Busy, Busy Fall

Life has been very good lately....just EXTREMELY busy. Blogger did something weird with the order of these photos, but....I will rearrange them and comment....I just wanted to finally get a post up! :) I guess you might be able to see why I've been so busy these last three weeks!

And...what is up with the huge spaces between photos? Sorry about all the scrolling!

Blessings Unmeasured

:) I am filled with happiness and gratitude and, for this moment, LIFE IS GOOD! :)

Comforting words and music

A good friend sent me this link awhile back when I was having a bad day. I was finally able to listen to it today. What power in this message! What comfort there is to know that Heavenly Father lives and loves us! How grateful I am to have a Father in Heaven that sends us little messages like this to buoy us up...whether it is a cold, raining, and depressing day (like today!) or whether we have other struggles to bring to Him. I hope this music uplifts you as much as it did me today! :)

Surprise!

DH has been very busy lately...seminar, camping with us, another seminar coming up...and so he has had to frequently shut down the clinic. I wanted to go to the local football game, but it just seemed impossible. Except....DH surprised me and rescheduled all his patients so that we could go. :) If you know DH at all, you know that this is a big sacrifice and I am so grateful.

Unfortunately, I had a feeling we would lose (and we were ranked in the top 10!). What I had no idea of is the way we would lose. We looked horrible on the field. The game was super boring...even the fans of the team that won looked bored, excited to win, but bored.

Then, we took a wrong turn and got lost on the way home. Then, we got pulled over for speeding in a residential area. Thankfully, the cop just gave us a warning and some directions on how to get home, but it still made for a long night.

So...was it worth the money for the tickets and the babysitter and missing an Enrichment activity? You bet. We were out doing something different together, but, most of all, it meant so much to me that DH planned this surprise even though it meant rescheduling patients. That is a blessing! :)

DH is gone...

and the party begins at our house! :)

DH has a seminar this weekend...all weekend...so we are playing it up. Tonight, the kids each got to invite two friends to sleepover (both ended up with only one...but they are still having a blast!). We are making homemade pizzas, playing, watching a movie, talking, playing....etc..

Then, tomorrow, it is my night and some of my friends that aren't doing dinner groups (too bad it is the same night) are coming over. Party at my house! :) I guess I won't miss DH as much as I thought I would. And, tomorrow is a very busy day, including C competing in a huge karate tournament. He is excited, but I am definitely nervous for him!

Then, DH comes home Sunday night and we leave to go camping as a family on Monday. :) Fun times.

Dead Computer!

I've never had a dead computer....until this weekend. We've had new ones and had to transfer files and that was hard enough...but this was a huge pain and STILL is a huge pain! UGH! Luckily I have a very good techie brother-in-law and he has extracted most of the information I need off the hard drive. There is still a LOT of things that have to be organized for the clinic, my work, my pictures, etc., but at least I have the Internet again! :)

So, at least for now, I am back! :)

(And...thank-goodness for online backups. They will save the day if we can't extract all of our info off our crashed hard drive. It will be some work to restore it...but I will not have lost everything!)

Flattered and Proud

C had a project due today at school. It was to recreate out of boxes and paper a building in our local community. I thought he might do the library, the school, our house, or even WalMart. Then he told me he'd decided and wanted to do the clinic (chiropractic clinic that we own).

It turned out so cute. I was excited for his choice, but when DH came home, saw the clinic, and found out that it was what C had chosen for his project, he was so flattered and C was so proud. It was a great moment.

Note: We covered up the name of the clinic with pink stickies...to keep identifying information private. Looks a little silly...but it works..

Archery

K gets to go to Activity Days (kind of like a girls' club for ages 8-11) twice a month. They get to learn all sorts of things...from the spiritual to the practical to the fun. It is great for them and they have a fantastic leader. Yesterday, she got to go and learn archery. I was jealous. I've always wanted to learn that! She had a blast. She has two really close friends and they got to ride down together, talking and making up stories. Then, they got to take turns shooting this bow and arrow. They each got 5 arrows. K didn't have any of them hit the target. She is so tiny and she said that holding the bow was very difficult. She also came home with a little blister on her hand...but, all in all she LOVED it. I am so grateful that she gets to have experiences like this: learning something new, away from me (she can be her own person!), learning to socialize and get along, etc.. What a blessing.

PS Thanks to Jay for sending me some pictures!

Happy Birthday...LD!

Today is LD's 2nd birthday. He is such a light in my life. He can always make me smile when I am feeling down. His presence has really enhanced my life and I am so grateful that Heavenly Father chose to send him to us when he did. I blogged about his birth story last year..what an accommodating little guy! I am just so grateful that I get to be Mami to this sweet little spirit. I cannot describe what a huge blessing he is in my life.


He has been excited about his birthday for weeks...even singing to himself, "Happy Birthday dear LD." Last night, however, he about couldn't stand it. A package came from my parents on Saturday and he just couldn't wait to open it. Here he is pushing it around and singing something about how it's his birthday.


Here he is just waking up this morning. We had to wake him up. This is the first kid's birthday on a school day that we've ever had. The big kids' birthdays are in the summer and last year, LD's was on Saturday. Our tradition is to open the present from my parents before breakfast so that whenever they call...we've already opened it. It also gives the kid something to play with all day...before DH gets home and they get to open the gifts from us.




Here he is opening and playing with the Geotracks from my parents. He loved them so much that he wouldn't put them down for family prayer (and we let him keep playing....it is his birthday, after all, right?).




Then, S, a 9-year-old that I watch before and after school came and gave him her gift. She has been excited about this gift for WEEKS. She is an only child and LD is really like her little brother. This is my third school year watching her, so she started coming to our house before LD was even born. It is cute to watch her with him on a daily basis.
I wanted to take him to do something that he loves. I thought about the zoo or the museum (museum is closed, zoo is to expensive...and I don't know if LD would like it as much without his siblings). But, he LOVES this little guy, L. Just adores him and we walk with his mom and him periodically. He loves these walks and says almost every morning, "L stroller walk?" L's mom was okay with walking, so we walked and played at the park. LD had a blast!

Finally, growing up it was a tradition to lick the cake beaters if you were the birthday kid. I haven't carried it over too much, but LD happened to be eating lunch when I made his cake...so, I let him lick one. He loved it!

Finally, after all the phone calls and waiting for DH to get home, and dinner (mac n' cheese and hot dogs...the perfect 2-year-old meal), it was time for presents and cake and ice cream. I did a school bus cake, since LD LOVES buses. It turned out pretty cute. S came back over to be with us since she loves LD so much. It is nice that she feels such a part of our family. I'd keep her, that is for sure!

Trains, Watermelons, and Temples

This has been a very crazy week. So much to do. So little time. Here is a little bit of our week:

Tuesday, LD and I went on a small train ride with friends from church. This was the first time that I saw LD anticipate something. He ran around the house all morning shouting, "Train. Let's go!" He was so excited. He also loved it when we got there, but was really just taking it all in and trying as hard as he could to avoid my camera. After the ride, we headed to the park for a picnic and playing. LD had a blast. They had a great playground just his size.
That same day, DH and I had been cleaning out the weed patch behind the garden. Look what we found...a watermelon! It is actually so yummy. We thought our watermelon seeds did not germinate, but I guess it did, just out of the garden and into the weeds!

Finally, it has been an up and down week. Today, was a previously scheduled and anticipated temple trip with one of my best friends. It was exactly what I needed. The temple brings such peace, comfort, and inspiration and I have had such a great day. It was such a perfect day. Thanks to TXMommy for taking LD. It was definitely what I needed. :)

A productive day---hurray!

I have not been very productive this week. But, today...I think I made up for it and it feels so good. Just this morning I have:

• Made, Eaten, and Cleaned-up from German pancakes
• Mowed the lawn
• Trimmed the bushes
• Swept the garage
• Sorted, washed, dryed, and folded four loads of laundry
• Started a batch of dishes
• Showered
• Vacuumed out the intake vent and changed the filter in the house
• Worked on scrubbing out stains in the carpet
• Thoroughly vacuumed the entire house
• Worked on organizing/tidying C's room
• Worked on organizing/tidying K's room (they both needed it badly, I assure you!)
• Paid bills for the clinic and organized/reconciled financially for the clinic
• Made, ate, and cleaned-up from lunch
• Read books to LD
• Typed up this post

Wow! There is nothing like a productive day to raise your spirits! :) And...I love to organize, which, ironically enough, is why it doesn't get done very often. Things I love to do always end up at the bottom of the list. Hmmm...maybe I need to rethink that. Oh well, I actually have many more things that need to be done. Maybe this afternoon will be just as productive (or maybe I will just go take a nap!).

Wide Awake-and a question

I've been awake now for a few hours. I did this yesterday, too. What a horrible thing it is to not be able to sleep! Anyhow, since I am awake, I want to know...with this new blog template do words disappear and reappear on your computers? A few of them do on mine. It is odd, very odd. Let me know and I'll change it if necessary. Thanks! :)

My "Friends"

I have had a lot going on lately and it has been tough. In the midst of it all, however, I have had a new routine since the start of the school year that I love and is helping me stay grounded.

As soon as LD goes down for a nap, I first get on my knees and pray to my dear Father in Heaven, then I pull out my "friends," the scriptures, and I read for at least 10-15 minutes. I love the silence of my home and the opportunity to really hear what the Lord is saying to me. I love that it is not in the morning when life is rushed (although we do do our family reading then) or in the evening when I am tired and distracted by DH. Frequently, after my prayer and reading, I will then snooze for 5-10 minutes (I so wish it could be longer!). The entire routine is such a great way to rejuvenate and focus. I love it. Thank goodness for my "friends."

A walk in the park

Yesterday was the perfect day. I have no idea the temperature, but to this Texan, it felt cooler. It was sunny, breezy, and cooler....the absolutely perfect Fall day (Fall is my favorite season, you know!). So, we decided to head out and look for this relatively new park that opened less than a year ago next to a nearby lake.

It was gorgeous. We will be going there again, I guarantee it. We just took a really short and easy walk since it was the Sabbath. We just walked out to an overlook over the lake....beautiful! :)

Primary Program

Today was our annual primary program (where the children 3-12 present the service...singing and saying speaking parts). It was wonderful. C had his scripture memorized and did great. K went up to do her talk and started reciting it from memory...I wondered why she would try to recite it from memory. When we were driving home, however, I wondered no more. She'd left her talk in the car and didn't realize it until the program had begun. I even had an extra copy for her in my scriptures, but it was too late. When she figured it out, she said that she started to cry, then said a prayer and did the best that she could from memory. I was so proud of her. She only had practiced it 2-3 times (since she was planning on reading it) and yet she was composed as she spoke and remembered most of what she'd written. Way to go, K!

On a different note, LD fell asleep in the car on the way home from church. He slept in his crib for a while then woke up and is now back asleep in my arms. There is nothing quite like a sleeping baby/toddler in your arms! :)

Picture Day

Today was K's and C's picture day at school. I was at a meeting last night and did not get home until late (they were still awake). This morning was difficult. K, obviously, had not slept enough and was so cranky at me to curl her hair at the last minute before leaving for school. We finally worked it out and it turned out so super cute. C has his own style of hair that he likes and he takes care of it all on his own..water, gel, hairspray, etc.. Today, he was much more conservative than normal...I guess that is how pictures should look? He gets to choose. I wanted to trim up his hair in the back and around the edges, but he was afraid I'd "mess up" and do something drastic...so he wanted it long and shaggy. Crazy boy.

Life is So Not Fair

And that's all I have to say about that. The End.

Works for Me

I haven't had a lot to post about lately. School is in session. Life has settled down in some ways and become crazier in others. I still put in hours of work daily for the clinic, my calling, the house, the kids...etc. Just life. Nothing too exciting. And, for those of you that wonder when I don't post frequently: I have been doing okay lately! :)

Those that know me well know that I am a list-maker. Lose my list and I almost lose my mind. I'm not kidding. But...I have never had a schedule, particularly for my kids. I have always been very flexible about bedtimes, chores, fun, etc.. It just seemed like the right thing for them.

In the last year or so, though, I have realized that they need structure. It isn't my idea of fun, but I thought I'd try it to see if it worked. Guess what? It does! We are in our fourth week and it is working beautifully. This year we have a fairly firm afternoon / evening schedule. They love it. I love it. I don't know why we didn't do it sooner.

One thing that we are doing this year that I LOVE is having Family Services Times instead of giving them a set service to do. For instance, right after dinner is Family Kitchen Services. We all clean up the kitchen: dishes, sweeping, LD's tray, wiping down the table and counters, taking out the recycle, etc. We all work together and it gets done so fast and they aren't stuck doing the same service day after day.

Here is part of our actual schedule---it is a little hard to see, but.... itworks for us! :)

Nastalgia

I am a little sad this morning. I finally said good-bye to my dear friend...my fake solar nails. It has been six months and I have loved them so much. I feel so pretty with the french tip nails. I just love them. I am certain that they will be back, but, I am also certain what direction I am needing to go with my money right now...and it is not towards my nails. ---sigh--- I do not think having nails is wrong at all, but I have felt the little whisperings of what else I should do at this time in my life (more food storage? more fast offerings? A little more to share with those that are struggling financially?) and I can't deny it any longer.

So, good-bye for now dear nails. Hello ugly weak (since I had the others on so long) and stubby nails.

Qualification: I realized that this post looks like an economic change...so, for DH's sake, I have to qualify that this decision was not economic in the least....we are blessed that our business is doing better than ever. I just feel that, even so, I should be a better steward of my money. That's all.

LD's New Way to Sleep

Sorry...I haven't posted in a while...mostly because I am super duper zuper busy. Sorry.

And, this is a very short post, but it was so funny that I had to document it somehow! :) There aren't any pictures, but I am certain you will be grateful once you read the story! :)

K and C came running out this morning exclaiming, "You have to see what LD did!" I asked if he was awake and they said, "No." I thought that for sure he'd taken all his sheets, blankets, pillow, toys, etc. and tossed them out of his crib (been known to happen before!). Nope. I go in to the boys' room and there is LD with his little bum in the air...completely clothesless from the waist down, including his diaper. I had heard him playing around in his crib after going to bed last night...I guess I figured out what he was doing! Luckily for me, his diaper was dry and his bedding was dry. I guess he'd slept the night without peeing. I suppose I would've known if he'd woken up in the night wet and screaming. I guess he just likes to sleep unrestrained. I hope he didn't like it so much that turns into a pattern. I just want to know how he didn't freeze in the night.