I can't stand it any longer!

Its 3:00 and time is SOOOOOO dragging on today. I am to be at the airport in 45 min. to pick my hubby up from the airport. I am SOOOOOO excited to see him. He has been gone to South Carolina for almost 2 long weeks. It is nice to have a small break from each other once in awhile but 2 weeks is way too long. I SOOOOOO love my Husband.

Today I found Joy in....

...The wonders of Gods beautiful Gifts, finding a Pink Dogwood tree that is full of color and life.
...Angelas beautiful smile when shes told that she gets her braces off at the next visit.
...The chilled air that freezes my tootsies to let me know that I am alive.
...The beautiful deep blue sky that invites me outside.
...that I miss my Husband.
...Seeing Stephanie Smile again and having her be at home.
...Knowing my children are becoming strong, independant and responsible.
...Having Angela drive me around to Dr.s appts. She gets allergy tested today.
...Having more energy today than I've had in the last week.

Hip, Hip, Hooray!!!

I am total miserable with a cold and allergies, yuck, YuCk, YUCK!!! My am so stuffy and my face is soo itchy and red its awful. But I am determined to find the joy, so here it goes.....

~ My allergy shots start on Tuesday.

~ The sun is out and it is going to be a great weekend and no rain in site for the next 10 days!!

~ We will be home this weekend. After the last two weekends traveling it will be great to be home.

~ A big hip, Hip, Hooray the irrigation system is finally on. That means that we have a ton of yardwork to do which is exciting. Weeds and dirt are no fun to look at.

~ Angela's last day of driving school is today! Great job Angie!

~ My Heavenly Father loves and watches out for us!

~ Realizing that finding joy is not always about the material things in life. Finding joy is a state of spiritual well-being. A comfort in putting your worries in the Lords hand and knowing it will work out. Trusting Him and Surrendering control scares me and that is something I need to work on.

~ Starting a list of joys and realizing what needs to be done to find that joy.

Me and My mom! ~ Snuggle Time!!

I am soo happy that my Emme still gives me colored hugs and kisses. They always put a smile on my heart. Thank you Emme. Oh how I love you too! XOXOXO

Repentance & Forgiveness

Admit it.... Nobody is perfect! After teaching a Primary Lesson about Repentance I paused to ponder. Is there a difference between Forgiveness and Repentance? I believe so and I believe they go hand-in-hand.

As becoming a member of the church the 4th article of faith states, "We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost."

Repentance is making a confession to the Lord. Believing that our sins will be forgiven. It then is up to us to seek repentance for forgiveness from our Heavenly Father and do all we can do to change. As teaching the children, the steps to repentance is easy; First, we must feel sorry; Second, we ask forgiveness; Third, we right the wrong and Fourth, we don't repeat the wrong. Thankfully we can partake of the sacrament and renew this covenant every Sunday and have the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Forgiveness is to pardon or excuse someone from blame for an offense or misdeed. The Lord commands us to forgive those who offend or hurt us. Forgiveness is much more difficult because it requires of us to have courage to ask forgiveness or the wrongdoer has not yet gotten to the point of asking for forgiveness and continues to offend. I do believe forgiveness is due if the wrongdoer makes an attempt by stopping the offense and they have a change in heart. You'll know when that happens, you can feel it (unfortunately, this doesn't usually happen overnight).

Of course, Dr. Lauras input below.



One thing to remember, we do not always realize that we have offended someone or maybe, they might even feel what they did was not offensive at all. But I would say that if a person has voiced their opinion and feelings are hurt that would be a pretty good indication that forgiveness is needed.

24 things to do in 24 hours ~ Spring Break Style

So for spring break we went to our favorite Beach ~ Seaside! We love to stay at the Sand & Sea. It right on the beach and the whole front view wall is solid window. Even though it was only an overnighter it was fun filled. Here are some of the things we did; started out our journey and the truck needed a quick repair ~ played the alphabet game ~ played I spy ~ made it all the way to Hillsboro for lunch at McD's where we laughed till we cried ~ arrived at Seaside ~ checked in, saw the pool ~ went for a walk ~ bought kites ~ rode the bumper cars ~ rode the tilt-a-whirl ~ shopped for Emme's swimsuit ~ shopped for Angies sweatshirt(she forgot a coat, silly girl) ~ Flew the kites ~ got cold ~ went swimming ~ ate hot bown of chili to warm our bones ~ woke up ~ visited the Aquarium and fed the sea lions ~ Fed the seagulls a left over box of Fruit loops, french bread, oyster crackers & saltine crackers. Afterwards Angie runs through the seagulls Just like she used to when she was 5 ~ Bought Souvenirs from Aquarium ~ Shopped the Broadway shops ~ went to the Arcade ~ Got sweatshirts for Boys & Steph ~ rode the Bumper cars again ~ rode the tilt-a-whirl again ~ went to the best salt water taffy store ever and bought pounds of taffy ~ ~ visited the Aunts and Uncles in Portland for dinner and then headed home ~ All in 24 hours. WHEW! But it was way fun. I can't wait to go again soon.

Spring Break is here!

I am so, so, so glad for spring break this year. I have really been struggling with staying ontop of life and unfortunately I keep falling off. It is hard to juggle being a Wife, a Mom, A housekeeper and a full time job. I hate it! So this spring break I took off work to be a full time mom. It has been great. We have been doing some spring cleaning and will be having fun time too. Last night we went to the movies and saw ~ Race to Witch Mountian, a perfect family movie that even Dad wanted to see, YEAH! Later this week we are going to the beach. Exciting!! And then home for Conference, Excitinglerestedly!!!!!

"W.O.W."

Well Emily has done it again! She has received another WOW card from her teachers. She has been on Honor Roll with straight A's again for the 2nd Quarter. The Principal and his Vice Principals cooked breakfast for the Student and their parents in appreciation for the students hard work and good efforts towards being a superb student (there was about 10 students). Emily's LA, Math & Science teachers sat with us and had lots of good things to say about Emily. I am impressed with the respect that these teachers and staff have for their students. In the past I have seen too many times teachers talking down to students like they are nobody, and then they become nobodys. Not here, Everyone is worth the effort. A big shout out to E.M.S. for being the best school ever!!
Below is pictures of this years 6th grade Orchestra and Band Pictures.

Finding "Joy in the Journey"

I'll ask forgiveness now for the long post..:)

Last night was Relief Society Enrichment night. I have to tell you Sister Marsha and her gang go ALL out. Let me tell you they take it to extremes. Everyone was given passports, upon entering the gym you were given a candy Lei (we are the Candy Mountain Ward) and welcomed. We had to go through the line, put our purse through the scanner and get our itinerary. Was way cute. Marsha and her husband have an art of making cardboard decor. Hopefully I can get pictures. But they made a plane, Train, a bus and a Huge Cruise ship as an entrance to each using the exit doors from the gym.
Dinner was served and we were off to our destinations, of course the sisters that chose the bus had a slight delay in their journey. The bus broke down and were assigned to a different means of transportation. So, off we went to our travel destinations (our 3 rotating classes, in 3 groups; plain, train & cruise ship).
In the first class, Sister King taught us about how to survive a crisis. She has read several books about survivors and the one thing that she learned was they #1, all had something to live for and #2 had faith.
The second class taught by my VT Companion, Sis Rex, who is just plain crazy. She took us on a safari trip into some jungle. Was cute and she played a superb guide. She spoke about Legos and Longerie. Most of us has had kids know that being a mother can be hectic, especially in those younger years when they depend on you for everything. She had some good tips like ~ get out of the house, going for a walk a breath of fresh air does wonders ~ get the kids dressed up and take them over to grandmas ~ or just go for a drive. (I sat their remembering those good ole' days and missed them, as hectic as they were. I loved it when my kids were little.) Then we were given the motivation talk on how to love yourself no matter what size you are. That your husbands deserve to see you with your hair done nice, nails done and also likes it when you in your birthday suite. So don't be hard on yourself, he loves you no matter what size you are. This talk was motivating for me. The next day I went out and got a hair cut, Mani and Pedi done. And, let me tell you it does make a difference in how I feel.
The Final class, Sister Sampson spoke about how her and her husband went to BYU Hawaii and he finished up his pre-med and had been applying to several med schools. It didn't work out the way it had planned and they had a 1 yr delay. During this time was difficult and didn't understand why they had worked so hard and not accepted into school. They applied for a great school in Israel and were accepted right away. During this 1 year delay they had met several people that either were moving to Israel or Had family in Israel. Sis Sampson kept a good diary of the events and shared some of those with us. It really touched me. Sometimes we don't always understand the trials we have until we look back on them and see the blessing that came from them. I so have a testimony of that!
After the mini-classes were done we all arrived at our final destination.
There we spoke about finding the joy in our journeys and Sis Marsha read the following poem, relating to life:

It's like... planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandt's.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Again, I love the ward that we are in and the friends that I am making. This is my goal this year to find joy in the journey. Let me tell you it takes a lot of work to remember what you are thankful for and sometimes it is the pile of dirty cloths to be thankful that you have a family. Sorry for the long post. Somethings just cant be summarized in little details.

Let's do a recap of the week...

First of all I hate loosing an hour of sleep. My body seems to just shut down. Didn't help that I had some kind of a bug this week.

MJ ~ Mj didn't have school Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday due to parent/teacher conferences. I have to say I really love Marks teacher and I think she is the best teacher ever; and I have had a few share of teachers with all my kiddo's. She really has a way for her kids to strive and do their best. Mark says she has never, ever gotten upset. Mark is doing great in school and loves math science & reading. He took a test that scored him reading as a 7.2 grader. I love the fact that all my kids love to read. And I don't mind that they stay up late reading books as long as they can wake up smiling in the morning. Great Job Markie!!

Emme ~ This week Emilys church basketball team played in the tournament on Thursday night. They won the 1st game and went on to play the 2nd and final game of the stake playoffs. That was two games in one night. She is doing great and has really gotten aggressive. She plays great defense and shuts her opponent down every time. I have to say that I was suprised to see her want to even play basketball and I am so proud of her getting out of her comfort zone. A big YeeHaa for Emme!!

Angela ~ Oh my goodness peoples... stay off the road, I repeat, stay off the road. Angela has started drivers ed and now has her permit. I have the privilege of teaching her how to drive, so she should be a pro in no time. She is excited to drive and is doing great. this week we practiced on the gas, break and turns. Today we went out on the hwy. Not bad for her first couple times. I am sure she will be a great driver and in a few months well have another driver in the house. Yeah Angie, Whoot, whoot!!!

Stephanie ~ Life is never dull with Stephanie in the house... She is keeping busy with work, dance, institute, going out with the sister missionaries, hangin' with the boys and helping her friends make a video. I have posted the videos, they are great and I am impressed with the fine young talented, soon to be, up and coming movies stars. A big shout out to the Russian Diva!!

Better in Time Video Project ~ Bloopers


Better in Time Video Project ~

Go Candy MT Basketball

Tonight was the Richland Young Women's Basketball tournament. Candy Mountain ward goes onto next week. I have been impressed with Emily's learning curve. At the beginning of the season she was so shy, arms by her side and not moving around much (heck, I would be too if I was the youngest, smallest player out there). I have to tell you a totally different girl was playing tonight. Emily had several rebounds and was aggressive on defense (offense still needs a little work). I am soo impressed with the girls in her ward. The last quarter of the game they made a point to get Emily the ball so she could shoot it. I about cried. As a mom you want you children to be and do their best, you want them to be successful, to be accepted and build confidence. They were giving Emily this chance and they did it as a team. It was the sweetest thing I have ever seen, and let me tell you she is soo excited for next weeks game. She said shes going to play better and harder, I love it. Not bad for her first season. Great job Emme!!

F a M i L y

"A family is strong when all its members are working together and, like the rope, cannot be broken easily. But when individual members no longer work in unity with each other, the family becomes weak, just as the rope did, and can more easily be broken. Everyone in the family benefits when individual members are working together."

This analogy says it all. When thought upon I think it comes down to the love and respect one feels for your family or for another. As the proclamation of the family it states "By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Extended families should lend support when needed."
* As I look back on the past year there was no respect in my immediate family for my family. As I wanted so badly for my daughter to come home, others thought differently and that is where the rope was weakened. Choices were made feeling were hurt.
* A few weeks ago.. Its tax time. Had an issue with someone claiming our daughter on their taxes. Our daughter lived with them 5 1/2 months out of last year. Would you think that maybe she would claim herself or that her parents would claim her (she was 17 at the beginning of the year). Love and respect plays into this also. To show respect we would treat other with respect and do as you would do. Call and ask.
* This last weekend I received a disturbing email. We all have a choice in how we live. That is why we are here on this earth. Whether we choose a certain lifestyle or religion it is our choice. But what we don't do is bash on ones view because "it is not what I believe in or how we live". Again, This comes down to love and respect for an individual and for the family.
I am sure I can go on and people can go on about me too. The point is that if we do not treat our families with the utmost respect for each individual family we have nothing. Families will grow and soon my children will have their families and so forth. Each family is different. Each has there own ideas, traditions, foods they like, activities they do and values. It is when one family thinks less of a family because they don't think or do the same is a lack of respect and like the rope will loose its strength.
I am sorry for my rant. A quote to leave you with, "There are no perfect families only very good ones."

Angela Kay

Angela ~ /a-nge-la, an-gela/ is pronounced AN-je-lah, It is of Greek orgin, and its meaning is " messenger of God; angel". Angela is adorable, compassionate, thoughtful, charitable, spiritual, independent, steadfast and immovable, creative, lovely, warm & snugly, considerate, willing to take a stand, dramatic, responsible and very, very loved.

Some memories of Angela:

When she was in early elementary school she seriously thought her name was Angelina. She was so convinced that her teacher thought so too. Teacher had her name on the desk as such and even on her papers. Once while talking with her teacher I noticed that she was calling Angela, Angelina. I looked at her a little confused as we were at Angela's desk I knew that we were definitely speaking of Angela. The teacher and I just laughed and she told me that Angela had corrected her and that her name was Angelina. I just smiled. Angela loved to play pretend and still does... Oh No, The start of my Drama Queen.

I love this picture of Angela on Easter Saturday. Angela has always loved the outdoors. I have lots of memories of her taking a mud bath at her grandmas, helping little birdies that flew into the window, playing with the dogs, catching froggies, swimming at the Lake, going fishing and jumping on the trampoline. Angela is a softie when it comes to animals and the outdoors.

Here is Angela at her 8th grade graduation right before we moved to the Tri-Cities. She works hard in school and loves to read books. Alot of books. If she gets her nose in a book good luck getting her out of it before shes done. She loves to learn both in school and at church. She is soo smart! I love the fact that I can go to her and she has an answer for me. She is a wonderful example to those around her.

Yesterday was Angelas "16th" Birthday. This Picture was taken of Angela a few months ago. Let me tell you.. This girl amazes me! When she sets her mind to do something she can accomplish anything. She is truly an example to those around her. She is a Daughter of God and is not afraid to stand up for her standards of living the Gospel. I can not express enough how much I love her and am so thankful that she has been entrusted into our care. She is truly a messenger from God and has been a blessing to have her in our lives.

Calgon, Where are you?

It has been a long and stressful week so far and its only Wednesday! What the heck. I am still working on my list of things to get done and they are prioritized in my head. It seems like the list never seems to end. I'm tired would really like to run away. I hate those days! Yucky Phooey!! If I only had more time.. (WHOW, Epiphany.. I'm going to keep a list of my todo's on my blog and then keep it updated as I either 1) Post something todo or 2) take one off that I've done. I'll never forget now because I am a blogoholic and check mine daily for some strange reason I have this need to feel connected. Random thought, sorry.) Finding joy in my journey is just not happening this week. I just need to take a hot bath with book in hand, lock the door, read and relax. Calgon, Where are you? I know better days are ahead, really they are. Right?

MJ Basketball Game 7 Final Game

Well it was a good game. The team worked hard to get 5 points on the board. The game was reffed terribly. I don't think that the kids reffing had a clue of what was going on. Teams are to play man to man and this team played zone. It seems we have a few coaches that don't know how to follow the rules. Im just glad that its over an MJ can play on a real team next year. So off to Soccer we will go. I am excited to watch him play he loves sports and does a great job working as a team. Also I am hoping for a basketball hoop so we can play together as a family. Gotta love it.

MJ Basketball Game 6 ~ 13 - 21

Another great game played. Was a fun game to watch but I mostly had fun watching Kohen take his shots. What a ham he is.. MJ has one more game then Basketball season is over. bummer. We have lost again this week but the lessons learned are worth more and the kids are having fun playing. Great Job MJ!!

Excuses no more!!

So last night I took a class on Psychology of weight loss. It was pretty interesting and how we are our own worst enemy. I would say that the thing I took home was the fact that we always seem to quit just when we are starting to see the results, ie.. jeans fit better, have energy, feel healthier. This is the time when our body is starting to change but there is no drop on the scale (at least that's the way it is for me). So what do we do, for me I start telling myself it will never happen and then I give up. What I should be doing is sticking to it. Stop making excuses and stop the vicious circle. My body is a temple and I need to take care of it. I must never give up no more..
Here is a you tube video that I thought was inspiring .

Stock in Tampax

OK it used to be a joke that with having 3 girls I would have to buy stock in Tampax. Its not a joke any more.. Our goal this year is to work on our 3 month & 1 yr supply. Everything looks good until I try to figure out how many boxes of Tampax we will need. Oh My Goodness.... Not even funny. Mind you these are the Costco size boxes. We will need 72 boxes.. Thats 5,184 tampons.. Where in the world am I going to put all of them? Attic? Maybe unbox and seal tight them? I don't know.. What I do know it that this has to be the most expensive item on our list.
I took a class that Relief Society is having every month about preparedness. Sister Stowell is a great teacher. The goal is to get the basics and a 3 month supply and add to it. The long term goal is that you have a 1 1/2 year supply and stock pile the items that you always use. When she sees a good deal on something she buys it. Eventually you will have your own little grocery store. Mind you she has been doing this for years now and it does take a while to develop but once you do it saves alot because you eventually only need to buy when its a good deal because you already have every thing you need at home. That is the long term goal. For now I have made a great chart to get us started and we will work on it a little at a time, but at least e are working on it. Now, Go buy that stock!!

MJ Basketball Game 5 ~ 15 - 22

It was a better game this time. The kids were well matched up and did a wonderful job. MJ 's energy had returned and made lots of rebounds. Lots of fun. Final score ~ us 15 them 22. Great D Kids..

Way to Go Steelers!!

OK, So it has been a long tradition int he family that when ever Mark has a game on I root for the opposite team he does. So yesterday, I started rooting for the Arizona Cardinal's. I like Kurt Warner, Hes a great guy and the girls and I think hes pretty cute. But I really tried this time. I started to but I couldn't (Either way we would have been happy no matter who wins as long as a good game was played). I got a little involved in the game and let it slip on who I really wanted to win. Everyone looked at me .. Mom, are you rooting for the Steelers?? I was caught, what could I say? Except, YEP! It was a good game. I called the final score Steelers 23 Cardinals 20. I was surprised how close I was, except reversed in score. Luckily the Steelers pulled it out and made a blessed touchdown. Amen!!