don't wait

Tonight my heart feels pain and sadness for a family from school. This young boy Mitch has been battling cancer -
http://www.gomitchgo.com/
When I first found out that he had cancer in 2005- I wanted to do something. I did nothing. I thought of him, but physically did nothing. And sometimes there is nothing physically that you can do. He went into remission. At the beginning of this school year the cancer came back. Another mom put together a birthday party for her twins, and instead of gifts for her boys, she had people bring gift cards for Mitch and his family. For gas, for food etc. What a wonderful idea, and gift I am sure.
I spoke with Mitch's mom about something I wanted to do. I have only helped once. And I will still seek the opportunities to help over the next while as life adjusts for them. But oh how I wish I would have done something sooner. Not that it would have changed the course of events for their family, but could have lifted a burden.
So my thoughts tonight are, don't wait. Don't wait to do what the Spirit prompts you to do. Don't put off because you are embarrassed or worried what someone might think. Trust the promptings, and let the outcome be.
and..
pray for this family. Pray for peace as they say goodbye.

1 year

It is official, our baby is 1!
What a blessing this boy has been this last year.
We needed him.
We are thankful for him!
The whole family is excited to celebrate his birthday.
Luke was up a few hours ago, and as I tucked him back in I reminded him that the next day would be Tuesday and that he would get to go to school, and he said "yea, and its Tuck's birthday!"
We are excited to celebrate with this boy today!

Isn't our life loud enough? or "Why a trip to the pet store is not a good idea"

We got a fish tank a few weeks ago from a family in our ward that is moving. We were all so excited-
Jay, because he has been wanting fish for a long time,
the kids, because they finally had pets ,and
me, well, I thought this was a wonderful way to have a pet without really having to take care of anything else right now.
So- we have gone to the pet store a few times to get more fish. Today we wanted to get a "scum-sucker" as Luke likes to call them. We found one and a few other fish and were trying to make our way to the registers so we could pay and leave. Of course, that involves having to stop and look at any other pets that they have for you to "adopt"-
We pass a bunch of birds and Jay says (and I quote)
"Hey honey, maybe we should get some birds- that would really make our house seem alive"
to which I replied (and I quote)
"Isn't our house loud enough? Don't you think our home is "alive" enough? Do I need to remind you of how often you mention that we need to get a decibel meter? "
Thankfully we left without any birds- I am still shaking my head.....

I have a chicken headache

My sister got married today-and to celebrate, we all drove out to Okarche to eat at
Eischen's Bar. Oh my-
Have you seen Sweet Home Alabama? I kept thinking this the whole time..."you have a baby, in a bar-"
I have a chicken headache.
There was so much chicken.
And then more chicken.
And after that there was a little more chicken with some fried okra thrown in.
There was bread, pickles and the best onions that I have ever eaten. I ate them like french fries.
Did I mention I have a chicken headache?

what to eat wednesday

This yummy comes from my neighbor Lisa. She was telling me about these crackers and how she made lunch with them and I thought.."hmm how good can a cracker be and I think I need more than a cracker to fill me up." Well I was so wrong. This was delicious! My kids love them, Savanna's friends crave them. She even takes them to school for lunch. Its kind of fancy!
This was the first time I got my kids to eat cucumbers too. I think they really like the lemon pepper on them. The kids like to eat them on the pretty plates. Kind of like a tea party!




I found these at Target. They have the brand at Walmart but a different kind. Like fiber. OK, but not as good as multi grain. Lisa said that Oprah had these on her show, as something good for you. Hooray for good!



Wasa Crackers
cream cheese
lemon pepper
turkey
shredded jack cheese
spinach leaves
cucumber
little more lemon pepper
red onion

fun friends

I got home kind of late last night, and asked Jay what I had missed. He said that the milk jug had leaked all over the shelves and that he had not had time to clean it up yet. So I headed to the fridge and look what was there...This was really for Jay, but I get to enjoy it! SOO yum! What a great friend to make my hubby's request for a birthday dessert!

Then this Sunday there was a knock at the door- Kim made this fun thing after going to the fair with her family.

She said it was for Jay's milk... swig all you want honey!

Where I came up with the name for my blog

About 6 years ago when we had just 2 kids we were driving from Utah to Oklahoma. We were listening to Disney music and a song came on I had never heard before, and I loved it. I had never heard of the movie " in search of the castaways" either. We ended up watching the movie a few years later. Did not care for the movie, but still loved the song. Our family will sing this song, french accent and all! When we lived in Oregon, I had my mom paint the title "That's life enjoy it" on our wall!

guess who is getting new jammies?

The jolly green giant has busted out of his pajammas.
I guess I know what to get him for his birthday!

Happy Birthday Weekend to my Love in the fall

I love the change of seasons. This week I was feeling a little sad about summer being gone. I was having a hard time thinking that summer was over, I never really had a last day at the pool. The kids have been back in school for a month now, and I still am wishing for another day of our own schedule and going to the pool, and sitting in the sun. Then 2 days later I got excited for fall.

I want to bake, I want to have a ultimate carmel apple party. I want to get out my fall decor, I want to start planning kids Halloween costumes. I want to be thinking of "the holidays" and what we plan to do. And it got me thinking. How much I love fall now, but how much I used to hate the fall. And I mean hate. Dread, fearful dread. The kind that makes your stomach hurt and body start to get hot. Anxious.

Nothing good ever happened in the fall. It was always a bad time for my family. Depressing.
I even used to feel sad that my color season ( you know, the colors that you look best in) was fall. Why did I have to look good in colors of a season that was no good! And it was also so sad for me whenever it was time for the General Relief Society Meeting at church. It signified that fall was officially here.

After high school I moved away to Colorado and that first fall was filled with dread. What would happen? How would things be living away from home during the worst time of the year? How would I handle being away from my family? As things happened back home I worried. I missed my family. I worried about them. I felt like I had left them, and I also felt alone. I made it and it was hard.

The next fall same thing. Still living in Colorado I was comfortable, learning to live life separate from family but with roommates that were all getting married. It just all felt so uneasy in the fall. I would still have the same sense of dread as the seasons started to change. I would look for something to go wrong. I was waiting for it to happen.

That next year I "met"Jay for the 2nd time and we dated for 2 months and were married 2 months after that. In the summer. My favorite season. We moved to Utah got settled in our first apartment and got jobs and started school. The weather started to change. It felt nice. But I had a twinge of dread. I started to worry about what might happen. What if's kind of started forming...but everything was ok. There were a few big things but Jay was calm. My sister found out she had cancer. Jay was calm. Our student loan applications took longer than expected. Jay was calm. He showed me a new way to approach things in life. Calmly.

I don't think that it was right away that I realized that I might like fall. It kind of just started to happen. Over several years, the feelings started to not be such a big deal. I started to look forward to the cooler weather coming, the leaves, "the change." As Jay calmly lived life, I was able to start enjoying mine.

Thank you dear. Thank you for that gift. Thank you for being you, thank you for teaching me so much. Thank you for helping me learn to love the season I look best in.
happy birthday weekend-


(us last fall)

Thoughtful

hmmm I can not remember what I was going to blog about!

shapes colors & glasses

Luke is loving pre-k! This week he got to wear the color of the day, and when it came time to wear all of the colors this is what he came up with. We used packing tape and cut out all the shapes and colors and went to town! He loved having his shirt all covered.
AND
As you can see...Luke got glasses. He wears them for school but thats it mostly.
So far they are still intact!

Good night, Sleep tight, and happy dreams to you..

We are not put on this earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other. If you are there always for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you.
(Jeff Warner)

The fragrance always remains on the hand that gives the rose.
(Gandhi)

Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us daily.
(Sally Koch)

I feel so thankful for all the thoughtfulness shown to me and my family over the last few days. Watching my kids, bringing us food. Serving us. Coming to the funeral. A sweet note. It has made the whole process of our offering service to my Grandaddy at the end of his mortal life more doable.

I am feeling so tired, and drained from today. After I got the boys all tucked in and asleep, and after kissing Savanna goodnight, I had a good cry. Feeling overwhelmed with all sorts of emotion. So thankful for the experiences. But it is all so tiring. So wonderful to be with ALL of my family. I had many memories of growing up around my 10 cousins. Memories of my Aunt & Uncle. Where I come from. What has shaped and made me who I am . What makes me tick.

There was sadness today, but also so many laughs. At the cemetery after everything was all said and done, and the funeral director had given the flag to Nana and read a poem, my Mother leaned over to Nana and said "is there anything you would like to say?" and in true Nana style she quipped "he's just being nice to me because I am next!" The laughter was wonderful!
My Grandparents had a "tradition" of eating frozen pizza and watching Lawrence Welk every saturday night. At the closing of the service we were treated to the closing song from the show. I can not think of a better way for things to end.
Lawrence Welk goodnight song
(click on the link above and press play to hear the song)

Grandaddy

Today my Grandfather passed away. I have many thoughts, and am so grateful for his influence in my life. I am thankful for what he gave me. I am thankful I have a son named after him. I am thankful that I got to visit him a few weeks ago and take pictures of him with Jack, and with Tucker. I am thankful that I told him I loved him. I am thankful that we had a family prayer with him when we left. I am thankful that he is now being reunited with his Mother who died when he was 5. That he is being reunited with his brothers, and dad. I am grateful that he has a clear mind now, that the disease that was taking over his mind will no longer affect him. That he is returning HOME- to our Father in Heaven. I am thankful that I KNOW. I am thankful that he is my Grandfather.

creative juice

Last week I had 1 of those creative moments that turns out just right. Unlike most of my creative endeavors as of late. You know the ones that you start making something, you run out of materials, or something breaks. Or you get interrupted and don't finish. Or somebody is trying to "help" and they "help" a little too much.
ANYWAY..
Savanna and I picked up her viola and she was so so excited that this viola came with a case that had hooks for a carrying strap. As soon as she said carrying strap, the wheels started turning! I had seen these really cool camera straps,
from this very talented lady
and I thought, "HEY...why don't you make a cool strap like those for her viola!"
Well thats exactly what I did.
I went home.
Found a strap on the floor in the garage attached to a duffle bag. (I was thankful for once,
that my garage was not more organized, or this bag would have been neatly tucked away in
the attic, and I never would have made it up there)
Grabbed some ribbon left over from the back to school book marks.
Sat down.
Sewed ribbon to the strap. (did not even change thread or bobbin for fear of "messing
something up")
Project finished!
Oh the joy that I found in finishing something creative. And having it turn out just as I envisioned.
No running to the store.
No looking at directions.
Just pure creating bliss.
And you know what was even better?
The look on Savannas face when she saw it.
It was happy for her too!

trying green?

When we talk to the kids about "going green" we use the phrase "reduce, reuse, recycle."
Long ago the phrase was
"use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."

There is talk everywhere of going green. I feel a little torn.
I like the idea of going green.
But I like my conveniences. Things that have been invented that upon using I think "WOW!"
Here are a few of my favorites that I just don't know if I want to do without.

Disposable diapers
Wet wipes
paper towels
disposable multipurpose wipes
disposable toilet bowl cleaner/scrubbers
(those last 2 are wonderful in helping my kids to get involved with the cleaning)
yummy smelling candles

So here is a list of things that I can do. And that I will do. That I am already doing.
stopping drips form the sink
mulching our lawn clippings
switching out lightbulbs
using linen napkins
recycle our newspapers

And here is another short list. Something I can do to change.
Return all the plastic bags to the store after shopping (walmart) & not take plastic bags home for small trips.

What is hard for you to think of not using? What are you currently doing? What is 1 small change you can make?

"busted" or "why jay has a milk jug with his name on it"

So last night I totally caught Jay....And I was not even sneaking up on him. Just walking into the kitchen. But by his reaction, the jump, the look on his face, the sound, then the next look, then the comment, he knew he was caught doing something that he did not plan on me seeing. Or anybody else for that matter.
He had been saying he was so thirsty, and I dont know if he was expecting me to get him something to drink, but I did not. The mind reader was just not working last night. He left the room, and I shortly followed. Not to follow him, but to go get water for the iron. He obviously did not expect me to come walking around the corner at the exact moment that he was chugging from the milk jug. He jumped and almost lost the milk he had just chugged. I wish I had a photo of the expression on his face. Priceless. It was a mixture of emotion. Not very often is Jay speechless, or left trying to explain himself. It was just so funny. All I could say was " you are so busted"- and then I grabbed a sharpie marker and wrote his name on the jug. His comment to the kids in the morning when they asked why Dad had his own jug of milk?
" I thought that I would finish off the last bit of milk, and there was more in the jug than I thought"
Hmmmm I wonder how often he takes a quick swig from the jug!
AND I wonder how soon my kids will start doing their own swigging.
OR actually I should say, I wonder when I will catch them doing their swigging?
Maybe what I will do is just label my own milk jug for me, and everyone else can do what they want with the other jugs.