School Post

Wow, I have not blogged in so long!  I am currently enrolled at BYU-Idaho.  I am going for my Bachelor's degree and only have 5 classes left until I get it!  I'm so excited to be done!!  My poor old brain just doesn't work the way it used to.  Anyway...  I am taking a Religion class right now and one of the weekly assignments is to write something [talk, essay, blog post, family home evening lesson, etc] about what we are learning.  This week I chose to do a blog post.  I'm guessing no one reads my blog anymore, it has been 7+ years since my last post, I think.  Maybe more.  But, here we go anyway...

We are studying the New Testament.  [Can I say I'm kind of struggling?]  I have actually never read the Bible.  Yep, you read that correctly...  I have read the Book of Mormon many times, and I think I prefer it better because I find it easier to understand.  The Bible is harder for me.  Anyway, this week we were reading in Mark, Luke and John.  We had to choose 3 gospel principles from our reading.  The one I am going to write about today is 'Miracles can happen through prayer and fasting.'  I believe miracles happen more often than we think.  I believe miracles can happen in our everyday lives.  These miracles may not be something as grand as raising someone from the dead or parting the Red Sea, but I know miracles happen to us all the time.  I've hear some people call these small miracles 'tender mercies'.  As I reflect on my life, I have been blessed with many tender mercies.  Let's not even talk about the fire and the miracles that happened there, along with a myriad of tender mercies...  But since that time we have been very blessed.  Michael faithfully served a mission for 2 years [some might say that was a miracle], Christina received a scholarship to swim in college, Amanda is an honor student and is able to participate in club swim, Ryan and Tyler are able to participate in club soccer.  My kids have been blessed with good friends who encourage them to be better people.  David, through all of the ups and downs, has a good job.  I have a job that I love.  These things alone are all things I'm not sure would be possible if we had stayed in the Bay Area.  Little miracles have included a nurse telling me I didn't need to pay the ER bill from Michael's broken arm.  Michael crashing his car on the freeway and walking away without injury to himself or anyone else. Christina recovering from an injury that ended her college swim career.  My friend and I finding our 4 little boys after they went missing in the neighborhood. I know these, and many more, were the result of much prayer.  I also know that fasting can bring about miracles.  A friend of mine was struggling with stage 4 breast cancer and was in a bad way.  We fasted and prayed for her.  She soon felt better and was able to resume a fairly normal life, for a while [She died about a year later, but I'm so grateful for the extra time we had with her].  Fasting for family members who have struggled to find jobs, have been sick or were undergoing surgeries.  Jobs were found, they were healed and the surgeries went well.  Through all the fasting and prayer, I believe Faith is also a major component in recognizing and receiving these little miracles that we all experience.

I am so grateful for the miracles in my life.  I know my family has been blessed and I am so grateful for the lessons I have learned through my trials.  It helps my faith grow and reminds me to lean on the Lord for help.  He will help us, we just have to ask.

Ryan turns Seven!

I cannot believe he is seven already! It was a very busy day, but we managed to have some fun. Happy Birthday Big Guy!

Snow in AZ???

I don't know that you could call it snow, but it did look like we had snow yesterday. It was stormy all night. When we woke up it wasn't raining anymore, but it was wet. David, Michael and Ryan were preparing to leave for the Nascar race and the rest of us were getting ready for church. Not 5 minutes after they left, it starts pouring! But not just rain. It is hailing! After a couple minutes the hail turned to slush. The kids were screaming 'Mom, you have to come see this!' I had sent the camera with David to the races, so all I had was my phone. I snapped a few pictures. We should have been leaving for church, but none of us wanted to go out in the storm. So we sat and watched, hoping it would let up. Sure enough, it did. We were just a tad bit late for church, but there were a lot of other people that, I think, had the same idea we did.
The trampoline looked like it had a blanket of snow on it.

Amanda and Tyler were trying to catch some in their hands.

The front yard had a blanket of white as well.

A friend at church told me her son wanted to stay home and make a snowman! When she said no, he asked if he could make one when they got home. It was funny. Of course, when we got home the sky was clear, no more rain and no more 'snow' on the ground.

Lost Tooth

Ryan lost his first tooth on Sunday Jan 16th.


He has been wriggleing his tooth for weeks trying to get it out. Sunday he asked David to 'Please pull it out Daddy!' David grabbed a napkin and pulled, pretty hard and finally said -again- 'Sorry, bud. It's just not ready.' Well that was not good enough for Ryan. He grabbed that napkin and pulled and yanked and pulled some more. Then he looked up at me with a look of shock on his face 'I pulled it!!! I pulled it!!!' He started screaming and laughing. He was so excited that he had finally pulled his first tooth out of his mouth.

Housewife?? Hardly!!

So I have come to the realization that I am NOT a housewife! I receive NO pleasure in cleaning up after my kids, doing mountains of laundry, scrubbing toilets or cooking dinner. Now, this is not a new discovery, just a public one now. I am coming out and declaring 'I AM NOT A HOUSEWIFE!!!!!' I'm not trying to be perfect at it, not even trying to be good at it. Just trying to DO it! When we moved here, I told David I wanted to stay home. Thought it would be 'fun' to hang out with my kids all day, go to the park, hang out with other moms, go to the zoo... Well, give me a job ANYDAY!!! See, that is what it was like when I was a nanny. It WAS fun! We did all kinds of fun things. Why is it different then? Oh, maybe because I am also paying bills, doing ALL the housework, oh and I don't get off work at 7pm to go have 'me' time. You know, hand the kids over to someone else to take care of. I have a friend that likes being a housewife. She even says she is really good at it. I know she is. Why can I not even begin to even resemble a housewife?? Well, maybe this is why. I have come to realize a few things over the last 2 years...

First... I HATE running errands!!! Really, I do. I have never run errands before. Don't be shocked at this. David always ran the errands. Remember, he was a stay home dad for 10 years. I hate the Post Office, I hate the Gas Station, I hate the DMV, I hate shopping, I really don't enjoy any and all errands that must be done. The only thing I don't hate is going to the Grocery Store - but only late at night when I don't have kids with me and I can take my time wandering up and down the isles, meandering through the store while thinking about whatever I want uninterrupted. But then I buy a whole bunch of stuff I don't need. So, I hate running errands.

Second... I am LAZY!! I must be. I have no idea what I have accomplished in my days at home. I REALLY need to snap out of this. Another friend recently sold her business to stay home with her kids. She said something like 'I hope I can keep doing the same amount of stuff in a day that I did when I had the business.' I laughed. I use to do so much when I had my business. I was always running! ALWAYS!! I was so busy! But now I feel like I don't do anything! I can make a list of things I need to do, but by the end of the day, only one or two of the items are crossed off. Must be laziness...

Third... My brain is MUSH!! That list I just talked about. Yeah, the list only happens when I remember all the things I need to do (ok, not ALL). I usually only think of them as I am snuggled in my bed half asleep. 'Oh, I need to do ---- tomorrow, oh and ----, and I can't forget to do ----. Really, why can't I think of them when I have pen and paper in hand? I try, but alas, the thoughts are gone when I try to make a list. I cannot remember a THING!!

Fourth... Why Clean??? Really! You've heard the saying 'It's like shoveling snow in a snowstorm'. That would be my house! Why bother?!?!? I get it clean, spotless! Kids come home from school and all of the sudden, I can't see the kitchen counters or the carpet because there are wrappers, papers, schoolwork, notices, fundraisers, backpacks, shoes, socks and all kinds of -who knows what- all over my nice clean -or use to be clean- house! So why even try???

Those are just a few. Another question that comes to mind... Why is it that when I am sick I can't call in sick? I still have to be the Mom, housekeeper, cook, dutiful wife, nurse, taxi... I was not feeling well recently and I laid down to take a nap. When I got up the house was a wreck, the kids were out of control, dinner wasn't being prepared and everyone was yelling at me to do something! And where is their dad? Sitting in a chair, reading!! Really??? What's up with THAT??? Oh, and never mind that I WORK A JOB TOO!

So, I don't mean to complain. I just don't seem to be getting the hang of this whole housewife thing. Do women really find JOY in being a housewife?? Do you really enjoy doing housework? Cooking? Paying bills? I just don't get it! Maybe some of us are wired to be housewives and some of us are wired to be in the work force. I have wondered what things would be like if I did find a full time 'career' type job and David were to stay home again. Hmmm... Would it be better? Would I be happier? Or do I always want what I don't have?

Probably the last one.

We are a Foster Family!

It all started last Sunday. We were invited to our neighbors house for a Christmas Open House and while there we got talking with another neighbor. She was telling us how they are fostering a liter of 6 rotweiler puppies, only 12 days old. We asked a lot of questions, told her we thought it would be cool to do that and she invited us to come over and see them. Well, Monday night she came to our house and asked if we were serious about the possibility of fostering. We said we hadn't really discussed it, and then she told us that the Rescue she was working with was looking for more families to foster more dogs/puppies. She told us that there was a liter of chocolate labs, a liter of chihuahua's and a few others that needed homes. Unfortunately the labs and chihuahua's were scheduled to be put down the next day if they couldn't find someone to take them. We said we would take the labs. Unfortunately, we were too late. So on Tuesday she showed us a picture of a liter of black labs that were just dropped off at a local shelter that needed someone to take them. We said YES!! But, once again... too late. I'm not really even sure why they were put down, they were only at the shelter for a day! They were only 3 weeks old. :( So the lady called us today and said she had just pulled 7 dogs out of the shelter and had 2 boxer mix puppies. We said YES again. Well, about 2 hours later she delivered our little foster puppies! They are so stinking cute!!! The kids are so excited to have these little guys.







The black one is male, the brown one is female.


The brown one likes to get in the bowl to eat!

So, what does fostering mean? Well, we are still learning, but basically you agree to take on a dog/puppy or a liter of puppies and care for them until they can adopt them out. They have puppies as well as older dogs. While we have them, we can try to find people to adopt them by word of mouth or craigslist. The potential owner then is screened and if everything checks out, they get to adopt the dog. Sometimes there is a re-homing fee of only $50-$100, and they have to agree to spay or neuter the dog before a certain date. As a foster family, we care for the dog/puppies. Basically just love them and make sure they are healthy and fed. The Rescue pays for all the vet visits and will reimburse for dog food (or you can pay for the food and call it a donation). You keep the dog/puppies until they are adopted, or until you feel you can't keep them any longer. We felt like it would be a great experience for the kids. They want a dog so bad, but we don't really want the long committment of having one, paying for vet bills, food and all the things involved with having a dog. We have had dogs before and know they are expensive and a huge committment. So we thought this would be a great way to get a puppy fix and teach the kids how to care for animals and help rescue them. So if anyone out there -locally- wants to foster a dog or puppies, let me know. The rescue is called Helping Orphaned Hounds. Or, if you want to adopt one of these little guys, let me know. Besides the 7 she pulled froma local shelter, she had 17 more coming in from So Cal. All of them needing a foster home.

I'm sure we will be posting more pictures of these two cuties, as well as others yet to come!

Happy Birthday Christina!

Today is Christina's birthday. She is 13, a teenager. Christina is such a beautiful girl. Both inside and out. I am so happy she is my daughter. She makes friends easily. She has a heart of gold. She is so helpful around the house. She cooks, cleans, babysits and is willing to do pretty much anything I ask of her. She is a loyal friend. She just wants to make people happy. She has a great laugh. She loves to have fun. She loves baking. She is a great swimmer. She is creative and crafty. She is active - almost never sitting still. She is entertaining. She gives great foot massages and back rubs. She is sweet and kind and giving. She is thoughtful. She truly is a blessing in our lives. I love you, Christina! Happy Birthday!

Since I don't have my camera, and can't figure out how to get pictures from David's onto my computer right now, I thought I would post some past pictures of Christina.














Love you sweetie!! Happy Birthday!