One more... I almost forgot these!!

V loves to play with the kitchen towels. I mean absolutely loves them. We have to keep them from her or they'd all be dirty in one day, maybe even one hour. She wears them around her neck like a scarf or over her head. She absolutely loves them. One day this is how I found her and I happened to have my phone. I know I will forever cherish this moment in time that I was able to capture.

Some of my blessings: The best family ever!

Wednesday, the day before K, C, and J went with their dad, we decided to have some family time.  No working allowed.  CK, V, and I did go to pie night at a dear friend's home, but we left early and came home to watch a movie, have a fire, drink hot chocolate, and just enjoy being together.

After we wrote for the last time on the Thankful Wall, I looked over at the stairs and this is what I saw - so I had to grab my phone to take a picture!

This picture is awesome.  I love the boys' faces.  I love them posing together.  I love the love that we all share.  Makes my heart sing.

And the fire.  Still silly faces, but all three just love fires.  I am thankful that we can have them on occasion.  I am also grateful that we don't have to rely on the fire for heat, especially since our fireplace was definitely built for decorative use not for practical use.  Last week, one of our heaters went out.  It was the beginning of one of the coldest weeks in a long time.  It was also the night we were hosting dessert group for some of our ward.  Luckily, we were able to get a repair man over and he was able to find and fix the problem.  Otherwise, we all would have lived upstairs.....down was getting so cold!

Again, I am so blessed.  I have a great family, a comfortable home, all the necessities of life, and a relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I was beaming through the grocery store today as I realized that this is my fourth Christmas with CK.  I am so lucky.  I love him so much.  He treats me so well.  My heart beats a little faster when he looks over at me with love in his eyes.  I am so grateful for the love he has for me.  I am one blessed woman.  From heartache to happiness, I am so blessed.

Thanksgiving (for us, Tuesday November 26th)

This year, we had Thanksgiving on Tuesday.  We did it all like any other Thanksgiving ( except with no parade and less football).  We cooked all day.  We ate until we were stuffed.  We celebrated with family.  We were so grateful. 

The reason we celebrated early is that our four oldest kids were going to be with their other parents on Thanksgiving day.  K especially asked for "Fake Thanksgiving" with all the home cooking (especially the sweet potatoes).  A was still with her other family in St. Louis, but we did have K, C, and J with us. 

Thankfully, my sister (S) and her family made plans to join us (and help with the food!).  I am so grateful every moment for family close by.  The kids love their cousins and I sure love my sister and her husband and kiddos.  It may have been Tuesday, but it sure felt like Thanksgiving!

We also had a chance to Skype with my parents and they got to see all of their crazy grandkids at once, except A.  It was fun.  And, it felt so much like Thanksgiving.  Smelled like Thanksgiving.  Kids were excited like Thanksgiving.  Lots of laughter like Thanksgiving.  It was awesome.

Then, for "Real" Thanksgiving....CK and V and I hung out and relaxed.  We watched football.  We ate leftovers.  We went to some friends for pie and games.  We thoroughly enjoyed the day.  We missed our extended family, particularly CK's family as most of them gathered together in Idaho.  We missed them and would have loved to be there.  There is no denying, however, how very much we enjoyed our rare day of relaxation!

Thankful wall this year was as awesome as ever.  This year, I had A write some things on leaves and we taped one of hers up each night as we wrote our daily things to add to it.  I loved having her be part of it, even from a distance.  It is something I will definitely continue!  I might take a picture of it...but then I'd have to cover all the proper names on there.  Not sure I am up to that. 

I am blessed.  So very blessed.  The name of my blog is so true:  I do indeed have a very good life!

K's Piano recital

K had a piano recital this week:  Monday, November 25, 2013.  She is so talented.  It is hard to believe that she has only been taking lessons for just over three years.  She is good!  I love to hear her practice.  I love to hear her play.  She loves it too and that makes paying for lessons so worth it.  She has become the most advanced student of her teacher now, which means she plays last in the recital.  This gave her almost an hour to get nervous!  She is almost ready (as far as talent goes) to move on to a more advanced teacher, but she loves her teacher, I love her teacher, and she is so busy with high school and all that entails that more advanced is not in the cards right now.  She has reduced lessons to only twice a month and it is difficult for her to practice with her busy life, but she manages to make the music sound so beautiful. 

This recital she played:  "Guitars of Seville" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?"  Beautiful.  Absolutely beautiful!

14 months!!

Crazy girl keeps growing. I love her so much. I am constantly amazed at her abilities as she grows. A few weeks ago, she learned to walk backwards. It isn't such a novelty anymore, but she sure loved it. I don't remember the other kids going through that stage. Either she learned it earlier or loves it more.

I am blessed. Love being Mom. No better title in the world!

Fall!!!

Feeling quite blessed (and quite sore):

Yesterday afternoon, I tripped coming into my house while carrying V asleep. Something had fallen in the garage, but I didn't see it and tripped over it.

I am quite bruised up, but okay. I am feeling more and more sore every passing hour and new bruises keep showing up but I have no broken bones and I am okay. I slept better than I expected (between this preggo belly and my bruises). No new bruises, but, boy! Am I sore everywhere this morning.

V was scared and what a way to wake up! She is fine.

Baby seems fine-he is moving like normal. :)

Feeling grateful! I feel so very blessed!

J's artwork

There are some things the kids do that I never want to forget. His picture he drew yesterday at school is one of those things.

He is in first grade. He has a love of penguins. This is how he describes this picture: The penguins are having a war: the blue and white hat penguins versus the green and red hat penguins. The polar bear takes advantage of them being distracted and comes along saying, "yumm." In the water, the seal is also preparing to have a yummy lunch.

I love it! It shows his personality, his creativity, and his artistic ability.

So, I posted this via my Blogger app on my phone.  I cannnot---via phone or computer get these pictures to be the right direction.  So Sorry.  :( 

11-12-13

What a special date!  If you know me, you know that I absolutely LOVE numbers.  What a blessing to have gotten to live through all these super fun dates that won't come again for a hundred years, like 1-1-1 and 1-2-3, and 7-8-9, etc.  Today is one of those cool numbers:  11-12-13!

This last weekend was a St. Louis weekend.  We had such a great time.  I love seeing A.  I have been reflecting recently on a comment made in passing by an acquaintance when CK and I had just begun dating...that it was good that CK only had one daughter...he could forget about her and marry me and have my kids and be good.  I am sure that the comment was made in innocence, but it shocked me then and really shocks me now.  My life is so much more complete to have her as one of my daughters.  I am so grateful that we get to see her at least once a month.  It is important to me and important to CK.  I love her.  We had a great few days of reconnection.  We didn't do anything extraordinary, we just loved being together and I will always cherish this. I think that is one of the reasons that I am sad that this will be the last time in a while that I get to fly and see her. 

December, she comes here for Christmas.
January, too close to due date to fly...CK will probably go alone
February, due date and newborn time....hopefully CK can still go, maybe he will take V with him and leave new baby with me.
March, we would love to have A come for Spring Break.  We will see if that works!
April, Maybe I will brave taking both babies on a trip....maybe not yet
May, We will probably get to her bring her here as school gets out before Memorial Day and that usually works out well
June, July, and August are summer months and we will bring her here as much as we can
September, we might be able to make this one work, but as soon as V turns two, we will be paying for three plane tickets.....not sure that that is in our budget.

So....it is only November and I might not fly for another 10 months.  Crazy.  I have gotten so used to flying and so has V, but this is the life that we have chosen and that we love!!!  We are so blessed!!!

And don't forget that it is 11-12-13....we are blessed there too!!!!  :)

Family Party October 2013

I realized that I talked about our October Family Party, I even posted regarding the invitation, but I didn't follow-up.  It has been nearly two weeks now.  It was so much fun.  It was so worth going.

So, "Check-it-out" meant that we first went to the library.  I am lucky that all five kids love to read.  It was the perfect start and all five were super excited to go.  The only down side to this family party was that CK's work computer came down with a virus or something and everything froze up.  Since it is a work computer, THEY have to be the ones to fix it...confidentiality, I am sure.  CK works remotely.  He is based in St. Louis.  And he had a big project he was finishing up, in addition to A being here and the family party plan.  Things just don't go wrong at opportune times, they happen when life is already crazy.  Luckily, his work has a small satellite location a little over an hour from us.  He took off, hoping they would be able to help him.  They could, although they couldn't finish it Friday and he had to go back Monday before his flight with A home.  More crazy!

It meant he missed the library, but he was indeed able to join us on our way to our next part:  "putt-putt-ing around," which, of course, meant going miniature golfing.  We chose to do this before dinner as it does get cooler when the sun goes down and we didn't want to freeze and hear complaining kids that they were cold.  It wasn't even that cold really....but it was better to do it a little earlier.

 K made a hole-in-one on the first hole!

 V stayed in the stroller the whole time and did very well watching us all play.  The four older kids played together ahead of us and CK and I played together.  It was a little bit like a date - although we did have four kids in front of us that we were responsible for and one in the stroller with us.  Still, we will take what we can get!

 They had a few tokens to use playing the arcade games, which they all seemed to enjoy.

And our final stop was "An Underground Train," aka Subway.  All seemed to enjoy their meals.  We loved being together.  I have such a great family and it is moments like these when we are all together and we can put aside the hum-drum routine of life that I cherish.  I am so blessed!

Cutting Up My Mommy-Card

Ugh!  Most of the time....even through the ups and downs and moments of stress and/or frustration with my kiddos, I LOVE being Mom!  Love it! Love it! Love it!

These last two weeks have been tough.  Mostly because of my little V.  She is very much in terror stage and I cannot accomplish anything when she is awake.  UGH!

But....worse than that (for me at least), she has not been sleeping any more than 15-20 minutes for her daily nap.  UGH!  UGH! UGH!  I am pregnant.  I am tired.  I get up at 5:30 to drive to seminary every day.  I have older kids' activities after school many days of the week.  I MUST nap.  And, I am not.  Today yet again she only slept for a very short time.  I was ready to give up and cut up my Mommy-card.  Sometimes I feel like being done with the whole thing. 

But, Mommy is an Eternal calling for which I am so grateful.  I love V.  I love J, A, C, and K too.  I also love our little guy who has yet to be born and yet to be named.  I love them all.  I feel so blessed to get to share my life with these wonderful spirits that have come to my family.  I am truly blessed.

Quilt block of the month

This block is only one quarter of the way done. Yet, I'm still very impressed. V let me work at the church for two hours today. I have to make three more of these squares, and sew them together. Hopefully, I will be able to make time during the next month to complete the square. They are very eclectic in their fabrics, because I'm using the fabrics are used in the kids' quilts. I wanted the memories. I wanted them to all tie in together.

General Conference October 2013

This is more of a personal post for me, since these are things I would like to keep and treasure as the years go by.  This year for General Conference, we tried something new and each of us wrote something that we learned or felt an impression about with each talk.  We each had different color sticky notes and then would add them to the picture.  We have left them up nearly a month now as a reminder and to share with A, since she was with her Mom during General Conference.  Although I love the kids learning more about the prophets and apostles, including V, it is time for these full-size pictures to come down.  They will have to use the little ones for a bit.

But, before I did that, I wanted to keep pictures of not only what they said, but their handwriting and how they said it. (I guess there is a little pack-rat in me.  I will throw the stickies away and save the pictures for April, but there is a sentimental part of me that would cherish keeping these notes.  I am glad the organized and clean part of me is overruling!)

President Monson (three different talks):

• CK:  "Show increased kindness and do the work of the Lord."  "Meet challenges head on and know that others have passed the same way, endured, and overcame."  "The Lord will help us in our missionary efforts if we act in faith."
• Me:  "Frequently heavenly virtue of patience is required (through trials)."  "NOW is the time to work together to bring souls to Christ."  "We have been spiritually fed this conference."
• K:  "Now is the time!  We must act in faith."  "Patience is a heavenly virtue.  We should be grateful for all our blessings."
• C:  "Trials make you better."  "He is always with us.  We always need Him."  "  Missionary work growing.  Help with missionary fund."
• J:  "We have 15,000,00 members of the church."

 President Eyring:

• CK:  "To have happiness in the family - Enjoy forgiveness, - Accept and magnify callings, - Follow the Spirit, - Show love."
• Me:  "Serving others always produces miracles."
• K:  "There is not one of that He does not care for.  There is joy guaranteed for the faithful."
• C:  "Accept calls from the Lord."
• J:  "Happiness is to live happy, love things of God and things that are good." (as I interpreted from his writing....he is in first grade...sometimes I am not sure what he meant)

 

President Uchtdorf:

• CK:  "The blessings of the gospel far outweigh the sacrifices.  The Lord's way is perfect, but he uses imperfect people to run His church."
• Me:  "Respect others making their own decisions regarding membership in the church."
• K:  "The righteous avoid many of the trials of life.  Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.  The Church is designed to nourish the imperfect."
• C:  "There is a place for everyone in our church."
• J:  "Be good so .(neither of us could figure this one out!)...the judgement."

 

President Packer:

• CK:  "A gospel-centered home is a safe place to raise a family.  The scriptures hold the keys to peace and spiritual protection."
• Me:  "Safe place to raise families = gospel centered home."
• K:  "Make scripture reading a part of your routine.  All scripture is written by revelation and inspiration from God.  Be not afraid, only believe."
• C:  "Righteousness is more powerful than wickedness.  'You are late.'  'Yes, but I am clean.'"
• J:  "Look and you will receive."

Elder Perry spoke in the Priesthood session, so we didn't take notes as a family.  This was a sad day for J, as he loves Elder Perry. 

 Elder Nelson:

• CK:  "Make wise decisions in the way we use our bodies.  Be master over our emotions."
• Me:  "Each day brings opportunity for decisions for eternity."
• K:  "You are never too old to change or too young to learn."
• C:  "Decisions determine destiny."
• J:  "I love it!"

 Elder Oaks:

• CK:  "Have NO other Gods before me.  God's plan is for all His children.  Courage not compromise."
• Me:  "Ultimate treasure = Children and posterity."
• K:  "Serving God should be our first priority.  Our doctrines never change."
• C:  "Choose your priorities:  Family, high standards, obey God's laws, be courageous."
• J:  "The 10 commandments."

Elder Ballard:

• CK:  "Make the decision to do missionary work as Christ asked us.  It's impossible to fail when we do our best.  The key is love."
• Me:  "Key of missionary work is to be inspired of the Lord."
• K:  "Make the decision to do what we've been asked to do."
• C:  "Pray for missionary work."
• J:  "Lose yourself.  Pray for missionary opportunities."

Elder Scott:

• CK:  "Learn to recognize the power of the Atonement.  We all need it.  Fill your life with service."
• Me:  "Important to fortify weak areas to create strength."
• K:  "Breaking a covenant with the Lord is NEVER justified."
• C:  "We can use the Atonement to help us block satan out."
• J:  "Be strong."

Elder Hales:

• CK:  "Through the General Conference talks, the Spirit can tell me what I should be focusing on.  We can be taught what areas we need to perfect.  Then we need to go to work!"
• Me:  "To Youth:  Promises-if you listen, the Lord will tell you what He wants you to do in your life."
• K:  "Have patience and faith."  " 'Prepare your minds for the Morrow.' "
• C:  "General Conference is very good and helpful."
• J:  "I tell you young men if you are obedient, the Spirit will ...(crayon on sticky note!  Can't read the rest!)"

Elder Holland:

• CK:  "Be hopeful and strong in the face of adversity and depression.  Hold on in the love of God.  Be compassionate."
• Me:  "Be merciful and not judgemental to those that suffer from any type of mental illness."
• K:  "His love is there for you whether you deserve it or not."  and "Patiently enduring is part of our mortal education."
• C:  "Believe in miracles.  Hope is never lost.  Happier days ahead." and "Be grateful for small victories.  Be patient."
• J:  His was a little silly, what he remembered from the talk, "Not like a bad hair day"....meaning that depression/mental illness is deeper than a bad hair day.

Elder Bednar:

• CK:  "Blessings from tithing are significant, but subtle.  The Lord's way is simple."
• Me:  "Tithing brings significant, but subtle blessings."
• K:  "We can be blessed with confidence and conviction.  We shouldn't procrastinate the day of our repentance."
• C:  "Tithes/offerings bring important blessings that are significant yet subtle.:
• J:  "Significant."

Elder Cook:

• CK:  "Bondage can take many forms.  Avoid them at all costs."
• Me:  "We must work to improve the moral culture that surrounds us."
• K:  "The righteous must help the Lord establish His church.  Righteous living is a prerequisite to assisting the Lord."
• C:  "Stay away from things that will hold you in bondage."
• J:  His was a picture....I cannot tell what it was.

Elder Christofferson:

• CK:  "Women play a vital role in the church and in the family.  Don't take them for granted."
• Me:  "Mothers can exert influence unequal on her children."
• K:  "There is no superior career than parenthood.  Take care that your language is clean, not coarse."
• C:  "Women are important."
• J:  "I've been..(not sure what this word says).... by beautiful women"

Elder Anderson:

• CK:  "The power of the Priesthood is available to all."
• Me:  "Keep covenants = Receive the power of the Priesthood."
• K:  "Worthiness is central to receiving Priesthood blessings."
• C:  "The Priesthood is everywhere in the church."
• J:  "Baptism"

This really was such a wonderful idea.  I am so grateful that someone thought of it and shared it so I could find it.  I love the focus it gives as we watch and I love the Spirit it brings even months after (I am finally finishing this in December!).  I love noticing what each of us took from the exact same talk.  Sometimes it was the same, sometimes very different.  Either way, it shows how we each received our own promptings from the Spirit regarding our personal needs.  So cool.

While CK and I did not do this, each of the kids sometimes wrote a few things down when other General Authorities were speaking.  I do not have each talk correlated with what they wrote (Although K wrote down who spoke), but in the interest of keeping this history complete, I want to write them down:

• K:  (Ulisses Soares):  "It is our duty to try to be perfect.  It is possible for us to leave our weaknesses behind."
• K:  (Sister Stephens):  "Blessings are made possible through the Atonement."
• C:  "1.  !!!!  2.  Call Missionaries.  3.  Invite friend to activity."
• C:  "Dedication, perseverance, self-discipline."
• J:  "Faith always is pointing forward."
• J:  "We are memorizing the Proclamation."
• J:  "Memorizing is not bad, but good."
• J: "I love it!"
• J:  "!"  (If you happened to have watched/listened to/read General Conference, you know exactly which talk he was referring to!)

A is here!!!!

It is such a great weekend for us! A is here! Our family is so complete now. I always say I have five children, but I don't usually say 1/5 of my heart is in St. Louis. My heart is complete now.  All five children are under one roof for a short time.  I will take it and treasure it.  I have cleared out my schedule so I can just be Mom to all of them, including (and especially) A.

























It is Thursday, which has become my eat lunch with J day.  So, A came too.  They were so very excited to be together.  Each asked if I could just take J home.  He is in first grade.  His teacher said they weren't learning anything new this afternoon.  He can miss.  I took him home.  He and A have been playing and playing together - time they wouldn't have gotten due to school and J going to his dad's this weekend.

There is a tender mercy this weekend that makes my heart so full.  XDH and I sometimes have things come up and we help each other out by making sure the kids are with us even if by the decree it is not "our turn."  This Friday, XDH had something come up and so we get to have a night together as a family - one that we were not expecting (He will still take them all day Saturday, but we will take whatever is offered!).  With Stake Conference this weekend, as well as 3/5 of our kids going to their dad, and school nights, we didn't expect that we would have an evening together.  SURPRISE and TENDER MERCY!!!  We do....so, we will do a "Family Party" with the entire family.  Such a blessing.

The invitation:

“Check it out!”....You are invited to another Family Party. 

Don't be too slow...we won't take any “Putt-Putting” around!

After the fun, we will enjoy yummy food together on “An 

Underground Train”

Hope you are ready! We want YOU there!!

I am so very blessed.  My life still isn't what I had planned....but in so very many ways it is even better.  I just couldn't see the full picture.

Answers....Draft from January 2010

I was just rereading a part of my blog. I used to wonder if I would ever stop crying or get over the divorce. I asked all my divorce friends to help me along. Now, I am here. Yep. Not crying anymore. Yep. So happy now. I didn't realize how beautiful the future could be. It is hard to be a divorcee when you are so adamant against divorce, but, for me, this divorce has actually been so good for me. I couldn't see it at the time, but now, looking back, I see that I am actually better off now. I am so excited about the present. I am so excited about the future. I get to be who I want to be and I love that person.

(Found this in "Drafts," written 1/10/2010....I already published the 2010
blog book, but I wanted to save this moment of joy and remember all the tender mercies.....so I will include it now...more than 3 years later and rejoice in all the blessings I have received.)

Finally Fall!!!

It is so beautiful.  Finally highs in the low 60's, although later in the week it will get as high as 76.  It has been months and months, however since I have not seen at least one temp over 80 degrees in the 10 day forecast.

To my Canadian, Coloradan, Utahn, Idahoan, and other colder climate friends, my warm-blooded kids would absolutely crack you up.  K has been "freezing" for a couple of days (she was the last couple of weeks too).  She is bemoaning the fact that we don't live in a warm climate!!  Ha Ha!

I love it.  Fall has always been my favorite season, but it doesn't feel like fall when the weather is in the 90's.  It just doesn't.  The one bad thing this Fall/Winter is that I have never been pregnant in the colder months....I don't have long pants or long sleeves in maternity styles and it is difficult for me to buy some knowing that this baby is likely my last and that I can only wear maternity close for a little less than four months.  It just doesn't seem like a good use of my budget.

One good thing about warmer weather is that watching C's football games has been very pleasant (sometimes too hot, though!).  It might not feel like football season without the cooler weather, but it is nice when you have a baby for sure.

In other news, V has decided to assert her independence....and this usually means refusing to eat.  I don't know if her appetite is also down or she is just enjoying being able to refuse food.  She also lets us know what she wants and throws a fit when we don't give it to her.  My sweet girl has a not-so-sweet side sometimes.

J is such a good reader now.  He still doesn't love to read (Is he my child?), unless the books are about animals, then he can read for quite a while.  I am glad he has found something that interests him!  On the bus a couple of weeks ago, he had a substitute bus driver and he became nervous that he'd missed his stop.  He told me that he couldn't remember all the words, but he kept singing "The Lord is my light, I shall not fear..." over and over to help him be calm.  So cool.  What faith!!!  Love it.

As for A, she is loving 4th grade. She tried out for choir and made it. Woo hoo!!! She is such a trouper....going from 0 siblings to 6 siblings within two years' time. And she is great....she is a great big sister. She is a great little sister. She is amazing! We only wish we could see her more.

C is one busy kid. He does football, band, scouts, YM. He is at school by 6:30 most days to have football practice. He comes home late many days for one reason or another. For the most part, he handles it all in stride. Sometimes it is overwhelming, but with the amount on his plate....that is to be expected.

K is finding high school is not middle school. She is doing very well in all her classes, but she has noticed a definite difference in the standards most high schoolers keep. It has been a struggle. She is amazing though. She is a light in our home. I cannot express how proud of her I am. She makes her own choices, even when she has to stand alone.

Baby Boy is growing and growing.  My belly has gotten bigger quickly enough that I frequently don't leave enough space for me to get by a table or counter and end up bumping into it.  I am happy for him to come to our family.  I also have bittersweet feelings about him probably being our last.  I am so ready to never be pregnant again, but I am also so sad that this stage in my life is probably over.  Mostly, though, I am ready to move on and enjoy the new phases of life ahead of me.  We already have challenges with babies - high school and kids that go back and forth from one parent to the other.  All of this make scheduling incredibly difficult.  

So, this is us.  It is Fall and it feels so good.  I love my family.  I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I feel so very blessed beyond measure.  I truly (as my blog title states) have a good life!  :)

Time Out for Women 2013

This past weekend, K and I got to attend Time Out for Women and Girls.  It was awesome.  I am so glad that we went.  I have gone to Time Out for Women many times and I highly recommend it.  It has never failed to uplift my heart and touch my soul.  I try to make it a weekend away, even if it happens to be close to home.

We were lucky that the conference was a mere 30-45 minutes away, but K and I did get a hotel room to relax from the rest of our lives and spend time together.

I knew a LOT of people that were there, my old ward, my new ward, my sister and her ward, other friends, etc.  Friday night, we got to sit with this wonderful group of women from my current ward.  I love them all.  I would love to get to know them better even.  

 This is K and I before leaving our hotel.   How I love this girl!  She is amazing and I am so glad that she is my daughter.

 We drove over with friends.  This is the other girl, M.  I am glad that she and K were able to get to know each other better.  Their family recently moved into our ward and we think they are pretty special. 

 They had some fun props with which to take silly pictures, so we did:  M, K, me, and G.  We put them down and did a serious one too.  :)

On Saturday, I got to sit with one of my best friends in the world, J.  I just love her so much.  As we sat together and some of the talks focused on the deep trials of life, I couldn't help but remember J and her support of me before, during, and after the divorce.  She has been there for me every single step of the way.   She has cried tears of heartache with me, she has given me sound advice on the days that I did not think I could go on, and she has rejoiced in my joys as my life has now been turned around.    She is one of my angels that went through it all with me.  I am so blessed. 

I learned a lot of things from the conference.  I have pages of notes to review and help me as I try to better my life.  One thing that I noticed was just the immense peace and joy and comfort of the Spirit as I sat there with so many women of faith that all want to be better just like I want to improve.  The Spirit was tangible.

As mentioned before, we also hosted a farewell party for good friends after the Time Out conference.  Thank goodness for CK.  He cleaned/tidied/prepared our home while I was away.  When I got home, all I had to do was decorate.  The chairs were up.  The couches were moved.  The floor was vacuumed.  He is amazing.  We could not have hosted it without him.  I am so glad we did.  It was last minute and I know many could not make it, but this was the only time to have Bishop S be there too.  I love this family.  And, it is obvious that others do too....for they came.  They came straight from the airport.   They came from Time Out.  They came with kids that were tired.  They came to wish this good family lots of love and best wishes for the future.  They came.  Speaking of tangible, the love that was present in our home was tangible.  I was blessed to be a witness to this event.

And, speaking of being blessed, I must have a nap every day to make it through Seminary and pregnancy and life.  I didn't get a nap Thursday due to dentist appointments.  I didn't get a nap Friday due to leaving for Time Out.  We were up late Friday.  We awoke relatively early Saturday.  I did not get a nap Saturday either.  And I drove and came straight home to be hostess at the farewell party.  YET....I truly believe in miracles.  I was not overly tired.  I was not worn out.  I was not exhausted.  I know that the Lord made it possible for me to do with little sleep.  I could not have physically handled yesterday on my own.  He made it up.  It is another evidence to me of two things:  the Lord also loves the S family and wants them to know, and the Lord also loves me and showed it by taking care of me.  I believe in miracles. 

Not-So Crazy Week???

This week has been not as crazy.  That is good, but the funny thing is not as crazy means, among other things, a choir concert on Monday, a football game on Tuesday, Dentist appointments on Thursday, Time Out for Women on Friday and Saturday, and so forth.  It is a really crazy life I lead when all this seems like a "not-so-crazy" week.

K had her first high school choir concert on Monday evening.  V had a fever and so CK stayed home with her.  He was sad to miss it.  It was very well done too.  I guess because I have only seen her perform in elementary and middle school choirs, I was shocked just at the decorum of the students.  All the songs were beautiful.  The transitioning from one choir to the next was well done and silent.  I was very impressed.  One thing that K loves about her choir teacher is that he always explains to them what the songs are about and their backgrounds as they practice.  He did this also in the program as well.  I appreciated it also.  It just meant more to understand what the songs were about.

 K had told me to be able to see her to sit on the right side.  I did.  I guess I chose the wrong part of the right side....I rarely could see her since there was another young lady right in front of her.  I have a couple of shots where the young lady moved and I could see K a little.  She is on the very right, fourth row up if you count the floor.  I can see her face a little in this picture.  Her choir sang "Beneath the African Sky" and "Was Ever a Dream a Drum?"  Both were beautiful.

 Then Tuesday was C's football game.  It is one of my favorite parts of the week.  I love to watch him play and he absolutely loves it.  He is #21.  He plays almost exclusively offense as a running back.  He is pretty good.  He is getting better at blocking to let others run as well now and that is making him more well-rounded.

 I love V with the sun on her back.  She is such a cutie.

 C is out there on one side of the quarter back.  I am not sure if he ended up running the ball in this play or not.  I actually think it was him that was the ball carrier.  I don't think I will ever get tired of hearing his name over the loud speaker.  It thrills me every time.

 And the game is over....another victory.  They are undefeated this year.  This is the first game where they even allowed the other team to score any points.  Makes for one happy kid.  I am sure their first loss will be devastating.

This weekend has turned a little more crazy.  K and I are going to Time Out for Women.  I am excited.  I have some good friends that are going and we are leaving Friday about 3:00 and staying there overnight (Thank you hotel points!), not to return until 5-5:30 Saturday.  The event goes late Friday and begins early Saturday....still so worth it, especially time with K.

BUT....I didn't know I would busy myself Saturday night as well.  I have a very good friend who is moving away.  :(  She has been my friend for a long time.  Her husband was my Bishop for years, including beginning at the time of our divorce mediation, going through the divorce, being my spiritual adviser throughout my single days, and witnessing my marriage to CK.  So, both of them have meant a lot to me.  Some of their kids are similar ages to mine and we have spent hours swimming together and talking.  I cannot express how much their family means to me.

Well, when I discovered that no one was throwing this amazing family a farewell party, I was stunned.  Their move has come up quickly and Bishop S is not home often so coordinating was tough.  The only night that worked.....you guessed it....Saturday night.  It will be crazy to get home about 5:30 and open my doors for an open house beginning at 7:00, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  It means that much to me. 

Finally, I found a picture that I had never used on memory card.  I love it.  I have to use it now.

This was back on the first day of school.  We did our traditional going to eat frozen yogurt as a first day of school treat.  This was the picture we got....K with 9 fingers up (9th grade), J with 1, and C with 7.  It turned out to be a cute picture.  I just had to add it to this post. 

And..... notice... another blog post done in less than a week.  WoooHooo!!!!!  Not easy for me these days!