I Know

I'm not the most intelligent person on the planet.  Heck, I can't help my 12 year old with his math homework any more!  But there are a few things that I do know.

I know that my Redeemer lives.  Jesus Christ came to this earth to set an example for us to follow.  He suffered and died to atone for the sins of the world and he rose again that we too may overcome death.

I also know that this life is difficult.  Trials and troubles come our way no matter who we are.  But we can have hope that things will be better because of Jesus Christ.

In the Book of Mormon there is a scripture that I love.  It's found in Moroni 7:41 - And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.


We can find joy and peace even in the darkest times because we can have hope for life eternal.  This life won't last forever.  Time will pass.  Our trials will end and we will be better for it all.  

My prayer for you is that you can find hope and peace through the Savior, Jesus Christ.  I know that He lives.  I know that He loves us.


Have a very happy Easter!

A Laugh

A friend of mine bought a wooden sign today and the quote on it made me laugh... so, I thought I'd share.

I understand that scissors can beat paper.  And I get how rock can beat scissors, but there's no way paper can beat rock.  Paper is supposed to magically wrap around rock leaving it immobile?  Why can't paper do this to scissors?  Screw scissors, why can't paper do this to people?  Why aren't sheets of college ruled notebook paper constantly suffocating students as they attempt to take notes in class?  I'll tell you why.  Because paper can't beat anybody.  A rock would tear it up in two seconds.  When I play rock, paper, scissors, I always choose rock.  Then when somebody claims to have beaten me with their paper I can punch them in the face with my already clenched fist and say, oh sorry.  I thought paper would protect you.

I'm not sure if the fact that I found this so amusing means I have a really great sense of humor or a really twisted one...

Dig, Dig, Dig

We were listening to a Disney CD this morning and the "Dig, Dig, Dig/Heigh-Ho" song from Snow White  came on. It's a song I've always loved, but as I was listening to it today I had an odd little epiphany towards the end of this verse:

We dig dig dig dig dig dig dig from early morn till night
We dig dig dig dig dig dig dig up everything in sight
We dig up diamonds by the score
A thousand rubies, sometimes more
But we don't know what we dig 'em for
We dig dig dig a-dig dig

And just for the record... I cannot read through those lyrics. I MUST sing them. Every. Single. Time.  Okay... moving on!

The line "But we don't know what we dig 'em for" just kind of hit me today.  I mean...isn't that how life seems to work?  I know it is for me.  I dig through trials and troubles. I dig through the craziness of everyday life. I try to do my best and work hard and and sometimes... well, sometimes I just kinda sit back and think "What in the heck am I digging for???"

Now, I know that I'm rewarded with blessings throughout my day. Not necessarily HUGE things each day. But little things. A phone call from a friend. The giggles of a child. A hug from my husband.  A beautiful sunset. The good bits of every day that make life so much better. And yet, for me, I seem to miss the value of these diamonds and rubies.  In my case, I think I don't recognize the gems like I should.

Maybe it's because the digging process can be difficult, monotonous, frustrating and extremely time consuming. And by the time I get to the good stuff I'm tired and covered in dirt. And sometimes those blessings don't look quite like I had thought. I was hoping for a sapphire when I plucked out that ruby. Or maybe the blessing is something that really doesn't look like a gem at all. It's rough around the edges, dull and has absolutely no appeal (in my life, these ones are often disguised as a U-Haul van.... I think I won't understand the beauty of these gems till later in life or maybe not till the life after this...).

 I guess what I'm trying to say (and not doing a very good job of it) is that this life is a lot of work, but it's worth it. I may not understand what all of my diamonds and rubies are for right now... but someday I will. The only question left is this: which dwarf am I going to be like as I dig, dig, dig from early morn till night?

Now I'll leave you with a few gems from this month...
Little Bug at horseback riding lessons.  Look at that grin!!

Red with his new hair cut... I told him to give me a "Hurrah" cheer.  This as good as it gets when you're 12...

Baby Girl finishing homework...

A finished project for a friend...

It's the little things...

Christmas Quilts

2 out of 3 kids needed a new quilt for their bed this year.  I had already started a quilt for Red just a little over a year ago... and yeah.  Never finished it till this fall.  I pulled all the pieces out, reminded myself of the pattern and got to work.  It didn't take too long to get it all pieced.  Then I took it to a little place here in town to have it quilted.  My hand sewing is pretty much terrible, so I was more than happy to pawn the job off on someone else.  They did a fantastic job and this is the final product...

I did hand sew part of the binding... it took about forever to get it done.  But I did it :)  And I really love the way it turned out.  I didn't get a great photo of him opening it, but he really loved it!

 I knew I wanted to do a rag quilt for Baby Girl, but wasn't sure how exactly I wanted to put it together.  I sketched out several things, searched Google and Etsy for ideas and finally came up with this...

I was pretty much THRILLED with the way it turned out!  It's bright and fun - just like Baby Girl.  She was pretty excited about it too...

I just finished a baby quilt (that I'll blog about later) and then I have another baby quilt to put together and then a quilt for Little Bug and THEN one for me :)  I'm really looking forward to the me quilt.  I've bought the fabric, picked the pattern and I'll hopefully get to work on it.... in a month or two :)

Creative Juices

Lately I have felt like I was in a creative slump.  Just couldn't get the wheels in my head to spin the way I wanted them to.
Awhile back Busy Bee Lauren wrote a blog post about a new book she had received for Christmas (I think). It sounded like the perfect way to get my thought process moving.  So, I got a copy for myself.

I forgot to get a picture of it before I started... just imagine the cover without the doodles on it.  Okay??  Okay.
So, the instructions are pretty simple...

(Can you spot the "hidden Mickey's" throughout my book??)  And so I began.  We took Red to the Cracker Barrel for his birthday and so, I "documented" my dinner...

Hubby thinks it's totally gross... but it makes me laugh every time I look at it.  Here are a few other pages I've done...
I don't drink coffee... so this is my hot cocoa page.

 This was something my 3rd grade teacher would have us do if we were bored... draw a bunch of swirls, pick 5-6 colors and try to make it so that no colors are touching (except at corners).

 Fruit stickers...

 Stamps (some of these are from Christmas cards from last year...)

 I didn't do such a great job connecting the dots with my eyes closed...

 Still need to figure out what I want to decorate the other hand with :)

This is my FAVORITE page so far... which makes me sad since one of the instructions in another part of the book says I have to give away my favorite page...

 My nonstop line got a tad damaged (and it's not finished quite yet...)

I have to admit... I've struggled with some of these items.  You're not supposed to wipe your food in a book, rip the pages, burn the edges, or doodle everywhere... and so far, I've done the easier items.  At some point I have to tie a string around it and take it for a walk... which sounds kind of embarrassing.  I also have to take it to a public place and ask people to write/draw in it.  I thought about just letting my kids do that part, but that seems the cowardly way out.
But the best part?  It's helped me cut loose a little bit... and I've been feeling more creative...

I'll post pictures when it's complete.
So, here's a question for you...
how do you get your creative juices flowing?

That Face

I really don't have much to say today... I was just messing around with some photos and loved the way this one turned out :)

This was taken in Idaho over Thanksgiving break.  She was SO excited to play in the snow!

Help...again!

I have a decision to make... and I really don't want to do it.  So, you get to do it for me!   Aren't you excited?  I knew you would be.

This is a life changing decision.  Please don't take this lightly... ready??

With the stem....

Or without?

Okay... so maybe it's not life changing.  But I can't decide and I'd love your thoughts (just like the last time I made a baby quilt).  Ignore the ruffle and extra bits of fabric laying around and let me know... with or without??  

A Figment

I used to believe in mythical creatures... such as elves, dragons, unicorns, fairies, and children who made me look like a competent parent.

Red attended a meeting with his dad today for all the 11 year old boys at our church.  Our Bishop asked each boy to share something that they had learned from their mothers.  Now, I've had almost 12 years with this kid.  I've tried to teach him to be obedient, respectful, kind and happy.  I've taught him to pray, read his scriptures and to try to be the best he can.  Apparently I need a refresher course on how to teach these things because what he actually learned is to be to be silly, sarcastic and to go for the laugh instead of giving a real answer.

His response when asked what he had learned from his mother :  "She taught me not to kill people".  Which, in the grand scheme of things, is good.  Really good.  I'd rather my children weren't running around being serial killers.

But, now that we've got the "no murdering" thing down... I think it's time to move on to other things that will eventually turn him into a well-rounded individual.  Perhaps we'll start with "there's a time and a place for everything..."

Oh, hey... Hi

So, um, as you can see, I haven't written in awhile.  So, let's do a quick catch up post and move on, shall we?  Excellent!  Here we go...

July - Spent some time in Idaho with family and then came home to pack like maniacs!  We moved to Arizona on one of the hottest days of the year.  Oh yeah... some like it hot... or, um, something like that.  So anyway, we had such great help from friends getting out of our old house and a ton of people showed up to help us get into the new place.  We're settling in slowly (a.k.a. I'm still not done unpacking).  But the kids are adjusting fairly well.  We've had a few small bumps in the road, and I'm sure there will be more, but for now, we're good.

August - the kids went back to school and I was so scatter brained that I didn't get pictures.  Lame, lame, lame!!!  Hubby's birthday was in August, but, again, trying to unpack and finish things up in California and it ended up not being a big celebration... MEGA LAME!!  Sigh... I'll do better next year!

September - wait?  What?  Did we even HAVE a September this year?  Oh yes.  I had a kidney stone in September.  Spent most of the month feeling awful.  Let's forget September this year.  Moving on!

October - Busy.  Really, really busy.  First off we had Hubby's parents come visit.  It was so great to have them here.  We didn't do much... just relaxed and enjoyed their company!  I think everyone had a good time.
We had two birthday's in October. Baby Girl had a fairy birthday party that was a blast!

I decked the house out in lights and yards and yards of tulle.  Made skirts and got wings for all the girls instead of goodie bags.  It was a lot of fun.
Then we had an "October Birthday Beach Bash" with friends from California.  Between the two families we have 4 October b-days.  It was so fun to see our friends for the day!

Little Bug's birthday was more low key.  He doesn't like lots of people around. So we kept his day simple.

I gave him a book called "Wild About Books" and all present opening stopped.  He had to read it a couple of times before we could resume the rest of our evening.  He still packs it around the house reading his favorite parts over and over...

Alan surprised me with a vacation away from kids!  He plotted and planned with my parents... they came down and watched kids and we took off for a few days.  It was really, really nice!  The first evening was spent in Carlsbad, CA right on the beach.

The next two days were spent at Disneyland!  I love, love, love that place!  And I know it's a great place to take your kids, but can I tell you how awesome it was to go without kids?  No begging for over priced toys or treats.  No whining or crying because exhaustion had settled in.  No skipping rides or shops because the kids don't want to go or because we don't want to take them.  We were able to do anything and everything we wanted.  There were things that I know the kids would have loved, but they can go next time... maybe...

(BTW - World of Color is absolutely AMAZING!!)

Last day of the trip was in San Diego.  We went to the temple and then headed for home.  It was a fantastic trip!  (thanks again for watching kids Mom and Dad!!!) 

Halloween was awesome!  I had asked Baby Girl what she wanted to be for Halloween back in September and she said "Alice from Alice in Wonderland".  And I said, "Oh, that will be fun!  We'll get you a blue dress and some black shoes and..." she interrupted and said, "No mom.  Not that Alice.  The Alice from the new movie.  In armor with a Vorpal sword to kill the Jabberwocky."  Ah... yeah.  Her costume turned out pretty good though... here's what it looks like in the movie and what we ended up with (yeah, that's the best pic I got of her alone...)

Not too bad, if I do say so myself.  I got up Saturday morning and decided to be the White Queen... so I made a costume that day.

 Then we had "Return of the Jedi" (he was a Jedi last year too)

 Our rather reluctant farmer...

 And the crazy weird guy...

November - not much so far.  And I'm glad!  We'll have a few things later in the month, but for now, it's been peaceful... well, as peaceful as we ever get.

I don't know if anyone will even see this post or care.  But I'm going to try and get back to the blog once a week.  Yeah.  Try.  I'm not making any promises... but, it feels good to write again.  We'll see how this goes!

Huffin and Puffin

Many of you may remember my friend Marissa's unfortunate hiking experience last year.  Well, I had the opportunity to go on that same hike with some friends awhile ago.  Needless to say, I went to the bathroom before we left.  Never let it be said that I don't learn from my other's mistakes.

But, before I tell you about this latest adventure, I need to explain a few things.  First of all, you need to understand my definition of "hike".  So, if everyone would please open their copy of "The World According to Melissa" to page 245.  Let's see... ah... yes!  Here it is...

hike - verb - mindless wandering while eating snacks

I like to stop and look at flowers.  Check out crazy bugs.  And, of course, eat while I go.  Another thing you need to know about this hike - all of the gals I went with are runners and are in fantastic shape.  (Technically, I'm in shape too.  Round is a shape.)
Anyway, I had gotten up early, dressed comfortably and then loaded my backpack full of snacks.  My good friend Shannan was our lovely driver and away we went.  Chatting, laughing, and me, totally expecting to "hike" in my own special way.
So, you can imagine my surprise when we get to the trail head and I hear the one of the gals say, "Let's see how good of a workout we can get here!"  

Wait.  

WHAT?

They weren't there to "hike", they were there to race up the canyon!  Everyone took off at a pace that Olympic sprinters would envy.  And I brought up the rear... huffing and puffing.  After awhile I asked for a break so I could eat a snack.  I was feeling a bit dizzy... which may have been from lack of food (most of my family has some sort of blood sugar problem) or lack of oxygen.  Either way - I needed to rest for a minute.  The other gals weren't even winded.  Not in the slightest.
I was a little embarrassed at making everyone stop for a little while, but it was either have them stop and wait, or I could pass out and then they'd have to carry me back to the car.  Which, of course, wouldn't have been embarrassing AT ALL.
But, after awhile, I got my second wind and started to feel less self conscious about myself and I really enjoyed the last part of the hike.  Too bad I had been a crying whiner for the first half... well, a breathless, dizzy, crying whiner.  
And the best part?  I didn't get a sliver in my butt!  WOOHOO!!  (Don't know what I'm talking about?  Go read Marissa's account and it will all become clear...)
The End
(What?  You were looking for a moral?  Some life lesson learned about persevering or having a good attitude or loving who you are no matter how awesome everyone else around you is?  Well, too bad.  I got nothing... I'm just grateful to be splinterless!) 

The Great Reread

I think I've mentioned once or twice that I love to read.  Lately I've read a slew of mediocre books that have left me feeling kind of ... well, kind of meh.  Nothing interesting or entertaining about them... actually, that's not totally true.  In the last book I read I created a kind of game where I counted how many similes and grammatical errors I could find.  That's not usually what I do with a book, but when you have errors as blatant as "The children was playing in the clearing" (not a direct quote, but close) then you just have to start paying closer attention.  My grammar isn't perfect, but I also don't have an editor or a slurry of people read everything I write before I "publish" it.
Anyway, I'm tired of these bland and boring books and I've decided to take a couple of months to do some rereading.  I want to read the Percy Jackson books again.  I can't wait to get lost in the Chronicles of Narnia.  Who wouldn't love to walk the halls of Hogwarts with Harry Potter?  I have a stack of books from the library, but I think I'm going to take them all back so that I can revisit some favorites and maybe find myself really enjoying reading again.
Do you ever reread books?  Or are you the type of person to read something once and then be done with it for good?  If you do reread, what are your favorite books to pick up time and time again?

A Deep Breath

For the last few years I have had a mantra... something that I've chanted to myself when things were a little crazy with kids/work/life in general.  That mantra is : It will be okay.  

I know.  It's very profound.

I can't count how many times I've told myself this.  Told my kids this.  Told anyone with a problem this.  It's my go to answer for everything.  And now... well, now that mantra is being put to the test.

Let me ask you something... how many times have you moved in the last 12 years?  If you were to ask me that question I would probably say "One too many".  How many moves do we have exactly?  Well... that depends on how you categorize a move.  I count it if we moved all of our worldly possessions from one location to another.  So, let's start at the very beginning... 

1. January 1998 - moved into our first place together after we were married.  
2. April 1998 - we moved out of the first apartment and in with my Grandma for the summer.  We ended up putting most of our stuff in storage... but we did move it all.  So it counts.
3. August 1998 - moved into a teeny tiny apartment.  I was pregnant with our first baby and had to back into the shower.  Really.
4. November 1998 - got accepted into government subsidized housing (Hubby in school, baby on the way...).
5. August 1999 - moved to Moscow, ID to further the education of afore mentioned Hubby.
6. September 1999 - got accepted into government subsidized housing about 2 days after I had finished unpacking.  Now, technically while we were in college, we moved home each summer... but we didn't move all of our belongings.  So, I don't count it.
7. June 2002 - moved for our first job to a house in Murtaugh, ID.  Got almost everything unpacked and then...
8. June 2002 - got offered a cheaper, nicer place to rent by our landlords.  And it wasn't just a little nicer... it was A LOT nicer... and it was on a lake.  Couldn't resist.  Packed all our junk up and moved again.
9. September 2002 - we moved to Irrigon, OR for another job.
10. June 2003 - moved to Hermiston, OR to be closer to said job.
11. June 2004 - bought a house in Hermiston, OR and thought we would live there forever until....
12. September 2006 - moved to our current location here in Southern California.  But this summer....
13. June 2010 - Yuma Arizona... here we come.

We've been married for 12 years and will have 13 moves under our belt.  Yes, we are insane.  Yes, we are incredibly tired of moving.  Yes, the kids are fairly upset with this decision.  Yes, we think we're doing the best thing for our family.  But that doesn't mean I'm happy about it.
I'm tired of starting over, finding new friends, figuring out how to fit in, getting the kids into school... just everything about moving makes me cringe.  I like where we are at.  I like our friends.  I like the school situations for all of my kids. I'm not looking forward to moving.  At all.  And yet... I know it will all work out.  

Now.  That being said... does anyone know anything POSITIVE about Yuma?  I've looked on the internet a bit and everything I can find is negative.  EXTREMELY NEGATIVE!!  For example... they don't have a Costco... which, in my opinion, is a crime.  But if you know anything good about Yuma, I'd love to hear it.  If you don't know anything good about Yuma, well, pat me on the head, commiserate with me for awhile and then, if you don't mind, please tell me that it will be okay.  Because every time I start to give myself "the mantra" my voice quivers and my eyes start to get all watery... 

At least I get to take you all with me.  You won't mind going to Yuma inside of my computer, will you?  

Unfinished Business

I like to create.  It's fun to sit down with a few pieces of fabric and see what I can throw together.  Sometimes it's a mess and other times it turns out a-okay.  Unfortunately, I have a bad habit of starting a crafting project, but not finishing.  I thought about taking photos of all my items in progress, but decided against it.  First of all, I don't have the time to take that many pictures.  Second, I don't want to waste your time looking at that many pictures. Suffice it to say, my projects are varied and many.
But I've set a goal for this month.  I'm going to finish at least one project - Red's quilt.  I started it last summer when he complained that his old quilt was too hot.  It has a fleece back and it's a tad toasty for the summer months.  Unfortunately for my oldest child, he's like his mom.  He wants to sleep with a blanket of some kind.  I can't sleep unless I have some kind of fabric tucked all around me... he's the same way.  But when the desert summers hit... it can be a tad uncomfortable to be swaddled in fleece.
So I'm going to finish it.  He's enjoying the fleece for now, but it won't be long before the heat settles back into the valley and he'll be sweating it out.  This is what I have done so far... hopefully in a few weeks I'll be able to show you the whole top!  Wish me luck.

I'm Sorry

I can't remember how many times I've ranted and raved over the comment verification on blogs.  It's always a frustrating thing for me to have to type all those letters in... usually I have to type it in 3 or 4 times before I get it right.  My fingers mover faster than my brain.
But, I'm afraid that I've had to cave and put it up here.  I'm not getting nasty comments.  No haters or anything like that... just spam.  Lots of spam on my older posts.  And it annoys me to no end.  This is my place!  I don't want you to write about your "helpful, cheap, medical supplies" on my blog.  GET YOUR OWN BLOG!!
So, I'm sorry, but you'll have to type in those crazy little letters from now on to read my blog.  My deepest and humblest apologies.

That Extra Incentive

There is a 5K this May in Del Mar - just north of San Diego.  And, since I am insane, I've decided to run in this race.  Actually, I use the term "run" rather loosely here.  What I mean by "run" is actually more of a fast walk/slow jog.  I haven't run on purpose since I got out of high school.  My expectations for this race are fairly high - I want to finish and I don't want to puke.  Reach for the stars my friends!  Reach for the stars.
Unfortunately, my desire to do the race hasn't been enough to keep me motivated in my training schedule.  I've had really good excuses for not running every day... things like "I'm going shopping.  I'll do lots of walking there and that will count as my workout." or "Meh.  I don't wanna".  And so, oddly enough, I'm not progressing.
I decided that I needed to find something to motivate me to get up and get moving.  Apparently having good health isn't enough.  Meeting my goals for the race doesn't keep me moving either.  I thought about rewarding (a.k.a. bribing) myself somehow.  But, the only rewards I could think of were edible, fattening and therefore, highly counterproductive.
But I think I have now found a motivator that might actually work.  Three little words that for some reason strike fear into my heart: high school reunion.
I graduated in 1995 and there is a group trying to get a 15 year reunion put together.  Why is it that the thought of seeing people from high school makes me panic just a bit?  Are these people really going to judge me and my life?  Possibly.  Should I really care?  Probably not.  But I do.
And so, I'm going to attempt to loose a little weight.  And hopefully preparing for this race will be a good way to do it.
Have you attended any of your high school reunions?  Did it make you nervous?  Or am I just being weird??  (that's always a possibility...)

Content

This last week has been stressful.  Too many decisions to make.  Too many decisions made by others that have affected our lives. Blah.  Blah.  Blah.
Some friends invited us to head to the beach Saturday and I wasn't going to go.  Baby Girl had been sick and I wasn't sure if her cough would get worse in the cool, moist air.  I didn't want to drive over there.  My back hurt.  Whine.  Whine.  Whine.  Cry.  Cry.  Cry.

But when Saturday morning came around I decided we should all go.  We loaded the car and headed out into crazy Southern California traffic.  We had never been to Crescent Bay and we got a bit lost at one point... but, it was worth it...

Lots of playing on the beach.  Then, because it was one of the lowest tides of the year, we were able to really explore some of the tide pools.

At the end of the day the kids were finally done climbing on everything.  No one was throwing rocks, playing where they shouldn't, or fighting over toys.  And that's when it happened.  Just for a moment... really, less than a minute, I felt peace.

Unfortunately, screaming children pulled me out of my reverie.  But I was thankful for that brief moment.  There is just something about the beach...
Do you have a place like that?  A place where you can go and just feel peace... even if it's just for a moment?