Case closed

Today Randall and I closed on our first home. It has been a long complicated process but we are grateful to have it be over. After nine years of marriage and many, many moves later(you'd think we were a military family) we actually get to call a place our own. Finally we can paint and do whatever else we want with the place. The kids all have their own room. We can have an animal if we want(we don't) and we can stay there as long as we want. A crazy idea isn't it? So here's to us and our mortgage, hurray!

Peeeek....

A Boo!

I see you!
I want to run...
and feel the sun
right outside my window.


I put Kate down to watch out the window while we watered the lawn. When I came in she was playing in the curtains and being sooo cute. But then again, she is always cute.

Misc. Musings

I feel like a lot has been going on this week. It as been a emotional one with many ups and downs. Hold on to your hats while I fill you in. First of all I am thrilled that my talk is over. I had to speak on forever families. When the topic was assigned I thought okay no big deal. Then many things this week transpired to make it one of the most difficult talks to prepare and deliver. Of course my thoughts have been heavily on the Sherwoods this week as it is the year anniversary since little Drew returned home. I continue to be in awe of their faith and strength.
The funeral was a good occasion. Sad and difficult but also good. It was so great to see so many loved ones from my childhood. It was a good reminder that it's not only okay but good and healthy to express our love to not only our family members but our friends. I often feel hesitant to be affectionate to friends or tell them my care and concern from them thinking they might be scared away and think I am weird. But hey there could be alot worse than weird right?
I have been frustrated with the kids this week as well as you may have read but things are looking up. Today in particular has been a good day. This morning and last Sunday as soon as breakfast is over we head out for a nice leisurely walk. Ethan does ride his scooter and Anna her tryke, but it is so nice to not only enjoy the outdoors in the quiet (and cool) of the morning and talk to each other. We ended up walking for 45 minutes around the neighborhood. It felt like 20. The funny part was toward the end when Ethan had decided he had enough and didn't want to walk anymore. Of course me being the sweet mother that I am (wink,wink) took the opportunity to discuss the pioneers with Ethan and explain that they walked and walked and walked sometimes without shoes and on an empty tummy to boot. It was then that Ethan brought up the buffalo from the story in FHE and said we should make some mittens. It was funny.
When we got home from our walk while I prepared my primary lesson Rand made home-made oreos with the kids. What's a Sunday without a big fat treat right? I wish that weren't the case but what do you do. At least it's a reverent activity right? After dinner we had church, delivered some cookies and visited some friends. It was a good day. I feel tired and wish I would learn to go to bed at a decent hour. The only problem is that once the kids are asleep it is so nice to actually have to to think and do things, that I just never want it to end, and thus never go to bed. By the way I need a good book. Any recomendations? I still miss my book club in Texas. We tried one here years ago and it flopped. If anyone is in a good one and needs an addition let me know. Well I feel bored just thinking about this post. I will add some picture to spice it up. I am sad that my old blog is gone. what do you do.

R E S P E C T ?? What's that?

So I am annoyed. What does it take these days to have your children listen, obey and respect us, their parents? Is it just us? What have we done or not done to have our children act the way they often do? First off I am totally against the thought of being your child's best friend etc. I think that philosophy is only going to cause major problems later when you actually change your mind and realize it probably would have been better to be their parent and have your children learn to respect you. I of course also want my children to like me and love me but not by giving in to their every demand and never saying no and all that malarky! I don't want things to be like in the olden days where children were seen and not heard, but... sometimes I gotta tell ya it doesn't sound all that bad. When I was a child there was no way I would ever talk-back to my parents, EVER! My kids don't often talk back but they don't come in when I call them, don't want to turn off the T.V. when I ask them. Ask for food all day long. Cry that they are hungry at bedtime even though we warn them if they don't eat dinner that's it. Come out of their room again and again at bed time. The list goes on and on. I'm just frustrated is all. Where is the balance in teaching your children to understand the importance of respect and all the while not constantly yelling and wanting to break their spirits every other minute? I do think our generation has done a poor job at somehow allowing children to be the tail that wags the dog.

Tonight on the way home from a fun family outing Kate fell asleep in the car because it was her bedtime. I told Ethan and Anna to leave her alone and let her sleep. Of course they continued to poke at her, tickle her feet etc. I told them I was completely serious that she was tired and to let her sleep. Just as we pull into the drive way and I am thinking how easy it will be to just put her in her bed and she will sleep I look back to see Anna smacking her on the chest to wake her up. What??? I was soooo mad at her. she knew full well that she wasn't to even touch her and here she is purposely smacking her making her wide awake and upset to boot. Of course I pulled her out of the car and got in her face to tell her how upset i was with her and then she pulls a typical Anna and because I made her upset she tries to manipulate the situations as usual and says "I can't walk" (I pulled her out of the car at the mailbox to talk to her and she didn't have her flip flops on, heaven forbid, so she couldn't walk up the drive way in bare feet, even though she walks barefoot all day long) So I told her that was too bad and we were going in the house so she just stands there screaming like crazy. Randall being the nice parents was going to go pick her up and carry her in but I told him no way, that she was not going to control the situation. Once she realized I was serious when the garage door started down she came running and screaming for Daddy of course. I told her Daddy wasn't going to save her tonight. When she came in I immediately put her in PJ's and told her it was time for bed. I did tell her I was sorry for getting mad but that she needed to learn to obey. I know I'm going on and on but help. Do your kids act like this?? Is there a boarding school nearby that takes 3 year olds? Advice...please...help?

Sad but Grateful

This afternoon I found out that a family friend was killed in an accident this morning. How tragic and sad. Driving home I was so jumpy, watching every light and every car doing my best to be overly aware of everything around me. It's sad that these traumatic experiences remind us of all that we are are blessed with. It's also such a reminder at how quickly your whole life can change. My heart aches for his sweet wife knowing she probably kissed him goodbye thinking he'd be home for dinner... How grateful I am for the gospel of Jesus Christ that allows us to be sealed together forever as families. You better believe that I held Rand a little longer tonight when he got home, and gave the kids extra kisses before bed. I hope tomorrow I will remember to be a little kinder, a little more patient and loving to those around me because you just never know what your future holds.

Wallpaper

We just finished having family home evening. As usual we were trying to keep the kids attention and occasionally checking to see if they had actually heard anything we read. I was reading a story about a family who used the hair from some dead buffalo to spin yarn to make mittens. The mittens were used to keep the hands of the stone cutters warm while helping build the Nauvoo temple in the winter. Ethan didn't seem like he was listening so Randall stopped and asked "Ethan, what did they make with the yarn they had spun?" Ethan thought for a moment, and then confidently replied... Wallpaper!

Celebrate

Our 4th of July was a great day. We left the house about 6am to make it to the balloon launch. We found a great parking place and didn't have to walk far. The temperature was perfect about 70 or so and didn't even need a jacket. It was a beautiful morning and being there with all the people made the morning feel festive and exciting. From there we went out to breakfast and ended up at Cracker Barrel. The funny thing was we pulled into the parking lot just in time to see my oldest brother Jeff and his family getting our of their car. They had gone to see the balloons as well and had a hankering for cracker barrel. We don't see each other often, so if was fun to sit down and have some time to really talk. Breakfast was good and the company even better.
After breakfast we headed home to put Kate down for a nap and lay around a bit ourselves. After lunch and a nap for everyone(one of the highlights of the day), we headed over to my parents for what else? A BBQ! We had good food and the kids did a little swimming while the adults tried to stay cool. It was also a special day because Thursday my Mom finished her last radiation treatment. the last several months of Chemo and radiation have taken their toll on her but she was strong and finished. Go Mom!
After dinner we did some fire works and sparklers and managed not to have any incidents. Then we headed home to do more fireworks with our neighbors.
When we finally crawled into bed I was happy and content with the day we had. If only the kids would sleep in, in the morning. Nope, no such luck.

Pictures to come...they wouldn't upload :(

3 year olds in glasses, Argh!

Who would have known that having a child in glasses could be soooo expensive, not to mention time consuming. You may be thinking, what?? Well I believe that Anna started wearing glasses the beginning of May after paying $75 dollars for an eye exam. After said eye exam we paid $300 for her first pair of glasses, and that was after a 25% discount for filling the prescription at the Dr's office. about 5 minutes after she was wearing the glasses we went somewhere else to have them adjusted. a week later another adjustment. A few weeks later a broken nose pad so a repair and and adjustment later we were in the clear. A week later another broken nose pad. Get the picture. We were spending more time in the car and at the eye Dr. that I ever would have imagined. Well the glasses frames we originally chose were chipping like crazy and when Rand and I came back from New York, Anna's lenses looked like they had been run over by a truck. So on to eyeglasses pair #2. This time I was smarter and found Lenscrafters which only charges 50% of the frames and lenses for kids under 12 because they know how hard kids are on glasses and how often they need replacing etc. I bit the bullet and bought new frames and lenses and with the 50% discount paid just $200 dollars. Well we picked up those glasses on Monday of this last week and yesterday found those glasses on Anna's bedroom floor. They were all twisted and looked like someone had stepped on them. The tech tried to repair them but broke them trying. On to pair #3. Good thing we only had to pay half of what we paid because of our warranty.
I know she's only 3 but heavens to betsy in 2 months and $700 dollars later, her glasses are going to put us in the poor house. If this keeps up we're going to have to put her in the titanium anti break frames that aren't at all cute. Oh, and we had a check up for $35 dollars and 3 minutes with the eye doc this week. He said everything looks good and to come back in 3 months... but I don't think so, maybe 6!

4th of July

So I know this is coming a few days early but the nostalgia of the 4th is already settling in. Oh how I am looking forward to this wonderful day which is probably my most favoritist holiday! Have you ever seen the movie Sandlot? Well there is the greatest 4th of July scene in it ever. Totally worth seeing. My kids call the movie "sunblock" and they love it (even if it does have a few choice words). For some reason the 4th gets me all giddy and excited, I think even more so than Christmas and without all the money and presents to worry about. This year we are planning on some of our favorite traditions. We love to go see the early morning balloon launch. Then traditionally we go somewhere fun for breakfast. Then we are hoping for a big fat nap followed by a BBQ and yes I am rather adament about this small detail. Yes it is supposed to be 101 degress Friday and who wants to grill? Me, Me!! My parents said why don't we do hoagies, or pizza. What?? That's no fun it's the 4th for Pete's sake. We have to BBQ. My sister in law gave me some good advice about holidays this year around Christmas time because I always have such high expectations and then feel major holiday let down. She told me I needed to lower my expectations and then I would enjoy my holidays so much more. At first I was distraught at this little piece of advice, but have come to realize...she's right. Thanks Lindy, and I am sure that Randall thanks you since holidays can be rather stressful for him as well wondering how the day is going to go and how I am going to react to it not going as I had hoped or planned. So we have our plan in place and I am hopefu,l but if I don't feel the nostalgia I feel while watching sandlot I have decided that I will not in fact have a heart attack or anything of that nature. It will be okay. Sorry to my family who wants to bring hoagies or pizza, bring what you will, but just know that I will be barbequing, and eating chips and and homemade ice cream and...well I guess you get the picture. Food aside, my aunt sent a letter to us today talking about her love for God and her country among other things. It was so nice to read. My uncle was a chaplain in the Air Force so she really understands what it means to be proud to be an American. I echo her sentiments and am also grateful for this wonderful holiday that reflects the wonderful country we have the privile to live in and to worship however we choose. I recently went to a city parade with the kids and surprisingly became quite emotional as the motorcops lined up and led our flag down the street. We loved living in Belgium and learned so much, but upon our return were reminded of all the priviledge and freedoms we have here in America. Today at the library we got a great book entitled "I Pledge Allegience", it explains all the words in the pledge of allegience so that kids understand what they are actually saying and the meaning behind it. Quite insightful, I highly reccomend it. Hope you all have a wonderfull safe, with-only- moderate- expecations holiday!