I have soooo many things to be Thankful for but most importantly, The Gospel, my family (that includes Paul's family too), my great friends, the wonderful ward I live in, my job (that has been such a blessing from the day I got it) and our health (I won't say anything more about our health because I might jinx us :)
We had a really good Thanksgiving! We spent all day at my mom's and at the end of the night I realized that we hadn't stopped over to Paul's mom's and dad's. They knew we weren't going to be able to come to dinner because we would be helping my mom and having dinner at her house, but we were planning on going over after. I felt soooo bad.... I was pretty tired from staying up later than usual the nights before so I was kind of tired throughout the day and my brain wasn't thinking as good as it usually does. (My dad or Paul would probably make some funny joke about this comment)
As it got later, the girls put on some old home movies upstairs while the guys played video games downstairs. I think I fell asleep a few times and the night got later.......I think Paul was having fun and neither one of us realized how late it had gotten. When We were getting ready for bed, I said "Oh my gosh! we didn't go over to your mom's and dad's." Paul said it was fine, that he knew we needed to be with my mom. (I had been feeling bad that we weren't going to be able to go to his families Thanksgiving, because we have gone to both since we got married. He kept telling me that it was more important that we were with my family this year...That's just another reason why I love him......)
Thanksgiving was one of my dad's favorite holidays. He LOVED getting the dressing ready weeks before by drying the bread out on the counter. My mom wondered why he didn't just put it in the oven the day before but he liked doing it his way. Everyone LOVED his dressing. I'm not the biggest dressing fan, so I didn't know any better. I always took a little though, because I knew what my dad put into it to make it. He never used a recipe, just added canned milk, broth, lots of different spices, the dried bread and a bunch of other stuff. My mom tried to make it this year but it was pretty hard without a recipe. I think it turned out pretty good though, I tried a little just like I used to with my dad's.....It was a good day but different and sad without my dad...I think things will always be different now...
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
FaMiLy PiCTuReS
For a while now, I have been thinking that we needed to get our family pictures done, a little earlier this year. (Last year we were scrambling at the last minute and just had my mom take them in her back yard, probably 2 weeks before Christmas) Mine and Paul's niece does wonderful pictures but she had a new baby in October, so I knew we were on our own....
I didn't really want to go to a studio or anything, since our schedule with the boys is a little crazy so on a whim I asked Debbie, my little brother's girlfriend. She has a nice camera and has a pretty flexible weekend schedule so why not? She was happy to do them so I just had to figure out where, (and I thought Gardner's Village would be fun) pick a day and shop for coordinating clothes (Who knew finding clothes would be a HUGE task, but I did it!)
I had to make sure we took the pictures on a weekend that we had all the boys and nothing else was going on. That was hard enough, but then I had to make sure the weather was going to be nice.....I checked the weather reports and found a Sunday that would work perfectly with our schedules...I kept checking and rechecking the weather and everything looked good...Then Saturday came AND the awful weather. I was dying when Kaiden and I walked out of Old Navy on Saturday afternoon and there was a HUGE blizzard!! What was I going to do if Sunday was bad weather? That would mean another 2 weeks before we had all the boys and it would be that much closer to Christmas. I prayed really hard that the weather would be nice...and we were lucky, it turned out to be a good day, a little cold but no snow or blizzards.
Here are some of our pics, I think Debbie did a really good job! AND the best part....I am ahead of schedule and may just get my cards out sooner than a few days before Christmas ...
JJ kept us laughing by doing crazy things and jumping in our pictures. Of course Paul had to join in too.
I didn't really want to go to a studio or anything, since our schedule with the boys is a little crazy so on a whim I asked Debbie, my little brother's girlfriend. She has a nice camera and has a pretty flexible weekend schedule so why not? She was happy to do them so I just had to figure out where, (and I thought Gardner's Village would be fun) pick a day and shop for coordinating clothes (Who knew finding clothes would be a HUGE task, but I did it!)
I had to make sure we took the pictures on a weekend that we had all the boys and nothing else was going on. That was hard enough, but then I had to make sure the weather was going to be nice.....I checked the weather reports and found a Sunday that would work perfectly with our schedules...I kept checking and rechecking the weather and everything looked good...Then Saturday came AND the awful weather. I was dying when Kaiden and I walked out of Old Navy on Saturday afternoon and there was a HUGE blizzard!! What was I going to do if Sunday was bad weather? That would mean another 2 weeks before we had all the boys and it would be that much closer to Christmas. I prayed really hard that the weather would be nice...and we were lucky, it turned out to be a good day, a little cold but no snow or blizzards.
Here are some of our pics, I think Debbie did a really good job! AND the best part....I am ahead of schedule and may just get my cards out sooner than a few days before Christmas ...
JJ kept us laughing by doing crazy things and jumping in our pictures. Of course Paul had to join in too.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Conference Weekend and Park City
My posts are still out of order but at least I am getting them posted, right? Paul and I took the boys up to Park City for Conference weekend (which was the first part of October not all the way back here, after Halloween) The place we stayed, had an indoor/outdoor pool, a basketball court, playground, arcade and a bunch of other activities going on. We spent most of our time in the pool and hot tub and played basketball a few times. Oh and I guess the boys were at the arcade a bunch...
It was nice to be able to watch Conference and have all those fun things to do, when we were not watching it. I love to hear the Prophet and leaders of the church! I always feel renewed after listening to their counsel, I feel like I can take on any challenge that comes my way (I hope saying that doesn't jinx me) This Conference, I couldn't help but feel like the counsel was centered a lot around the FAMILY, that we need to show more appreciation for those we love, to ask for help in serving our families, to seek guidance from the Lord in how to love our family members, and to do work for those family member that have gone before us.
One of the talks that really stuck out to me was the one that President Eyring gave. Here is a quote from it: "I give counsel to husbands and wives. Pray for the love which allows you to see the good in your companion. Pray for the love that makes weaknesses and mistakes seem small. Pray for the love to make your companion’s joy your own. Pray for the love to want to lessen the load and soften the sorrows of your companion."
Maybe this stuck out to me because I haven't been the sweetest wife lately....and knew I needed to be more grateful for all the Paul does. I took President Eyring's challenge and prayed to see the good in Paul and to not dwell on the bad things....(Paul has SO many good qualities but sometimes I forget about them when I am grumpy, so I decided to pray when I wasn't feeling so appreciative of him)
I'm not going to lie and say that I have done a whole 360 but when I am praying for the things President Eyring was talking about, I feel so much more peace and grattitude. Paul is soooooo great at serving others, he LOVES the Gospel and strives to be a better person every day, he loves my family......(and sooo much more) All of these things are SO important to me but I forget how important they are to Paul too and how good he is at doing those things....
I loved Elder Bednars talk also, especially when he said, "We should remember that saying “I love you” is only a beginning. We need to say it, we need to mean it, and most importantly we need consistently to show it. We need to both express and demonstrate love. President Thomas S. Monson recently counseled: “Often we assume that [the people around us] must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. . . . We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us”
Especially over the last few months, I have realized even more how important this is. I am going to try harder to let those that I love, know it and hear it often. My family, all of them, are so important to me but I know they need to know that......
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
My new calling...and I LOVE it!!!
So, at the first part of September, I was called to be the new BEEHIVE Advisor. The bishop said he wasn't sure if it would be too much for me, with my dad just passing away, but he felt like I was needed there. I was actually really excited (and a little nervous too) I was only in YW's a short time, right before I got divorced, but I LOVED it!
I have loved team teaching with Paul but I am ready to be busy, like I was in RS. I think my life runs a little more smoothly or I feel closer to Heavenly Father, when I am serving others. I have really needed a BIG push to serve, since I have been slacking on it lately.....AND I get to be around a lot of girls....I NEED that too. My house gets a little too wild and crazy for me sometimes, with all that testosterone.
"My" beehives are SO sweet! A few of them came up to me on my first day in YW's and gave me hugs and told me they were excited to have me in there. Some of their parents even told me that were excited that I would be teaching their daughters. That made me feel really good and a little less nervous. It seems like FOREVER since I was that young, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to relate to their problems, that none of them would talk during my lessons or that they might even hate me. All of them are so cute and sweet though, and it has been so much fun. I love the other women I serve with too, they are so great with the girls and have really neat relationships with them. I hope that I can be a leader like the ones I grew up with, I had a lot of fun with them and looked up to them as great examples.
We had a FUN Halloween party for one of the activites, here are some pictues: (oh, I mean they will be posted shortly)
I have loved team teaching with Paul but I am ready to be busy, like I was in RS. I think my life runs a little more smoothly or I feel closer to Heavenly Father, when I am serving others. I have really needed a BIG push to serve, since I have been slacking on it lately.....AND I get to be around a lot of girls....I NEED that too. My house gets a little too wild and crazy for me sometimes, with all that testosterone.
"My" beehives are SO sweet! A few of them came up to me on my first day in YW's and gave me hugs and told me they were excited to have me in there. Some of their parents even told me that were excited that I would be teaching their daughters. That made me feel really good and a little less nervous. It seems like FOREVER since I was that young, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to relate to their problems, that none of them would talk during my lessons or that they might even hate me. All of them are so cute and sweet though, and it has been so much fun. I love the other women I serve with too, they are so great with the girls and have really neat relationships with them. I hope that I can be a leader like the ones I grew up with, I had a lot of fun with them and looked up to them as great examples.
We had a FUN Halloween party for one of the activites, here are some pictues: (oh, I mean they will be posted shortly)
Witches Night Out.....
A few weeks before Halloween, I went with Paul's mom, some of my sister's in law, and nieces to Gardner's Witches Night Out (I don't know if that's what it's really called, but that's what I'm calling it)My mom was having new cabinets put in and wanted someone to be there while they were installing them. Paul was so sweet and volunteered to do it, since I felt bad that I couldn't be there. The cabinet guy was running REALLY late and couldn't make it until the next day but Paul still hung out with my mom for most of the night (what a cute husband I have).
Witches night out was A LOT of fun but I couldn't believe ALL the women and their amazing witches costumes. I was totally UNDER DRESSED (I will have to start 6 months earlier to get ready for next year) It was SOOOO packed with witchy women that you had to scoot past people to get through any of the shops. It took us over 2 1/2 hours to get into the restaurant to eat. All of us were starving to death by the time we sat down but it was worth it, the food was delicious (or maybe I was so hungry that I didn't notice) I teased Paul that he would have LOVED it there, since he HATES crowds.
It was a fun night out! Thanks Jen and everyone else that organized all of us!
KAIDEN IS TWELVE!!!
Kaiden turned twelve on October 9th!! I can't believe he is that old!! I think I say that every year but really, twelve is HUGE!!! I couldn't skip my tradition to decorate his room but I forgot everything at work so had to improvise. Paul was pretty sure Kaiden wouldn't feel bad if I stopped doing that, since he is getting older. I knew I would though, so I got the spiral-hangy-things that my friend Letecia used for my birthday, my tape and my bar stool (that I had fallen off a few days before) and went to work on Kaiden's room. I had to wait until he was in a REAL deep sleep, sneak in and then run out because he kept waking up. I did this about a dozen times throughout the night, but finally got it done (without falling off the stool).
I think for a little while, a few years back, I dreaded Kaiden turning TWELVE. He used to complain about going to church (I think I have written about this before). I told him if he still felt that way when he turned twelve, he could stay home if he wanted to. I'm not sure what I would have done if he still felt that way, but luckily he likes going to church and we haven't fought about it in years. Actually, I was really proud of him a few months before his birthday because of a decision he made......
We had been talking about him going to Young Men's, receiving the priesthood, passing the sacrament and other stuff, the weeks before. He went to his dad and asked him if he could come home on Sundays, the weekends he was with him. It was so neat that he did it on his own, without me saying anything. His dad was ok with it at first but now isn't sure about it, so Kaiden hasn't been to church evey week. Hopefully soon, his dad will realize how important it is to Kaiden and start letting him come home. I haven't dreaded Kaiden turning twelve, the last few years, except for the fact that it meant I was getting older too..
For his birthday, Paul and I took Kaiden and a bunch of his friends up to Classic Skating. I was so excited because I got half off gift certificates on the internet, it made it SO CHEAP!!! They got pizza, ice cream, game tokens and 3 hours unlimited Lazer Tag, skating, Blast Zone, bounce house and any of their other activities. Kaiden got to spin a prize wheel and go into one of those cash booths (where the cash flies all over inside and you try to catch it) I think everyone had a good time. Kaiden said it was his best birthday ever (I think he says that every year)
On Sunday, Kaiden's grandpa (and grandma) came from Idaho to ordain him a Deacon. It is so neat that he has the Priesthood now. I cried when they called him up in sacrament because I am so proud of the neat little boy he has turned out to be. My mom came to sacrament with us. (and then came back for Kaiden to be ordained)It was kind of a weird day because the last time she was there, my dad was there too, that made me really emotional (and my mom too) My cute husband was so sweet to comfort both of us.(Things like that make me love him even more)
Kaiden's grandpa came up to me after sacrament and told me thank you for raising Kaiden to be the good young man that he is, for raising him in the Gospel and for being a good example to him. His grandma also told me that I did a good job raising him. That meant a lot to me....
After the full block, Kaiden received the Priesthood. That is so neat to me. I am so thankful that Paul was able to stand in with the bishop and Kaiden's grandpa. I am so grateful for the Priesthood, I have seen it work many miracles throughout my life and I am so excited that Kaiden has it now.
I wasn't able to get a picture of Kaiden in his Sunday clothes because he was wisked off to do fast offerings and then went with his dad. I have pics of his birthday and will post them soon.....
I think for a little while, a few years back, I dreaded Kaiden turning TWELVE. He used to complain about going to church (I think I have written about this before). I told him if he still felt that way when he turned twelve, he could stay home if he wanted to. I'm not sure what I would have done if he still felt that way, but luckily he likes going to church and we haven't fought about it in years. Actually, I was really proud of him a few months before his birthday because of a decision he made......
We had been talking about him going to Young Men's, receiving the priesthood, passing the sacrament and other stuff, the weeks before. He went to his dad and asked him if he could come home on Sundays, the weekends he was with him. It was so neat that he did it on his own, without me saying anything. His dad was ok with it at first but now isn't sure about it, so Kaiden hasn't been to church evey week. Hopefully soon, his dad will realize how important it is to Kaiden and start letting him come home. I haven't dreaded Kaiden turning twelve, the last few years, except for the fact that it meant I was getting older too..
For his birthday, Paul and I took Kaiden and a bunch of his friends up to Classic Skating. I was so excited because I got half off gift certificates on the internet, it made it SO CHEAP!!! They got pizza, ice cream, game tokens and 3 hours unlimited Lazer Tag, skating, Blast Zone, bounce house and any of their other activities. Kaiden got to spin a prize wheel and go into one of those cash booths (where the cash flies all over inside and you try to catch it) I think everyone had a good time. Kaiden said it was his best birthday ever (I think he says that every year)
On Sunday, Kaiden's grandpa (and grandma) came from Idaho to ordain him a Deacon. It is so neat that he has the Priesthood now. I cried when they called him up in sacrament because I am so proud of the neat little boy he has turned out to be. My mom came to sacrament with us. (and then came back for Kaiden to be ordained)It was kind of a weird day because the last time she was there, my dad was there too, that made me really emotional (and my mom too) My cute husband was so sweet to comfort both of us.(Things like that make me love him even more)
Kaiden's grandpa came up to me after sacrament and told me thank you for raising Kaiden to be the good young man that he is, for raising him in the Gospel and for being a good example to him. His grandma also told me that I did a good job raising him. That meant a lot to me....
After the full block, Kaiden received the Priesthood. That is so neat to me. I am so thankful that Paul was able to stand in with the bishop and Kaiden's grandpa. I am so grateful for the Priesthood, I have seen it work many miracles throughout my life and I am so excited that Kaiden has it now.
I wasn't able to get a picture of Kaiden in his Sunday clothes because he was wisked off to do fast offerings and then went with his dad. I have pics of his birthday and will post them soon.....
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Paul is half way to 70!!!!!
On the 22nd of September Paul turned 35 (so now he is old like me ;) I made him my traditional (yummy) carrot cake and had our families over to celebrate. I took a bunch of pictures but Paul wanted to finish using our disposable camera so the pics are on it....Later in the week, my mom took the two of us to Texas Roadhouse for his birthday dinner. I can't believe that both of us are 35!! I remember when I thought 30 was SOOOO old. It doesn't seem that old to me any more....
Happy (late) Birthday Paul!! I love you!
Happy (late) Birthday Paul!! I love you!
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