so much more.

My dad always said.....things will work out...they always do. I can hear him saying that right now. And it is true. Having faith and knowing that things will work out is very true.

I should be packing

I should be working but I am going to take a break and blog. I have had some ask about us moving. I haven't really said much about it. So I will start sort of at the beginning...if I can remember. It is sort of a long story. I will spare some details but this is a good way for me to have this written down.

We have wanted to move back west for quite some time. We miss it back home. We are tired of Don's commute and just felt the need to be closer to family. Well then my father passed away. The desire was even stronger. But we knew it wouldn't be possible. It just didn't seem doable. We thought about it for awhile but didn't pursue it. Well then Don started getting the feeling that we needed to move. But by that time I had already figured we were staying behind so I just let him have the feeling. My mind was made up that we were staying here.

Then I just happened to mention to him about the feeling he was getting. He just said....I think we are just going to stay here. That was OK by me.

Then only a few days later he came to me saying we needed to fast and pray about it. So we did. He attended the temple and we both fasted and prayed. It was AMAZING how things started to fall into place. I have never had a time in my life where I could actually see and feel the answers coming...and it was....little by little. It wasn't like BOOM...yeah you need to go. It was more like over the course of time we felt the urge to move.

Don doesn't have a job yet and we are moving the kids in the middle of the school year. WE have gotten quite a bit of slack for both. That's ok. I don't expect anyone to jump on board with us and agree with this decision. We know we have the answers. We know it is what we are supposed to do. And we feel that things will continue to fall into place and that we will be provided for. HOW DO I KNOW? Well there is a talk that I read recently and this pretty much sums it up for us....We don't know everything but we know enough.

I don't know exactly why we need to move. But I have an idea. It is a personal one that I will not discuss openly with anyone. But I have had some pretty amazing answers and a Priesthood blessing that has been a huge strength to me. OH how thankful I am for the Priesthood. What a blessing it is to have it in our home.

So I appreciate all of you that have been a strength to us during this time. I am grateful for those who have expressed an understanding to our situation. And for those who haven't...that's ok. I know it is out of concern and love that you are worried. Don't be worried.

It isn't an easy thing. I have really enjoyed my time in Virginia. I have met some of the most wonderful people. I find myself trying to stop time so I can stay a little longer. Many tears have been shed over this decision.

THE THINGS I WILL MISS:

our ward..I have just recently gotten really attached to the ward here and now we are leaving. THAT is OK though. The church is strong every where you go and it is what you make of it.

my sister and family..it is such a blessing to have family near by. I love spending time with them and have enjoyed all of our late night talks and the holiday times together. It will be OK though. I am moving near even more family and I am hoping this will get my sister out that way. Are you reading this Sue?

outdoors...it is sooooooooo beautiful here. I love the hiking..trees....mountains (well hills) in this area. It is OK though. I am moving to the beautiful Washington State. Now they have REAL mountains....just not as close as I would like. I can still take my family hiking even though it is pretty flat and desserty there.

My mother and father in law. They just moved to this area to be closer to family. And now we are moving away. I am sorry. I know it isn't easy but it is right....for now anyway. We love you dearly.

THE THINGS I WON'T MISS:

Ticks..oh how I hate em. Zach just had one stuck in his stomach the other day.

Humidity....so glad to move to a dry area.

Traffic.....never liked it...never will.

Don's commute...see answer above. Didn't matter if we lived in Manassas or Linden....it still took him the same amount of time to get to work....just one was stuck in traffic and the other a long stretch.


I better get back to packing. We leave in two weeks. WOW. Can't believe it. Don will be staying behind for a bit to put the house up for sale. Anyone want to buy a house? It has two acres and a nice front porch. :)

crazy how things happen.....

Wednesday I took Caleb to scouts. Most of the time I drop him off and go shopping or run errands but I decided to stay at the church this time. I was sitting near a member of the bisopric and another guy in our ward. So the guy says to the member of the bishopric....you know...the Puhlman's are moving and this Sunday our family is speaking in church but I think the Puhlman's should have one last time to speak. The member of the bishopric apoligized to the guy and told him that wasn't the way it worked. They already had speaking assignments scheduled weeks out. He kept giving me a bad time and I went on to give him a bad time telling him GOOD TRY but I would be really busy this week packing things and getting stuff ready to move in a couple of weeks.

So at church on Sunday this guy came up to me and said he had some good news....I said OH YEAH what's that. He went on to say that the bishop said there would be no need for him and his family to speak. That might be good news for him. As soon as he said that I thought.....well if you're not speaking then I wonder who is. After church and right before Rachel got baptized the bishop called me into his office letting me know that Don and I and Caleb would be speaking this Sunday.....same subject given to this 'guy'. PRAYER.

So this guy happened to stay for the baptism and when I saw him I gave him a REALLY BAD time about all this. We just laughed and he told me over and over he had NOTHING to do with it. He hadn't even mentioned anythinig to the bishop.

SO last night was our RS birthday celebration. As soon as I walked in the door at church that member of the bishopric was there and he wanted me to know that he had NOTHING to do with what happened either. It was pretty funny. I think this is kind of fishy myself. Because remember....we are moving in two weeks and I don't have time to prepare a talk. If we ever move again....I am going to make sure not to tell anyone until we are driving down the road in the Uhaul.

So yes I guess I better make time to prepare this talk....even if I am wrapped up to my eyeballs in things to do.

Birthday girl

Today was Rachel's birthday. And she had the priviledge of getting baptized today too. It was a GREAT day. There were alot of people who came and supported Rachel. Rachel wanted to give out some invitations at school for her baptism . She did most of them herself. She folded some cardstock type paper and drew designs on the front. Then we printed off some cute pictures of her in her baptismal dress and put all the information of where and what time it would be. She ended up giving 7 away.....one to her bus driver. One to each principal. One to her teacher. One to one of the P.E. teachers and two to her good friends. What a little missionary.

She was very excited when her bus drive emailed to let us know that he would be coming and brining his whole family with him.....his wife and four of their kids. They even left their church early in order to make it their on time. We felt very blessed that they could come. Her bus driver made each of my five kids bracelets. They had different colored beads on them and each color represented something spiritual. It was AWESOME.

My sister came from Springfield with Sara and Leila and one of Leila's friends. That was a great blessing....I love spending time with them.

Don's mom and husband came. Del was able to stand in the circle when Rachel recevied the Holy Ghost. What a blessing. It was so good to have them. They brought dinner and a cake. Oh the joys of having a good cook for a mother in law. YUM.

There was alot of the ward members that stayed to support us. It was really FULL and we felt so blessed and loved. We love this ward soooooooooo very much.

I am so very happy with the decision Rachel made to be baptized. She is a great and loving daughter. She tries so hard to do what is right and I have seen a HUGE growth in her in just this last year. She is really growing up. She has a lot of love for her family. Her heart is HUGE. When I picked her up from piano last week she had gotten some candy from her teacher. She made sure to save EVERYONE in the family some. She received two snicker candy bars today from her primary teacher. She gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and said that the snickers would remind her that as she keeps the commandments there would be many who would snicker...and that she would need to remember to NOT listen to the snickers but to do what the Lord would have her do. She shared both the snickers with all of us....which pretty much meant that she didn't get much. She really has a concern for her little sister. She really makes it a point to watch out for her. She holds her. She loves her and she plays well with her. I am so thankful for Rachel. We are blessed to have her in our home. She is kind, loving and fun.

Yesterday for her birthday I took her to get her ears pierced. She got her hair cut....super cute. Then we went out to lunch and went to Ross to find her a cute hair piece to wear for her special day. Then for her special dinner for today she wanted bacon, sausage and pancakes but since Don's mom was bringing dinner for tonight I got up extra early this morning (with Caleb's help) and made the BIG breakfast. WE put the initials RP for her name made of candles so we could sing to her. It was fun.

At then end of the night when we were upstairs getting kids ready for bed we found a big pink note on our bed....it said.....THANKS FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID FOR ME. I LOVE YOU. FROM RACHEL. How much sweeter can you get? I feel very blessed to have children that appreciate what they get and even more grateful when they express that gratitude.

Rachel....we love you. We are grateful for you and are so eternally grateful that you have been placed into our family. What a blessing. Happy B-day girl.

Almost 8

Rachel is very excited about getting baptized. She can hardly wait..she has been talking about it all the time and she mentions it every time she prays. We are very proud of her and we are excited for her excitement. I took a few pictures of her. Please give me your feedback on which you like best. I am not a photgrapher but I do LOVE taking pictures. If you do not have the ability to comment here...just leave me a comment on FB or email me.

HIGH shoe LOW shoe

I do not like this shoe UP here...I do not like that shoe DOWN there...I do not like these shoes at all....I thought I liked them...but NOT NOW.

Caleb has been wanting some different shoes. He had his mind set on something and we were super excited when we saw some at a second hand store. And even more excited when they were in his size. $5. FIVE BUCKS...people that just rocks.

I LOVE to get good deals and I thrive on it. I don't like to pay full price for ANYTHING. And so garage sales and second hand stores are just absolutely FUN to shop at.

Check em out...I made sure he tried them on. I even made him walk around the store in them. Caleb has had issues with his feet since he was little. He had to have special made inserts for his shoes when he was a toddler. Those babies cost $400. He still has some issues but his DR. doesn't find it necessary to do anything about them. So it normally takes us a LONG time before we can find him shoes that he likes and that are comfortable for him. So notice my E-X-C-I-T-E-M-E-N-T...when he found some that he really liked and we only paid $5.

SO we pay for the shoes and we go home. As soon as Don got home Caleb put the shoes back on to show him. Caleb walks in and asks me if the shoes were even the same size. I had him stand still as I took a look. I BUSTED up laughing and couldn't stop. Don had no idea what was so funny until I pointed it out. We were all laughing. So much for our great deal but it was SOOOOOOOOOO worth the laughs. Check out the next picture to see if you can spot the difference in the shoes. I HAVE NO IDEA why they are like that.

On the ice

This is kind of late since we no longer have snow. But this snow just melted a couple of weeks ago. And in fact, it turned to ice. It got so cold after it snowed and it had rained and everything was just pure ice. AND that made for FAST sledding. It was awesome watching the kids try different 'things' to sled on. And no matter what they used IT WORKED. Items used to sled in our front yard were

pizza boxes---yep they worked
sleeping bags
sleds...ofcourse
wood
laundry baskets
plastic bags

I thought the wood topped them all. I had to get the camera out when I saw Ethan and Mayah working together to carry their homemade wooden sled. Now that is teamwork. I even went down a few times.....but I used the sled....and Mayah and I ended up going almost to the road. It was fun.

I do have to say,though, that I am sooooooooooo glad the sun has made an appearance. I am overly ready for spring.

Today I thought about the garden we would plant. Then I got sad and realized my dad won't be around to help with all my questions. But I can do this. I will PROVE to myself that I can plant a wonderful garden.........and then have the kids weed it. :)

What a surprise

ON Sunday our friends wanted us to stop by so they could give us some eggs. REAL EGGS as the kids call them. The kids were surprised to see that they were brown. But OH how we love fresh eggs.

SO today....I was picking some things up around the house. I found something that I didn't recognize...but then realized it was a piece to Zach's DS. Mayah broke it when she decided to take a bath with it. And Zach was hoping it would dry out. He took the battery out of it and set it out to dry for a LONG LONG time. But it didn't work. I decided to just go ahead and put the battery back in his closet. He has a shoe box that he stores items like that in. I didn't understand why he had pillow cases in the box. When I lifted the cases off there were three eggs under it on top of some grass. LOL....I guess he is using the pillow cases to keep the eggs warm to see if they will hatch.

I tell ya....the things we find in our kids' room.

Articles of Faith

I enjoy working in the Primary at church. I love being able to see what the kids are learning...but more....I like to see how they are behaving. Well now the senior and junior primary are separate. I don't get to see the younger three kids now. Sometimes the other teachers let me know how things are going.

Ethan is a crack up. He got talked to alot in primary and one time I remember coming from class and his nose was in the corner. SO we have had some pretty good talks. I am just so happy to say that Ethan is doing a TON better. He is really growing up and better able to sit and keep his hands to himself. I'm so grateful when I hear that he is doing so good.

On Sunday....this one particular teacher.....who we really LOVE....let me know about Ethan. We are starting something new in primary. The kids are really focussing on their Articles of Faith. They get to pass off one per month. But last week they allowed the kids to pass off as many as the first three. That teacher let me know that Ethan spatted through them like nobodies business. And then he even helped the other kids that couldn't get them...he would fill in the blank. It was all ok until it came around to his sister. When Rachel was trying to recite her Articles of Faith Ethan filled in the blank for her. That didn't make her happy. She knew them. It was just taking her a bit longer to think of some of the words. There are some big words in some of them. SHE WAS NOT HAPPY. I mean who would be happy if your younger sibling was 'trying' to help? I thought it was cute.

Here are the first three Articles of Faith for those of you who don't know what they are:

1: We believe in God the Eternal Father and in His son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost.

2: We believe that men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adams transgressions.

3: We believe that through the Atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

AND for some more funny things from Mayah....

We were reading the scriptures one evening during dinner. We normally will read a few verses and then ask questions. We asked Mayah if she knew what a commandment was. HER reply: those things that stick to the fridge. OH it was cute. We helped her to realize that those were called magnents.

Then the other day I was talking to Mayah about the second Article of Faith. When we came to the word sin...I asked her if she knew was a sin was. When she nodded I was really excited. She said it was when you got an envelope and put something in it and mailed it. CLOSE...very close...but not quite. Maybe I didn't say it clear enough. So I made sure to say SIN not SEND.

OH these kids crack me up.....SO MUCH.