tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49215509751917135092024-03-13T06:55:38.165-06:00Mare's RinconUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger651125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-59853001115558919052019-04-19T13:53:00.002-06:002019-04-19T13:53:39.764-06:00Still Alive - Barely<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was looking for some information, and was thrilled to find it here on my old blog. Mercy it has been a long time!<br />
And so much has changed in those 2+ years.<br />
In September 2017, I went back to school to work on my masters degree. I can't wait to graduate in a few short weeks. Boy has it been a doozy.<br />
Throw in children graduating and getting full time jobs and starting school and getting boyfriends, and beginning to drive, a few baseball games, losing 100+ lbs and changing our lifestyle, 3 years of dead/frozen bees, a fly buzzing around my living room at the moment and you are almost up to date!<br />
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These past few weeks we've been surprised with some news, which has thrown us for a loop. We will know more later today (we hope). We've been working to adjust. I thought I had everything planned out for my career after graduation, but have found that this simply is not the case - and am trying to figure that out. There's simply a lot to figure out right now.<br />
And so, I'm working on letting go of it and giving it to Heavenly Father. Placing it in His hands and trusting that He knows best, and working on having the faith that He only gives good gifts. I'm not sure what the good is in the current gift I'm facing, but hoping against hope for good news.<br />
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He only gives good gifts. Look for the good in all of the gifts. This is my mantra for today. <3 p=""><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-47304818054029961512017-01-23T19:03:00.002-07:002017-01-23T19:03:59.024-07:00Change<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A LOT has changed since my last blog post.</div>
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A lot with me at least.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGe39kPpxDqJGsoodFIvNOfXsbwx4QTV2mSTjY2IOfs9WzyVU4RPUt8t-EKh-3902CAtJkcPT6T-3cDf61QANWU1aUrMbcCXfLOUhTKbOFYm8VGo3kn_tIz_o4ZTd9wVvtZKxw0GoQyRk/s1600/MM+3+mo+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGe39kPpxDqJGsoodFIvNOfXsbwx4QTV2mSTjY2IOfs9WzyVU4RPUt8t-EKh-3902CAtJkcPT6T-3cDf61QANWU1aUrMbcCXfLOUhTKbOFYm8VGo3kn_tIz_o4ZTd9wVvtZKxw0GoQyRk/s320/MM+3+mo+collage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you follow these pictures right to left, you can follow my health progression. </div>
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The picture on the far right was from September 23rd. The middle, from Thanksgiving, and the left, Jan 23. So, yep, there's me 4 months later. </div>
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In September, I decided to make a few changes and so I started going walking in the am with my husband. I realized I'd been grieving for my life and friends in Florida for long enough. I also decided to cut out sugar for a while. I'd been exercising for a week and off of sugar for a week in that photo. </div>
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Towards the end of October, I came across enough information that told me that I wanted to try a WFPB (whole food, plant based) lifestyle change. This included removing all animal products, sugar, oils, refined flours, and processed foods. </div>
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And it has been an interesting process! I've been learning lots of new things and it has been an adventure. Learning to cook differently than ever before. Figuring out what I and my family like or don't like. </div>
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Part of the reason for this post though, is to celebrate. I'm almost (just a few pounds shy still) down 50 pounds. Which is exciting in itself, but here's the exciting news. Today, I went out for my regular walk and thought to myself, "why don't I just see how far I can run today?" I know there are 6 hills that I'll have to climb, and I can walk them, but I should see if I can at least make it to the first hill. </div>
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And so I started to jog. </div>
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And I kept jogging, up those 6 hills and back down, and around, and I ran 4.2 miles today - without stopping! 3 months ago, I wondered out loud if I'd ever be able to run our walking route, and my husband assured me I could. I never thought it would happen so quickly! I haven't run this type of a distance since 2002... Furthermore, that middle picture...you know, from Thanksgiving? That was taken at a 5k Turkey trot. Which I participated in, and walked at least half (if not more of). </div>
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So...today was a victory for me. I was amazed that I truly felt like I could have kept going, almost double of what I'd already done (but didn't have the time). I'm excited to see where this takes me. I'm excited to see my own personal growth and achievement. </div>
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We decided to try out the WFPB diet/lifestyle simply because we'd come across so much information regarding so many diseases being preventable, solely through diet. Cancer, Heart Disease, Alzheimers to name a few. Having seen a couple of dear friends just go through cancer, we realized that if these diseases are actually preventable, simply through diet, we wanted to try it out and see how we felt. </div>
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In a couple of words, these are the buzz words we keep using: </div>
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Full. </div>
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Never thought on a plant based diet I'd say that I usually felt full and didn't have cravings. </div>
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Energy</div>
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I've been amazed at the energy levels I've found. I've cut 40 minutes off of our weekly hiking route, and was able to add in 2.5 more miles. I've slept better, and haven't felt the total exhaustion that has accompanied my exercise in the past. </div>
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Awesome</div>
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The foods are awesome, it's been a total adventure! </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-43260165915201074642016-08-24T12:02:00.001-06:002016-08-24T12:02:05.641-06:00Still here<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's been a whirl wind of a summer.<br />
The girls and I trekked all over the northwest, putting at least 6,000 miles on the car.<br />
Together we traveled to Oregon, Ca (Redwood forest - ooh la la!), Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Utah and Colorado. When we totaled it up, we realized that through the second week of August, we had collectively only been home for 2 weeks this summer. Crazy!<br />
We've been grateful to see lots of family and spend time with them - making up for all of those years we spent so far away in Florida.<br />
Er.. well really, we were taking our kids to different activities.<br />
Our eldest went to a youth conference with her cousin in Oregon. Then we took her to a youth camp in Provo Utah for a week, while the little one and I visited cousins in Co., and also stopped in for a Rockies game (still love that stadium!). We then hung out in Ut. for a couple of days, picked up a BFF from Florida who flew in to spend the month with us, and then headed back to Wa.<br />
We then drove back down to the Ut. border the next week for a family reunion and back home.<br />
Back home again, the girls went to a church camp, then we headed back to Ut. to drop the BFF back to the airport and back home again after a pit stop in Idaho where we left our eldest daughter. She traveled up to West Yellowstone where she camped and hiked and swam and slept in a hammock all week at a boy scout leadership training camp. She learned how to really rough it there, and had an amazing time.<br />
The rest of us stayed home, my husband was in a car accident. Just quietly waiting to turn onto a road when a collision in the intersection landed a truck on top of his car and through the windshield.He walked out with just a broken pinky - so blessed! <br />That was the same day that I discovered a huge water leak from the AC in the garage, into our office - ruining our carpet and pad.<br />
We turned off the AC (for the 3rd week this summer due to it not working), and then headed back to W. Yellowstone to retrieve our daughter. We camped for a couple of days and just enjoyed hanging out, sitting by the fire, listening to ghost stories from an audio book by Jonathan Stroud. Then we all headed back home.<br />
Next up - the girls are going on a backpacking trip this week with the young women from church. <br />
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In other news, last week was canning week. We canned peaches, pears, tomatoes, and raspberry jam. We also dried a bunch of pears and plums, and we bought a new car to replace the one that had the truck land on it. <br />
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On top of all of this, our oldest daughter got her driver's license (EEK!) and has begun her road to independence. She's loving running her sister around, shopping and going to the library without me. She's also looking forward to driving herself to school. She also started to teach piano lessons and has 3x the students that I have (she also charges much less than me).<br />
And, we just heard that she made it through the audition for the local youth symphony here in the Tri-Cities area. So excited for her. Life just got even more busy.<br />
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So, there you have it - the condensed synopsis of our summer!<br />We are looking forward to cool weather and lots of routine!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-16811906602208252662016-05-05T11:03:00.000-06:002016-05-05T11:03:54.852-06:00Growing up <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yippee!<br />
I'm still here. <br />
Looking for momentous things to write about. Our lives have been so busy, yet it all seems to be a blur.<br />
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Oh! Our most exciting bit of news....my birthday. My husband was so kind - I wasn't set to put much stock into having another birthday, however, HE wanted to make sure it was celebrated properly, and so it was.<br />
I spent the morning doing a little shopping, then went to the mall with a friend in a paint your own pottery shop. I haven't finished it yet though...gotta get back there!<br />
The activity days girls came by and we played water kick ball, and a couple of other games, and then some friends we knew back in Colorado (who have since moved to Idaho), were driving through, and so they went to dinner with us. Indian...yum.<br />
The next morning though - that's when it gets good.<br />
But I've got to preface it with a story.<br />
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A few weeks ago, we were planning a surprise birthday party for our oldest daughter. Her birthday was over spring break and most of the kids were out of town. We heard word that another family had moved into our neighborhood and church community, and that they had a daughter and son who are between our oldest in age. So - in order to check them out and see if we should invite them to the party, and to welcome them, and get to know them better, we invited them to dinner. We'd never met.<br />
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Dinner was great...except the sauce from the lasagna dripped in the oven and started smoking and almost started a fire. Nothing like guests coming to the door with the house filled with smoke and the fire alarm blaring. Yes...welcome and come in...I bet you are super excited for what we are going to feed you no?<br />
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As we were asking the kids about themselves, the son said he was going to go to school and study business, and then take over his father's business. So...we asked what the dad did. He said that he is a bee keeper.<br />
I got really excited. Then I told him I had called a guy a while ago to ask about bees, but he had never called me back. I found the business card and we found out it was him! (He thought he had called and had me in his data base for some reason). <br />
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Anyways..it just so happened, that he was getting some bees ready to sale. So, we bought to nucs - this includes bees, brood, and a queen - about 4 frames. <br />
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So, we put them into our boxes and we now have bees. So excited!<br />
So that's one thing. I recently read a book on beekeeping. The one I received for my birthday last year, but never read because I didn't have bees. <br />
Can't wait for the honey!<br />
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Our oldest daughter got asked to prom this weekend - she is pretty excited, so we've been busy answering the boy and dress shopping and trying out hairdos and the likes. We went to a lot of stores, but really struggled to find anything modest and less than $400 that we liked. Finally, we headed to Pasco where there's a high hispanic population. We then spent 6 hours in their quinceanera dress shops, and walked away with a winning dress. Complete with a hooped petticoat, but she may be too shy to wear. Oh the excitement!<br />
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Our youngest is busily involved with drama, and we were able to see her first performance this week. She's super excited about all things drama and we get to hear lots about it. <br />
She also got CONTACTS! Yes. This little one has been wearing glasses since she was 6. We moved her into contacts a couple of weeks ago, and we still sort of expect to see her squinting when we see her, because without glasses, that's usually what we saw. She is super excited for a birthday that's upcoming, and to be able to wear make up!<br />
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So, I guess our news is that we are all growing up and older. <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-3809090473299242162016-04-15T08:53:00.004-06:002016-04-15T08:53:30.698-06:00Still alive - barely<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We are alive, and we survived our move to Washington. For the record, the week before Christmas isn't the best time to move to the Tri-Cities area...especially from a sunny state, and especially if you aren't prepared for 8 weeks of cloudiness and no sun. <div>
Gratefully, we are enjoying sunny skies. </div>
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Lots has happened since our move. </div>
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I only have a few minutes today, and I'll post some photos later, but here are the cliff notes. </div>
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<li>Moved in, and had to clean and paint the entire house. </li>
<li>Highlight of the painting was little miss's room that we did in five colors, blended together with pink on the bottom, graduating up to cream on the top. It really is a wonder and quite lovely. Our oldest daughter went for a beach theme - linen colored walls with a sea blue/green accent - it's pretty. </li>
<li>Furniture procurement & putting the house together. </li>
<li>Road trip to see my brother and his family in Oregon (only 8 hours!)</li>
<li>3 months of car shopping (I was limited to a 10 mile range)</li>
<li>Teenage driving lessons - oh me oh my! (She drove to Pocatello & back - only 9 hours!)</li>
<li>A quick trip for hubby & me to Ut. to attend the Utah Coalition Against Pornography Conference</li>
<li>Application process for grad school (yep, for me!) - still waiting to hear back</li>
<li>Opened my music studio, and started 7 piano/violin students</li>
<li>Teaching our daughter how to run a business - she is now self employed, teaching piano lessons</li>
<li>Taxes...including employed, self employed, unemployed, home office, cross nation move, rental real estate refinance, two homes sold, one home purchased. I finally threw in the towel after two weeks of working on them, and paid someone who really knew what they were doing to do them. Good thing - now I"m not to blame. He said they were "fun" - they were definitely out of the box! </li>
<li>And finally, I've been occupied with work and gathering individuals together to form a coalition against sexual exploitation in the state of Wa. Tonight is our first meeting, we've invited our local and state representatives, and our aim will be to bring a legislative resolution recognizing pornography as a public health crisis, which will then give us the ground to stand on to work towards child protective legislation, and possibly, national legislation.</li>
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I'll be honest, our move to Wa. has been difficult for me. I'm pretty outgoing and friendly, and it was hard to leave my friends in Fl. behind. I haven't found the same types of friendships here yet. And so I've been in mourning. My kids and husband leave the home each day and have social interactions - I haven't found those yet, and I'm an extrovert who needs this! I've realized that perhaps this just isn't the time...so I've been able to throw myself into my work - working with women going through betrayal trauma due to a spouse's sexual addiction(s). I've found much peace and purpose in this work, and am finding passion in pulling together the coalition that we will hopefully form tonight. So excited! </div>
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So, there it is - our past 4 months in a nutshell. Still alive. Still kicking and saucy as ever!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-18861950918592570752015-11-17T08:05:00.000-07:002015-11-17T08:06:08.865-07:00Chronicles of selling a house in Colorado<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This was a draft from July, 2015 that I never posted.... here it is, better late than never.<br />
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Life has a tendency to be like a roller coaster.<br />
Let me correct that-my life has the aforementioned characteristic.<br />
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Somethings go up, others go down-at a tear jerking screaming unexpected crazy roller coaster speed and pace with the wildest turns imagineable.<br />
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At least that's kind of how it has been lately.<br />
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I can't remember when I I last blogged so here I will say it.<br />
You know our sweet cute cozy little yellow house in Colorado?<br />
It was totally defiled!<br />
We went to Colorado with the intent of renewing our lease with our tenant.<br />
Sorry if we didn't see you or notify you (Caterina). My husband flew to Denver, I came via SLC it was a bit contrived but we got there.<br />
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That morning I was saying my prayers, thinking about my<br />
Upcoming day, asking Heavenly Father for help on the things up ahead of me and I had the impression that we should sale our home.<br />
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Say what?<br />
So I said "honey, why don't you say a prayer before we leave". He did and came to me saying "we need to sale it."<br />
There was the confirmation. Law of two witnesses right?<br />
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We got to our home, met the tenant. Started checking the house out. He asked if we could extend the lease for the next two years at least. We said no, we need to sale.<br />
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My husband was checking everything out and said I'm going downstairs. Our tenant, said., "ah, you know, there's nothing down there". So I I went too.<br />
As we headed down the steps, he says, "I have cancer".<br />
We thought that was a little ill placed but didn't think much of it. For the next two steps down.<br />
And then we turned the corner.<br />
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And saw.... Our 1,200 sq foot unfinished basement that had been turned into a commercial marijuanna grow center. Really.<br />
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Defiled.<br />
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We were assured that he was registered for medicinal use with the state.<br />
Yeah right. The state allows 6 plants. Not 600. (Ok maybe I exaggerated but maybe half of that).<br />
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Since the lease was almost up, he told his he would be moved in the next couple of weeks.<br />
Being an absent landlord is tough. Really tough!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-68752757625378969122015-11-17T08:04:00.002-07:002015-11-17T08:04:22.828-07:00New Adventures<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
SO much to do, so little time to post.<br />
Life has jumped into fast forward mode for us.<br />
It seems to always be an adventure - one crazy thing after another.<br />
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This July, we traveled to Colorado and discovered that our sweet little yellow house, was actually being used for a commercial pot growing operation. Our tenant insisted that he never smoked it, (the house reeked) and told me that he only used it for medicinal purposes, and put it in his smoothies, unfortunately for him, the carpet didn't lie like he did. <br />
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In the end, my husband spent a few fine days in Colorado, begging our tenant to leave (in the end we had to pay for a hotel so he would leave), ripping out carpet, repainting and fixing up our home there. <br />
We were gratefully able to sale it in October, and have (sadly) closed the Colorado chapter of our lives.<br />
Sniff - so many good memories and things learned there, and sweet ones we love(d).<br />
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The same day that our house sold, my husband received a job offer in the state of Washington. Yep, as in - the other side of the nation - the polar other side of the nation. <br />
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We all traveled there on a house hunting trip, and saw a lot of homes in the Tri-Cities area and we are excited to be moving there next month. That said, there's SO much to do here in Florida. So many beaches we haven't visited, so many items on my bucket list that will have to wait until we move back (along with lots of packing, cleaning, and getting yet another home ready to sale).<br />
I really love Florida, and am so sad to be leaving. It has been a crucible here. We've experienced a lot of really hard things, but we've also definitively seen God's hand in our lives, and we've been so touched by the kindness of others here.<br />
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As we were thinking and pondering such a big move for our family, we went to the temple, looking for some heavenly insights. I was a little distracted, and not very focused, but one thought that very distinctively came into my mind is that God is a creator, planner, and preparer. Before sending us to earth, He created every single minute detail down to the T. Planned it, and executed it. He planned the rivers, streams, insects, fish, larvae, grass, flowers, lava to create land, weather systems, and even that pesky mosquito. Every single minute detail. <br />
I realized that if God was sending us to Washington, He would have also prepared before sending us there. But then I argued (in my head), "But I don't even know anyone there in that area!" And then, suddenly, I remembered a sweet missionary from our church who we had been close with, who 'might have been from somewhere in Washington'? <br />
Leaving the temple, I shared this with my husband, and texted this young man (who completed his mission about 5 years ago). Amazingly, this young man was from the exact area we were looking at moving to. He put us in touch with his parents, who were so kind and sweet and helpful with information. They've been such a blessing to us, and I've learned that Heavenly Father prepares all needful things if we are just patient, and look for His hand in our lives. <br />
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My boxes are calling my name - and so our adventure continues...next stop Washington! </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-63558254857218652822015-08-11T11:19:00.002-06:002015-11-17T08:08:07.275-07:00Sweat, tears, and Blessings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is a draft from June 2015, that never got posted.... guess I'm backdating old posts. Anyways, it should serve the purpose of documenting my good intention. Sometimes it is so hard to find that pesky Publish button!<br />
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I haven't decided how I'll title this post.<br />
I'm still deliberating about whether I should add a *whine alert at the beginning of this post.<br />
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Ugh.<br />
I'm so hot. Not as in, "oh, baby I'm hot", but as in..."Oh MAN I AM SO STINKING HOT!!"<br />
However, on further introspection, I realize that my house, rather than myself is hot. <br />
It started out with my husband's loss of work. Yes, yes, he's still unemployed. There are a few roasters in the fire, but they are roasting slowly...as am I in this hot house. (I did warn about the whining right?)<br />
As we evaluated our finances, we decided that our pleasantly cool home could be sacrificed for a few bucks. As in, we went from 72* to 78*. It doesn't seem like much, but let me tell ya...anything above 74* causes me to break out in a sweat. As in literally pouring down my face (and chest and back) if I move kind of lovely sweat.<br />
It's okay. I've been surviving, and daily grateful that we installed overhead lights when we moved in, and that they included ceiling fans. We've been surviving. <br />
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Until the AC went out. Just about the same time that we began looking for new work, our AC started making weird noises. Mind you, we've had to have someone out twice in the 2.5 years that we've owned our home. We have a dinosaur of a system. It was supposed to last for 12-15 years. I believe we are now at 17 or 18. We may have reached our limit and may get to bury this prehistoric beast.<br />
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They say when it rains it pours... we've seen that too. (Where is the rain? I wouldn't mind some of that right now. Unfortunately, in Florida, the rain comes down warm). Yes, my brain is wandering in strange heat induced circles...and my children are asking if they can make soup. Really??!<br />
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My saving grace is the swimming pool. I can survive there until the AC guy comes at 3. I hope.<br />
Or a friend just invited us to the movies...except that there's nothing worth seeing. Even for $1. Perhaps Cinderella again?<br />
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Okay, on to the good parts. There's always a silver lining right?<br />
We've been blessed. Oh, SO blessed.<br />
Here are some of the highlights:<br />
7 new music students - just sort of out of the blue showed up this summer - helping us to keep paying our mortgage.<br />
We had planned on a trip to the west to see family, but were unsure of the finances to get us there. A friend called and offered the use of her car while she was here in Florida.<br />
A family member moved and doesn't have a specific airline serving in their new area - she had some flight points that she gifted us that helped us get back home.<br />
My husband's previous job required him to travel...he had enough points to fly out after an interview.<br />
Our children's music teacher has continued to work with our kids.<br />
Both girls were able to participate in band camps with their schools this summer.<br />
We refinanced our Co. home just as all of this hit, so we had 1 month of not having to pay the mortgage.<br />
SO many blessings that have been showered upon us from up above.<br />
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Sometimes, life is just about learning to smile through the tears, or sweat drops, and learning to LOOK up, because when you do, you see God's hand - outstretched, as He reaches towards you and lifts you up. His vision is not our own. We've been cradled in his hand this summer. We've been immensely blessed. Our problems, are first world problems. We are healthy (we did have a weird bug bite this summer, but all is well), we have a roof over our head, and ceiling fans that work. We also have a pool out back, that I'm going to go jump into, and I'm going to float on my back, and ponder on the goodness and mercy of a God that loves and cares for me, more than I can ever imagine.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-48448013005685293992015-05-27T07:40:00.000-06:002015-05-27T07:40:10.565-06:00Endings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We've been dealt some interesting endings in the past few weeks. Read on...<br />
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Today is the last day of school! Hooray!!!<br />
I've never been as excited as this year. <br />
Our oldest daughter has been such a trooper. She's been getting up at 4:40am to get ready for school...well, her alarm goes off then. She has learned the fine art of napping - which she never before appreciated (except when she was 0-5). Sleep deprivation at it's finest. <br />
She has gotten herself up (most of the time) so that she could attend Early Morning Seminary which translates as early morning bible study. Mind you, it wasn't all her choice. There was a pre-existing agreement. Something about a flute, and if she was involved with marching band, then she had to attend seminary. I know. Mean mom. But she made it through. Just 6 more years of early morning seminary for our house! <br />
Really, I was so thrilled to sleep in. So thrilled in fact that today, on her last day of school, she was so quiet getting ready that I didn't even wake up to help her get out the door with breakfast and lunch. (She gets really hangry, and I usually get up out of self preservation, knowing that we are all much happier when she eats regular meals). She did say that she will be okay though - she got a lollipop in Spanish class. The good news is that she will be home by 11:30, and she will make up for her missed breakfast.<br />
Anyways, she made it through the year!! Hallelujah for summertime!<br />
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I did in fact get our youngest daughter out the door...this could also be related to the fact that her school doesn't even start until around 9:30 am.<br />
Here's her first day of school last fall...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ79hSKparIYoxgnHUERb9jHEYCpJLyKD5T_G6oPFdSaQb_I4y5f4C685eFpVLFGEFSZ_xhyphenhyphenykowoC2XIJZij6olcdn7Shbh2ibBkW2DMvdwxhRV0NpHlJCxDI7ScHk7okrVaZze12Ycs/s1600/m+first+day+of+school1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ79hSKparIYoxgnHUERb9jHEYCpJLyKD5T_G6oPFdSaQb_I4y5f4C685eFpVLFGEFSZ_xhyphenhyphenykowoC2XIJZij6olcdn7Shbh2ibBkW2DMvdwxhRV0NpHlJCxDI7ScHk7okrVaZze12Ycs/s320/m+first+day+of+school1.jpg" width="240" /></a> All chipper and excited, not knowing what the future holds.</div>
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And here's her last day of school. Wiser, not quite as innocent (middle school teaches all sorts of things...girl drama, things aren't as they seem, and lots of new cuss words (not that she uses them)). </div>
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I'm happy to say that she still lets me play with her hair in the morning...so we did this fancy updo today...er, I did it while she watched Mr. Bean. Her photo speaks volumes...as in come on mom, I've got to go!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjLfLtjAHnh6WyzKy9oaO94EZXSa7L8V9HegMquxCbJiYmi65LqKimJTwwewQYBPaMPLMchNam6KzRm2HkVmfr1AGnUs6CZD-MJcgS_9GV-PENyDh9IWgh4NDcEP6nJImr8Br1xL036C8/s1600/m+last+day+of+school1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjLfLtjAHnh6WyzKy9oaO94EZXSa7L8V9HegMquxCbJiYmi65LqKimJTwwewQYBPaMPLMchNam6KzRm2HkVmfr1AGnUs6CZD-MJcgS_9GV-PENyDh9IWgh4NDcEP6nJImr8Br1xL036C8/s320/m+last+day+of+school1.jpg" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhid24GP2cW1I9P41mf7BjnDC9kozBuq0cxp9wd1FDfaq41NB_SuPcrubumiZI0F3BBi-SIPLSPJdwVJ8n_9HlmrdCiPlWnxiIVAM5L415XFCcz8FnWfISwR4GOjSfMpy7PHUj23he1Uc0/s1600/hair1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhid24GP2cW1I9P41mf7BjnDC9kozBuq0cxp9wd1FDfaq41NB_SuPcrubumiZI0F3BBi-SIPLSPJdwVJ8n_9HlmrdCiPlWnxiIVAM5L415XFCcz8FnWfISwR4GOjSfMpy7PHUj23he1Uc0/s320/hair1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Next ending. </div>
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The last time I blogged (two weeks ago), I got everything updated, and then my husband called me and came home. He was laid off from his work. He was hired for a position that was split in half because the responsibilities were so great. 4 months later, his boss left, and his reports changed from 9 to 19, and from 19 hospitals, to 31. He is really great at producing stability. He was in a historically high turn over job for 4 years. During that time, he had 4 different bosses. His most recent boss came in and decided that he wanted something different, and so he let my husband go. </div>
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It's an interesting place to be. We weren't expecting it. </div>
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But, we've been praying that my husband would be able to be in a job where he could help many people, and would be well respected. So...our paradigm has changed. Do we stay here for our kids? They like their schools, although they aren't completely tied to them with the best friends in the world. They have friends, but I think they'd be okay if we had to move. </div>
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I'd be ungrateful if I didn't state first of all that we've been so blessed. I decided to start keeping a journal, and recording the blessings that we are seeing in our lives everyday. I know that they come from God. There's no way I could say that they aren't. </div>
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In the past week, I picked up 3 new music students. One literally walked in my door. </div>
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I feel peaceful. </div>
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My husband and I have both been on a long hard road. Of personal healing. Neither is at the end of our road, but we've picked up some skills along the way. One of which is more reliance on Heavenly Father. </div>
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This keeps reverberating around in my brain: </div>
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Proverbs 3:5-6</div>
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Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. </div>
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In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. </div>
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We are buckling down and settling in for the ride...and as we do, we see His hand in our lives, every day and feel a Father's love for his child. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-45918232636433196322015-05-15T09:12:00.000-06:002015-05-15T09:12:50.982-06:00Where upon the fine viewers of this blog see lots of photos and a verbal commentary of the past 3 months<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I guess you could say that I took a sabbatical. For the record, I did come across several half baked posts, that never made it all of the way. </div>
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As such, here's a really long post, with 44 pictures that depict what we've been up to in the most recent past. Not necessarily in any chronological (or logical) order mind you. </div>
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For several (many) years, we've been looking for a painting. We know exactly what we want, but just haven't been able to find it. Spanish tile and stucco walls, possibly ocean, and tons of bright bougainvillea. </div>
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This one is the closest to what we want, but it isn't right. after going to every single shop we could find, (several times in the past 3 years) we narrowed it down to a few that were maybes.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEl4KFsHdSgRL3dd1wy-thupGFCZPMyWyV201WP1X6JAwY2ibAPKEh_j3b5BPO7eU0Kga_HLuLTtsV2AGMwp4J2wvOhsEwjNMtHM61LHBagER8OeMjaS9Gr5Zg4S7Qs2DvqDpu5X5aIA/s1600/idea1l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEl4KFsHdSgRL3dd1wy-thupGFCZPMyWyV201WP1X6JAwY2ibAPKEh_j3b5BPO7eU0Kga_HLuLTtsV2AGMwp4J2wvOhsEwjNMtHM61LHBagER8OeMjaS9Gr5Zg4S7Qs2DvqDpu5X5aIA/s320/idea1l.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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Suprisingly, this random abstract painting spoke to me, and now sits upon our wall. </div>
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Not exactly the landscape we were imagining :) </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_nt5bxMLLfK2jsqpxym4DtacGh7yS6WUK-hG_fRQ3ScAS_to-VUjQ9BDopLPM8x5T1yxaUZW7qwZd7QXaEvYEZs4OvBUO8eFUAkB6Q-vef4ib0VmQbOBGt36E7P3tvQjtKib4D3U1bA/s1600/abstract1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK_nt5bxMLLfK2jsqpxym4DtacGh7yS6WUK-hG_fRQ3ScAS_to-VUjQ9BDopLPM8x5T1yxaUZW7qwZd7QXaEvYEZs4OvBUO8eFUAkB6Q-vef4ib0VmQbOBGt36E7P3tvQjtKib4D3U1bA/s320/abstract1.jpg" width="318" /></a></div>
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This is a really good book I've been reading. It is like, change your world good. </div>
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I had to speak in church a few weeks ago and pulled some thoughts out of it. </div>
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Along with speaking in church, I've been going through some personal and emotional healing. </div>
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Both my husband and I have. I'm a really good suppressor, and I've supressed and bunch of junk for like, my whole life. Somehow, my pandora's box opened, and I've been doing a LOT of self healing since mid-January. I found a fantastic group that has been helpful to me, and we've really had to slow down and examine our marriage and relationship, and we've had to really work very hard. My healing did involve a month of bland numbness, and a lot of "just being". I've been reading one to two books a week along with my scriptures, and have been very grateful for the healing that I've been finding. Not fun, or pretty, but slowly healing. And the good news is that we are still married! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOhoPthwlWnzJC9DxFv9gxLvVxT5PYTSLKA_4Qs7vY2vKwg9Ra4Hz-GDCX8NHN-SNRMIj7YKSJ4y-HayLsodSkAikuxtIzMK_sOX1ml2ZQE-9B3Vp1L7zeet7Ry7FXxIUo48RvHVygiwU/s1600/book+recommendation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOhoPthwlWnzJC9DxFv9gxLvVxT5PYTSLKA_4Qs7vY2vKwg9Ra4Hz-GDCX8NHN-SNRMIj7YKSJ4y-HayLsodSkAikuxtIzMK_sOX1ml2ZQE-9B3Vp1L7zeet7Ry7FXxIUo48RvHVygiwU/s320/book+recommendation.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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Here are our ghetto curtains. </div>
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Yep - that is a bed sheet. High class people. </div>
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Someone yanked the curtains out of the wall somehow. It looked awesome. </div>
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And I'm glad our handyman friend could fix it for us...</div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZXT8n6D1ZV8DCy8sGk1zc1WOIV6yIsgYFJmIQHJcs39ZBWfz-I7eupTeVrx4VUwPGU7Ubvfl4DNuZSoGIqX5-QZc8TPWP0RGLoLFDxXBoOpokbrN-aYuWz1ivrmaItly5RQXN07meTyk/s1600/ghetto+window1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZXT8n6D1ZV8DCy8sGk1zc1WOIV6yIsgYFJmIQHJcs39ZBWfz-I7eupTeVrx4VUwPGU7Ubvfl4DNuZSoGIqX5-QZc8TPWP0RGLoLFDxXBoOpokbrN-aYuWz1ivrmaItly5RQXN07meTyk/s320/ghetto+window1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My daughter and I went for a leisurely Saturday am bikeride. </div>
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Except that we ended up at a garage sale. </div>
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And we ended up buying this grill. </div>
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Grateful to our neighbor for his willingness to help me get it home since my husband was out on a run, and this was a hot garage sale item!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhymxm-JGnOJk6W30jcc696ixRCQXWZIJUe8czHr-47MZemC27UxyCz1yLCx_SZspgHup0M9Dq1jLKXt8XCN5sqUU8TzmaXxuhxyEGHrb99gKbE6CmY7j0gxPuGOY8sXmwIrKqrVTLtUBk/s1600/grill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhymxm-JGnOJk6W30jcc696ixRCQXWZIJUe8czHr-47MZemC27UxyCz1yLCx_SZspgHup0M9Dq1jLKXt8XCN5sqUU8TzmaXxuhxyEGHrb99gKbE6CmY7j0gxPuGOY8sXmwIrKqrVTLtUBk/s320/grill.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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At some point in time (it's all a blur), we were asked to help out with the catering of a state wide single adult church conference. We had to leave by 4:15am to get there by 6:00 am. </div>
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Part of the entertainment (this is Florida folks) was when "Fluffy" was brought out for some fun pictures. </div>
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This little gal was a trooper. We were dead on our feet. </div>
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They held church in the rodeo grounds the second day. It was pretty cool to be sitting in the bleachers, receiving the sacrament, and hearing the sand hill cranes, woodpeckers, and braying donkeys and cows while we took the sacrament and contemplated the Savior's atonement for us.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybEJXi8Jptcd-QYm38rO2F4ZQd3InJA5pSE5iHa_Ny_RQ5VLnU1eeRt3t8r_v9IMXFCKNLoTJ7dIqKkSsw8CTV-rm9YWzdUqdW8nmLHQ-x_Ea2kWO7qEujgYWMGuYailu8AtsycVrXbg/s1600/m+alligator1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhybEJXi8Jptcd-QYm38rO2F4ZQd3InJA5pSE5iHa_Ny_RQ5VLnU1eeRt3t8r_v9IMXFCKNLoTJ7dIqKkSsw8CTV-rm9YWzdUqdW8nmLHQ-x_Ea2kWO7qEujgYWMGuYailu8AtsycVrXbg/s320/m+alligator1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Here's just a cute shot of our youngest. Both girls got new glasses and prescriptions. </div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKt2j_uDPscNb_uC9E_lBjDx2GdE18bS1nBQp_Xab1bWtvPCy9z91RJFSDzXtsZHegiW7zLDns7nA2w4v54dRi3pR0wZpoHcHipBiKATLzmgKRkhYlS0vAw8eCKdf_LQ89WDki0N5ZDXE/s1600/maddie1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKt2j_uDPscNb_uC9E_lBjDx2GdE18bS1nBQp_Xab1bWtvPCy9z91RJFSDzXtsZHegiW7zLDns7nA2w4v54dRi3pR0wZpoHcHipBiKATLzmgKRkhYlS0vAw8eCKdf_LQ89WDki0N5ZDXE/s320/maddie1.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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And here's a picture of our dinner. </div>
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That's right, it does look like funeral fare! </div>
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Our eldest daughter was being very specific about her desires for her funeral. So, we held a plan your own funeral Family Home Evening, and enjoyed funeral potatoes, ham, and green jello for our exciting funeral themed evening. And we bought a fire chest, and planned our funeral services. Yeah, a bit morbid but prepared.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ioJcOab1hjcL4FMCiOJFbuWBX0k1k9Cb5rpMY5dcZJePtsB0lfU4JMPSLBJzHlKNTNLt6GaifZLz2aFcOma8KKVPqolsJsffG6ZF8GEgXkZdp34MkMtd4BQMktoOFLWFDkVtniZk8Pk/s1600/funeral+fhe1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ioJcOab1hjcL4FMCiOJFbuWBX0k1k9Cb5rpMY5dcZJePtsB0lfU4JMPSLBJzHlKNTNLt6GaifZLz2aFcOma8KKVPqolsJsffG6ZF8GEgXkZdp34MkMtd4BQMktoOFLWFDkVtniZk8Pk/s320/funeral+fhe1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Both of our girls participated in, and received Superiors for flute solos at Solo and Ensemble in February.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03B89leZGrKSFErchSxliZR90VKZlRKvY2WKZ1lkLv1xeRIiWVtZVnepSCHh3aoeGczJEmyocNbcTqAZo1pTnBQJl-iC8CN16_j-0oetE1GD8QkP5OG0HefDN67jPpHbiEgHuewyteXI/s1600/s+and+e+maddie+&+mom1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03B89leZGrKSFErchSxliZR90VKZlRKvY2WKZ1lkLv1xeRIiWVtZVnepSCHh3aoeGczJEmyocNbcTqAZo1pTnBQJl-iC8CN16_j-0oetE1GD8QkP5OG0HefDN67jPpHbiEgHuewyteXI/s320/s+and+e+maddie+&+mom1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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During spring break (when it was beautiful and in the 80's and perfect beach weather) we headed North. And once again realized, we REALLY don't like the cold. </div>
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We spent time with my brother's sweet family. (So sweet that we didn't even take a photo with them - what is wrong with us!?)</div>
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We spent two days visiting sites in Washington DC. </div>
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Here are the girls enjoying the azalea installation at the National Art Gallery (my pick)</div>
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It was so incredibly beautiful!</div>
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On our way to the science museum, we discovered an outdoor ice skating rink. It may have been the girl's favorite. They were even nice to each other. And this photo is definitely for posterity's sake. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3QXwplyRZN7_GeR4OFT_-hfsSNp9UdfNopF3xZxrZANarxli0CP90yMJvVjiyTFMsU4Ix9KOkNj73UOrKE19a3I-ZuS3bA9zrBOS0OHPe1ALbxBorzhYittBfMvlCAo-sQws6a0fkjI/s1600/ice+skate+dc1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB3QXwplyRZN7_GeR4OFT_-hfsSNp9UdfNopF3xZxrZANarxli0CP90yMJvVjiyTFMsU4Ix9KOkNj73UOrKE19a3I-ZuS3bA9zrBOS0OHPe1ALbxBorzhYittBfMvlCAo-sQws6a0fkjI/s320/ice+skate+dc1.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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We visited the National Archives. There we saw the Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights. But we have no proof. They wouldn't let us take photos. </div>
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We also visited the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial. All in all, we walked back and forth, totalling 7 miles that day. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9EVkPi4mIAsp-Ro3mLPlLVa2JskN-hpmfYn-thNE3Hi-YvKxSMwXSZm_qXetDkAVJDHmKq60s1-KdHDAN2OTMna6rjj-p3h86sOyzRT8FQpNzfysmeP97kfjrXzdf_ig-coc9KyaD-Z0/s1600/nat+archives1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9EVkPi4mIAsp-Ro3mLPlLVa2JskN-hpmfYn-thNE3Hi-YvKxSMwXSZm_qXetDkAVJDHmKq60s1-KdHDAN2OTMna6rjj-p3h86sOyzRT8FQpNzfysmeP97kfjrXzdf_ig-coc9KyaD-Z0/s320/nat+archives1.jpg" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHY8_1Db5rrGs4hsXY_zVf0ZO_6w95RdJ_AzCPq9j11d-lIxbARukoYDZsKtLvMYWI6G_mHKFXuG9MAHtuaEens0hUaY6BemE8yyL0PXGAI_LzQiFRnlsKsa_OesRdw5p4EvBCKOMfIU/s1600/lincoln+mem1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHY8_1Db5rrGs4hsXY_zVf0ZO_6w95RdJ_AzCPq9j11d-lIxbARukoYDZsKtLvMYWI6G_mHKFXuG9MAHtuaEens0hUaY6BemE8yyL0PXGAI_LzQiFRnlsKsa_OesRdw5p4EvBCKOMfIU/s320/lincoln+mem1.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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Outside her future home: </div>
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Lunch in the park. And no, the boots, hats, and cute scarves were not fashion accessories</div>
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Thanks to some food recommendations from my sister and her husband (foodies), we had an early dinner at Old Ebbit's Grill - right across from the White House. It was a fun venue (we were in the courtyard), and the food was great. We were very glad we'd gotten there at 5 because there was a huge line out the door by the time we left!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1PdBw0vikhZCmQLsaFug-K4lqopQx1TZl5HNO8UcEqE8Gry8_APD3cy-41bzXSNp8wAocrif135eqOhdIyIP1k9VndeAyGkbmGx34U_UGJsF0qguUQWv4lBF1Z6mh-pmsYDfr9-inxzM/s1600/Old+Ebbits+grill1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1PdBw0vikhZCmQLsaFug-K4lqopQx1TZl5HNO8UcEqE8Gry8_APD3cy-41bzXSNp8wAocrif135eqOhdIyIP1k9VndeAyGkbmGx34U_UGJsF0qguUQWv4lBF1Z6mh-pmsYDfr9-inxzM/s320/Old+Ebbits+grill1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After spending some time touring "Dutch" country, we decided to take advantage of my brother living so close to the Canadian border, (6 hours is close right?) and we all drove up to Niagra Falls. </div>
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My brother has some great tips on how to cross over, and return to the US with a family van full of people, and no passports for anyone, but he will have to tell that story. </div>
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We were thrilled that they could see the falls with us despite not having their passports. </div>
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On our way back to my brother's home, we drove through New York, and stopped in Palmayra. </div>
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We spent some time at the Sacred Grove - the area where Joseph Smith went to the woods to pray, to ask which church to join. There he had a vision, and God the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph. From this experience and others, he was called as a prophet of God, and the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth. </div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5B9eZzwW6i24ZCGxd76tg2CMsNZnEPelshxXDhESVcUiUfuCzO3Tfc0UnfTA0557M1u_lg0aJWjCOPF900cM7SV4ACv8lOnZY-6UpuB5Uj8NlHKD673jyTEAIlI1YQjn8kYJpiOdWm5k/s1600/jm+sacred+g1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5B9eZzwW6i24ZCGxd76tg2CMsNZnEPelshxXDhESVcUiUfuCzO3Tfc0UnfTA0557M1u_lg0aJWjCOPF900cM7SV4ACv8lOnZY-6UpuB5Uj8NlHKD673jyTEAIlI1YQjn8kYJpiOdWm5k/s320/jm+sacred+g1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievy-sCkvNjkTIqVgxsJEEq8AKJW5AXcM1-S3xuGcg8TYhzqTT7KKWXpYyELFcRjj5yjjDf5hJHdy6CBn3cs3T8x0yFjcUP-eDRpwQyam4Jlpkl5JyLpGyWLTmt0bnhr_SNUnbbacU_-I/s1600/cumorah1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievy-sCkvNjkTIqVgxsJEEq8AKJW5AXcM1-S3xuGcg8TYhzqTT7KKWXpYyELFcRjj5yjjDf5hJHdy6CBn3cs3T8x0yFjcUP-eDRpwQyam4Jlpkl5JyLpGyWLTmt0bnhr_SNUnbbacU_-I/s320/cumorah1.jpg" width="239" /></a>We also visited the hill Cumorah, where Joseph had been directed by an angel, and where he found golden plates which contained a history of the people and prophets who lived on the American Continent, with records dating back to 600 BC. Joseph later translated these records, and it was published as the Book Of Mormon, another Testament of Jesus Christ. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ebzf9kZtese_hO_E08TzdD2P2TTO9fDKkgSeVH6wQXt5RVdyFFlgFm0iUwNAk0DoDUOV9ktnRBPebjdRDHpRvM3B46kxZTmcXzREuaQabji81uoqW3nTUXrK0SMd0_qedY7Fa4V_IbM/s1600/trees+sac+grove1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ebzf9kZtese_hO_E08TzdD2P2TTO9fDKkgSeVH6wQXt5RVdyFFlgFm0iUwNAk0DoDUOV9ktnRBPebjdRDHpRvM3B46kxZTmcXzREuaQabji81uoqW3nTUXrK0SMd0_qedY7Fa4V_IbM/s320/trees+sac+grove1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Finally, just before leaving, we were able to visit the Washington DC Temple, which is known for it's beauty. </div>
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We got home and celebrated Easter</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPB5_XYvcM2Q0NQ8_zk3BOL906SmDiAK1rJQ0Dg3l3IQ5W9j0XwEa3cBlLtRZrARumtHALNZTtFq0WAa3K5LI2u9Wdzs3MPktOPBnZ5R0uVq2jFoYPR943_bMt4Pgve814Co9vBDmKbAM/s1600/easter+c1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPB5_XYvcM2Q0NQ8_zk3BOL906SmDiAK1rJQ0Dg3l3IQ5W9j0XwEa3cBlLtRZrARumtHALNZTtFq0WAa3K5LI2u9Wdzs3MPktOPBnZ5R0uVq2jFoYPR943_bMt4Pgve814Co9vBDmKbAM/s320/easter+c1.jpg" width="239" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDtW1CBrdjUZiV7R0bqIeXXafwbIN6BfpyfiIHfKJ2bwcbbrcg6TGFOtoBeWh85svwitIlEcXjEk7ZpWQAwVG2lOMeVSsq6d-2hPxV_GJwT0ViEGPVNY43lyyz3BAPyobEgEpKGBM_x8/s1600/easter+m1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDtW1CBrdjUZiV7R0bqIeXXafwbIN6BfpyfiIHfKJ2bwcbbrcg6TGFOtoBeWh85svwitIlEcXjEk7ZpWQAwVG2lOMeVSsq6d-2hPxV_GJwT0ViEGPVNY43lyyz3BAPyobEgEpKGBM_x8/s320/easter+m1.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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Our traditional Ukranian Eggs decorating - some of this year's creations:</div>
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Our eldest daughter competed at State Solo and Ensemble, and received a Superior</div>
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Here she is with her phenomenal accompianist, my friend Lorette.</div>
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Lorette is pretty amazing. She put together the piano part in a day, but it would have taken me a full month of heavy practice. She recently moved into a new house and she has single handedly painted the entire thing - huge ceilings and all. I've been amazed. I showed her several faux tecnhiques, and helped her paint a wall in her entry. I came away inspired, that I too could paint my house, and I finally hit the emotional point where I was able to tackle such a project. So...for several recent weeks, these have been my projects.</div>
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Bedroom accent wall - copper penny, faux leather (plastic sheet) and sponge (filler). This was after the first time when I ragged it, but we decided that we didn't like it very much. </div>
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I also stained the chest, and the bed.<br />
Then, I repainted, and ragged the walls again, since I didn't like how they had previously turned out.<br />
At the end of the day, the copper wall received 5 coats of paint!<br />
We wanted a terra cotta/spanish feel, and so I also pulled out a Guatemalan bedspread, and pained the quilt rack blue and added some bright blue accents.<br />
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Our daughter had a birthday - she postponed it so friends could come, and then the day of, only two showed up. She was pretty bummed, but had fun with those who came. </div>
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She gave me a months notice when she requested this cake. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I got to spend a fun day with these two special ladies - my counselors in the primary presidency. </span>We started our day out with breakfast at the new Beauty and the Beast castle. It was pretty amazing. Our food just magically appeared! </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">And, we found some beautiful tiaras :) </span></div>
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Old friends came to town, and we enjoyed catching up with them at Universal City Walk</div>
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I tackled painting (and finally digging through the old boxes and pulling out pictures and decorations) our family room. Bringing it from nasty dingy brown to a bright creamy yellow. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3E1Y6sRWc8ArLW2dI3Dtjn4c9XoUdVJ1XdO4YsTDMpSm2C3moK96yqbA1gtGd8kF_BATKjqL5DpZRlXyzzl-hWEkgmf4qH7XjIjvoRPlRMW5bVYIzNzXSu-iR-gXGy4QyJdtVDzKCpk/s1600/birthday+breakfast1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3E1Y6sRWc8ArLW2dI3Dtjn4c9XoUdVJ1XdO4YsTDMpSm2C3moK96yqbA1gtGd8kF_BATKjqL5DpZRlXyzzl-hWEkgmf4qH7XjIjvoRPlRMW5bVYIzNzXSu-iR-gXGy4QyJdtVDzKCpk/s320/birthday+breakfast1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsXNJ309_dwngpMmQrU7yGoie48n5NCuPV9sApNemD60mQr95KQ7J0IpVvsdDOESUZ1YgCxoUUHLAM1qxa7GeyZx7GyhJTAxgg56_G4gwGwKPJbH04o6H7Qm5YYWgcpsoEN_wugPD3OI/s1600/mothers+day+20151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTsXNJ309_dwngpMmQrU7yGoie48n5NCuPV9sApNemD60mQr95KQ7J0IpVvsdDOESUZ1YgCxoUUHLAM1qxa7GeyZx7GyhJTAxgg56_G4gwGwKPJbH04o6H7Qm5YYWgcpsoEN_wugPD3OI/s320/mothers+day+20151.jpg" width="320" /></a>And I had another birthday. My sweet husband made me breakfast (with Mangoes!) and decorated the room with yellow streamers, and balloons painted like bees since he gave me a beehive for my birthday. </div>
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We celebrated Mother's day this past week - so grateful for these two girls who made me a mother, and this past week has been "concert week". We've had a lot of school end of the year concerts. </div>
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And, we've battled two bouts of a cold (or something more sinister, we just chose not to go to the doctor). </div>
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Finally, here's a photo from earlier in the year of our primary kids and teachers. We have encouraged the kids to share the gospel and their testimonies with their friends. Each time they did, they got to put a pebble in our jar - representing a ripple that they may make in someone's life. They got 654 ripples last year! It's been really awesome to hear them share their experiences. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAuO6wQ-KhVKGeSYwloEL9YpZLbl1d1s9kuXT7MEgLjYZrwDu224A9j313KZcFUbZJGOdWoW1ZuS4WEOV_sVh7WD4cgUXAPiUk8j3iz_F4LJUCFpiG9dMNKMJ_S3gFITg-OxDxnGJYjs/s1600/ripples+2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAuO6wQ-KhVKGeSYwloEL9YpZLbl1d1s9kuXT7MEgLjYZrwDu224A9j313KZcFUbZJGOdWoW1ZuS4WEOV_sVh7WD4cgUXAPiUk8j3iz_F4LJUCFpiG9dMNKMJ_S3gFITg-OxDxnGJYjs/s320/ripples+2015.jpg" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjir4y174_i197AnTMkLIYjpr47-cQtjLMRm78OPykL06ank9tDlgkQx0R1A4HGNVEivkUOZ2unJqeuJaL5o9Yowig0LAzu21LEQslWvFja0QT7S-lpFO8hWOScMH-uhsix42rdwnGCiS0/s1600/primary1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjir4y174_i197AnTMkLIYjpr47-cQtjLMRm78OPykL06ank9tDlgkQx0R1A4HGNVEivkUOZ2unJqeuJaL5o9Yowig0LAzu21LEQslWvFja0QT7S-lpFO8hWOScMH-uhsix42rdwnGCiS0/s320/primary1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-76068201094856660372015-02-02T10:11:00.000-07:002015-02-02T10:11:11.099-07:00A long post about a lot of things from our lives these past two weeks. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Good Monday Morning,<br />
This weekend we began a new adventure....we are potty training the kitties.<br />
Yes. You heard me right.<br />
Yes, I am questioning my sanity.<br />
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We've closed off the toilet in the girl's bathroom, and this weekend, my bedroom and bathroom were cleaned so that they now sparkle - since anyone who comes to our house gets to use the master bath if they need to use the facilities. <br />
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So far, the kitties are using it for #1, but we aren't sure where the #2 is going. I'm a little worried, but hoping they will catch on soon. It's been gradual. We moved their litter box into the bathroom, and we've gradually been raising the heighth to the same height as the toilet. Saturday was the day that their litter pan went into the toilet, and once they get that, we will make the opening very small, and then gradually make it bigger and bigger until it is just the toilet seat. I can't wait!<br />
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Our kids PROMISED that they'd clean the litter faithfully, but they don't. As such, we are hoping our plan B works.<br />
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Let's see...new in our life.... I had a piano & violin recital a couple of weeks ago. It was great. 11 of my 12 students performed, and they all (with 2 or 3 exceptions) had their music memorized and they all did fantastic! Only one had a peanut allergy and went into borderline anaphylatic shock from the peanut butter blossom cookies someone brought. Wasn't quite the weekend that they had planned.<br />
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Here's our youngest daughter playing the last half of Malaguena:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzO8VyASXk3g8gqk-U2lD4EGbFhDWQxH_V358MEak2vnndQyzwwOiZt-MamcZIMfaZcbmWyQ3Mg8WUwdjj2' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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My Students</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Last week, I got to go on a field trip with the local middle school kids. Our daughter was ThRilLeD that I could chaperone. We went to the waste water treatment plant, and then a local state park where we saw an 8 foot alligator, and got to sort through a netful of stuff scooped up by the ranger from the lake and find all of the glass shrimp, beetles, minnows, spiders, and dragonfly larvae. It was pretty fun - I was surprised. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIH8TF_1_hg3f3HXxXwFFC-Vl2XqMeKE6eYXoX-bHGDlRhR2_VpDJHzie07TB9p3hp3XkQfd3032RdtYiWcszxXhQKDH8OAYZiJa644C5JHuSL1WyeIMlduphnlIoKJ4BwIrSRgGnwcXM/s1600/1wastewaterplant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIH8TF_1_hg3f3HXxXwFFC-Vl2XqMeKE6eYXoX-bHGDlRhR2_VpDJHzie07TB9p3hp3XkQfd3032RdtYiWcszxXhQKDH8OAYZiJa644C5JHuSL1WyeIMlduphnlIoKJ4BwIrSRgGnwcXM/s1600/1wastewaterplant.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQKfQmlVk7V-iTEfN0XIZYQC37wZumb6fNP6ajstysxVv8xNjGob_BBikr4Dpq06EBHBlW53A0islRmn8YikMzYNYFLGTo5jSGGKCRVPK4WaRwALxPt6jZm7sdwQ3-i3o1Z08drajRQRQ/s1600/1diggingforbugsatlotuslake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQKfQmlVk7V-iTEfN0XIZYQC37wZumb6fNP6ajstysxVv8xNjGob_BBikr4Dpq06EBHBlW53A0islRmn8YikMzYNYFLGTo5jSGGKCRVPK4WaRwALxPt6jZm7sdwQ3-i3o1Z08drajRQRQ/s1600/1diggingforbugsatlotuslake.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_0H-Ym1ghktiyGlFiRb6vg7FvlcXeQUTIn2kW3BffVeU5pqXFCRjJMA1kdEBGfpjrzgGU7WcBlP9-ed46Ueasq1xTaVbM-Ib2Fvs0mIzdwjJLdxhTyAPh8V-QVWwodMhdfP8fE7yIxE/s1600/1lotuslakealligator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_0H-Ym1ghktiyGlFiRb6vg7FvlcXeQUTIn2kW3BffVeU5pqXFCRjJMA1kdEBGfpjrzgGU7WcBlP9-ed46Ueasq1xTaVbM-Ib2Fvs0mIzdwjJLdxhTyAPh8V-QVWwodMhdfP8fE7yIxE/s1600/1lotuslakealligator.jpg" height="236" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here's a recent family photo I came across with one of the Sister missionaries from our church who was leaving to go back home. The sweet girl next to my husband is our "Sunday Daughter". She is a great friend to our oldest daughter, and is a great influence. We really love having her spend Sunday afternoons with us. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW6dBU5c8Gy44QfW-Rpl98Gi4-GU3EFVnCnktOnWf8jjscwKuntSg-Jfv26rCYm1ozWJHwg79xPBbdfUv5FXACekXtyQyTdhg-botDbdYWONPvw1vO_9IeIP5LzDIQ3iNVGCJ-sIs-67c/s1600/1sisterblair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW6dBU5c8Gy44QfW-Rpl98Gi4-GU3EFVnCnktOnWf8jjscwKuntSg-Jfv26rCYm1ozWJHwg79xPBbdfUv5FXACekXtyQyTdhg-botDbdYWONPvw1vO_9IeIP5LzDIQ3iNVGCJ-sIs-67c/s1600/1sisterblair.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Last week, I went to the dermatologist to get some moles looked at. He froze a "pre-cancer" off right then and there, and had me come back the next morning for biopsies for 3 other moles. He scraped two and cookie cutter punched another. Crossing my fingers and waiting to hear back from them this week. Here's one of the 'scrapes'. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsWgeRYQKU_GWJEGdPN5POb6QCYmQtMaJk62B317DA4fG8BImzksXfFvaeQUUpFxHHvCH06HQtV6iYl5vtDoIafuga1h3wReDO4F0-4M_NjiNHLPkKWnKf4AMT9sx2XT3n-mhov_xAf8g/s1600/mole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsWgeRYQKU_GWJEGdPN5POb6QCYmQtMaJk62B317DA4fG8BImzksXfFvaeQUUpFxHHvCH06HQtV6iYl5vtDoIafuga1h3wReDO4F0-4M_NjiNHLPkKWnKf4AMT9sx2XT3n-mhov_xAf8g/s1600/mole.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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And finally, I've started on a road to personal recovery. I'm not going to go into all of the details, I'm hopeful, and taking responsibility for me and my journey of life. </div>
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Today, as part of my recovery, in taking care of me, I chose to spend quality time with my bike and my favorite bike path. </div>
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It was beautiful. </div>
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I love Florida during this time of the year. </div>
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Here's the view when I just couldn't stand not documenting the beauty of the bike path. :) <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-85821402368061805922015-01-21T05:40:00.000-07:002015-01-21T05:40:10.329-07:00January 21 2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Good morning. I'm surprised to see the date of my last post. It HAS been a while. <div>
<br /><div>
Since then, Thanksgiving has come and gone. We went to some local friends for Thanksgiving. It was pleasant. Christmas came and went, we had our traditional Jerusalem supper, and had Christmas dinner with some friends/adopted family/fellow sports fans/long lost relatives. It was very nice - I didn't have to cook. Our neighborhood had it's second annual holiday lights contest - that I championed. I didn't win it, but I planned it, handed out fliers, and did the judging and prizes. We also did luminaries throughout the neighborhood. It was pretty. Until it rained. And then cleaning them up was kind of gross. At least we used rocks. </div>
<div>
The new year came and went - we made our traditional yuletide log cake, and sat on the back patio with some friends, playing crack the case, and eating the yuletide log, and counted down to the new year, and then banged our pots and pans and screamed...I'm sure the neighbors loved us. </div>
<div>
Some dear friends from Colorado came into town, and we spent New Years Day with them at their beach house, walking along the beach. It was drizzling and raining and the waves were rough so we didn't go in (we would of, but they thought we were crazy). We saw a portuguese man of war on the beach. We didn't touch it, even though we wanted to. </div>
<div>
My major stress since September has been dealing with fellow members of our HOA. In Sept. I suggested that we look for a new management company, and called a few companies to get an idea of what was available. A few of the board members took issue with this, since they hadn't been properly consulted on the idea (I guess), and I spent 4 long months of personal attacks and struggle as we worked to find a new property management company. In November our current company of 30 years actually fired our board. They couldn't keep up with my (high) expectations that they actually answer phone calls, or respond to emails in a timely manner. Or, to the fellow board member's constant email queries, back seat driving and requests. It has been a very interesting ride. While it was probably the most productive year the HOA has ever had, there were some individuals who were very difficult to work with, and couldn't seem to agree on anything. It has been a tough year, and I stepped off of that ride last week. Hooray! </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm teaching 12 students, all piano except 1 violin. I've just managed to shift all of my students from Fridays to Tuesdays and Monday afternoons. Which is a huge relief, because the LAST thing I want to do on a Friday afternoon is work. :) I'm excited to have a recital at the end of this week, so that my students can show off their skills and progress. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, I've dropped the HOA, and I've consolidated my teaching. It feels like I've had 3 huge pressures I've been trying to juggle, and I've been able to set down two of them. The third one is primary. Our stake was recently divided and a third stake was created - the Lake Mary Stake. As part of that, our ward received a large influx of families from another ward. And so, we've spent a lot of time trying to figure out who is who, and getting everyone updated on our scout rosters and rolls. Getting there. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And...I cleaned out our spare room, and it was ready for last week's house guests beforehand, and I didn't have to stress about it - it was already cleaned and ready to go. I feel like I'm slowly coming up for air and resurfacing after a long hard winter. And yes..I live in Florida :) Kind of crazy huh? </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Lots of small slow steps. </div>
<div>
Next up, I'm hoping to place the final nail in the coffin of our old water heater that went out 2 weeks ago. It has now been 10 days since I've had a hot shower. I'm getting grumpier by the minute, but I'll share that saga once it is resolved. Oh, the joys of life! </div>
<div>
After that - taxes. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-9609119642725302014-11-13T08:59:00.004-07:002014-11-13T08:59:44.230-07:00A year ago life changed...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yesterday was my husband's anniversary.<br />
The anniversary of a REALLY tough year which included 6+ neurologists, weeks of time "lost" from sitting in waiting rooms, lots of blood tests, genetic tests, many classes of psychotic drugs, questions, questions, self doubt, mental and emotional break downs, and a lot of sleepless nights and prayers.<br />
<br />
Did I mention that it has been a rough year?<br />
Along our journey this past year, we've learned some insights, learned about ourselves, seen our relationship grow in other ways, and changed our method of thinking in regards to Western medicine.<br />
<br />
Last night at my book club, we were discussing choices. Choices of people who choose death rather than suffering. I don't honestly know if someone told me beforehand what we would experience this past year, if I would have accepted it. It hasn't been pleasant.<br />
<br />
However, in retrospect, true real growth has emerged. It is a process. A very slow healing process.<br />
<br />
What we know now, that we didn't know a year ago:<br />
My husband has experienced extreme trauma at some point in his life, which has had lasting effects on his life. Authenticity and Connection are essential to life, as are creativity and play. Healing doesn't always take the road one hopes. Our life's path sometimes goes as it does, and crosses another's with purpose. My husband doesn't have epilepsey, and he still shakes. Big shake him out of his chair onto the floor shakes. But he is learning to cope with it. It may last for his entire life. His relationship with God and Jesus Christ has changed. Many things have changed. Perhaps it was necessary for us to move far away to be in a safe enough of a place that he could begin to process the internal wounds that he carries. We may never know, but we are so grateful for the people who have shown up on our porch with dinner for us, because they were inspired that we needed it that night. We are grateful for the prayers and personal fasts of our neighbors and families, as we've searched for healing and answers. There's so much to be grateful for. Recommended books that came at the right time, when we were ready, that have given us insight as we continue to piece healing together, bit by bit. <br />
<br />
Crossed paths - A friend recommended a naturopath doctor to us. He has been very helpful. <br />
I mentioned this to a friend. Her son had extreme anxiety. They are so grateful for our recommendation for this doctor, because her son has healed so much. He actually just went on a trip to Europe by himself, which is something he never could have accomplished a year ago. <br />
<br />
So, I'm finding purpose in the little things. Day to day small triumphs. <br />
<br />
Life is slowly calming down. We just keep breathing and trusting that things work out in their own time - and that they will work out the correct way - even when we can't see the forest for the trees.<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-48400128301064640582014-10-09T04:59:00.000-06:002014-10-09T04:59:14.669-06:00LDS Primary Program activity - Sing or Dare<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Back when I was the music leader (for 3.5 years) in primary, I came up with a game that we played after the primary program each year. The kids and teachers are usually pretty frazzled, and so this game is a great refresher for everyone! It is light, doesn't require much set up or mental work, and recaps the program, involves the bishopric, does not involve sugar or a video, and is fun for everyone.<br />
<br />
<h1>
Sing or Dare</h1>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Materials needed:</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">1 office bell (game show, or business office type - around $5 at Office Depot)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Silly hat</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
4 brown sandwich/lunch bags</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
Bishopric member</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Print & Cut the following lists into the appropriate
brown lunch bags </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
List #1 – cut these into strips and place in a brown lunch
bag titled <b>“Dares”</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stand on your chair and shout “I love Primary!” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hug a teacher</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hop around the podium on one foot three times</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do five push ups</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Name 3 Latter Day prophets</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Give the Primary President a high five</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Give everyone in the room a high five</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Switch chairs with someone</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sing I’m a little teapot – wearing the silly hat</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sing a Solo (without a partner) </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
List #2 – cut these into strips and place in a brown lunch
bag titled <b>“Songs”</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sing Book of Mormon stories, with actions</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam – jumping as high as you can</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Serenade your teacher while singing her favorite primary
song</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fill in the blanks “For the temple is a _____ _______, where
we are ________ ________.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Holy place, sealed together) </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sing your favorite primary song in a Mormon Tabernacle Choir
voice</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do as I’m Doing, patting head, rubbing belly, marching in
place</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First verse of Follow the Prophet – marching around the room</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sing a duet with 1 friend – Latter Day Prophets</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
List #3 – cut these into strips and place in a brown lunch
bag titled <b>“Trivia”</b> (personalize based on your ward’s primary parts)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whose part talked about a cat? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Name someone who shared a scripture</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What was the first song the primary sang? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who mentioned the Ft. Lauderdale temple in their part? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who sat next to the Bishop? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who talked about their great great grandfather? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whose part mentioned a dinosaur? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Name one thing the Bishop said</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What was your favorite part of the program? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How many songs did we sing? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What is the primary theme this year? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
List #4 – cut these into strips and place in a brown lunch
bag titled <b>“My Mystery Partner(s)”</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The person in the first seat on the front row</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The person in the back row, in the fifth chair over from the
door</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Someone or everyone with brown eyes</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Someone or everyone with freckles</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Someone or everyone wearing white socks</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Someone or everyone not wearing socks or tights</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The person in the second row from the front, third chair
from the door</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Your sibling</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One person of your choice</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Your teacher</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A member of the Bishopric</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Someone or everyone with eyes</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Someone or everyone whose name starts with A, B, C, or T</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Someone or everyone in your class</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A Bishopric member (throw in a couple of them)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A member of the primary presidency</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The song leader</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Someone or everyone wearing something orange</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How to Play</div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Choose
1 child to come to the front of the room as the first contestant, and let
them choose a partner from the “Mystery Partner” bag to be their
competitor. </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Let
the new partner choose a question from the Program Trivia bag. </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">Line
the contestants up across a table, and read the trivia question. Whoever
dings the bell first, gets to answer the question. If they answer correctly, they get to
move to the next round and their partner takes a seat. If they are incorrect, they sit back
down in their seat, and the other contestant attempts to answer it. If it isn’t answered correctly, both
contestants take their seats, and another round begins. </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal">The
remaining competitor decides whether they want to do a “Sing”, or a
“Dare”, and chooses a task from the corresponding bag. They choose a partner from the “Mystery
Partner” bag, and they are their partner perform the task. </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The newest partner becomes the next contestant and the
game repeats. </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-55822838416627522412014-10-09T04:49:00.003-06:002014-10-09T04:49:51.863-06:00October 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This morning, I'm ever so tired, and thinking of my daughter.<br />
We went to bed at the same time, and got up at relatively the same time, we didn't get much sleep. She's got school all day, and a football game to march in with the band all evening. And then another band practice for most of the day tomorrow - the day she is off of school. <br />
<br />
The good news is that she's never ridden the bus to school in the am, so even though she doesn't love seminary, she is okay going, because it gets her to school (on time too!). 5:50 am is awful early to begin a school day! I'm proud of her that she goes. And I feel tired. And bad that I didn't send her off with breakfast today, but glad she can get something at the school. <br />
<br />
Life at our home has slowed - just a bit finally. Thankfully.<br />
<br />
I am in charge of all of the children at church and we just had our annual program. Where every kid between 3-12 gets to share their thoughts about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sometimes, primary leaders just write down parts and assign them to the children. I'm all about NOT doing that. This year, I just asked the kids to tell me about a time when they felt the Holy Ghost, had a prayer answered, or maybe a spiritual experience that they had had. It was amazing to hear their answers, and see the faith of these little ones. They believe and know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love them!<br />
<br />
They shared their experiences with me, and I wrote them down, and we added in 11 songs, and practiced for a couple of weeks, and it was great. And it is over. And I don't have to worry about it for another 4 or 5 months until we begin getting ready for it next year, teaching the new songs etc. <br />
<br />
My most memorable moment was looking over at our first speaker who is 5. He was sitting next to me. I glanced up, and saw (to my horror) that he had a complete chocolate goatee. And I had nothing. No tissue, nada. After making eye contact with his mom, and seeing her eyes "widen", I leaned over and said here, let me help you - and started to wipe off his chin. He got the idea and joined in. It was nicely smeared. I said, "lick my finger" so that we could finger wash him. He said, "I'm not licking your finger!"... and so it went.<br />
It wasn't quite as noticable by the time he went up. <br />
<br />
Now that the primary program is over, I've switched gears as we plan for our congregation's annual "Fall Festival." Our biggest church activity of the year. But, we've got a good committee, and thanks to tradition, it will be mostly potluck - a chili cookoff, and dessert bakeoff, and festive foods cookoff...right up my alley. Then we'll have a carnival for the kids while the adults get their cars ready for a trunk or treat. Then we'll go home. I should probably be more anxious about it, but I'm not. <br />
<br />
I"m currently the president of our HOA, and it has turned into a part time consuming job. It has been an interesting year. This past weekend, we watched the general conference of our church - listening to talks by the prophet and 12 apostles. One of my takeaways from the weekend, was the message of degrees. Meaning, the shift of a very few degrees on a plane or boat can make all of the difference in the world regarding our final destination. I'm contemplative about my continued role on our HOA, and some other things as I am not sure how important they are in my life right now. They seem to take a lot of time and energy, and yet, give me little return, for me, and my family. I'm still praying about and taking that under consideration. <br />
<br />
How is my shaking husband you might ask? Well, about the same. I think some things are shifting inside of him regarding his outlook on life. For example, I've been the COO and CFO of our home for 17 years. He hasn't really wanted to be very involved in figuring out how to make everything work financially. We've had some great moments when we sat down and charted out our goals and figured out financial plans, but day to day involvement hasn't been there. That's changing, and it is exciting to work and plan together, and for him to know what is going on. Small steps. But he still continues to shake. He had some interaction with a prominent family member this week, and it threw him for such a huge loop. 2 hours later, he couldn't stop shaking, and the normal remedies (essential oils, meditation, breathing, putting things in a box mentally - everything) didn't work. It's hard to see, just hard. Life is hard sometimes. <br />
<br />
On a happy note, our house has been full of music. Music from Les Miserables. Last week, we took our girls to see Les Miserables at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater. Wow! I loved the intimacy of the stage (meaning there wasn't one) and the smallness of the venue. It was so great to even make eye contact with the performers. Our girls LOVED it, and our home has been filled with the music as melodies are picked out on flutes and the piano, and people walk around humming favorite songs. It was an eye opener for our girls - they didn't have any idea what to expect, and were quite surprised at how much they enjoyed live theater.<br />
<br />
Off to start a new day - taking a friend to her work this am in Orlando, and cooking up a storm before my afternoon and evening of music lessons and football games. Yippee! </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-9066792369425274672014-09-05T07:18:00.000-06:002014-09-05T07:18:16.614-06:00Busy Projects, and Sick...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The closest thing we get to cold here in Florida in August and September, is the sick kind of cold.<br />
Harumph!<br />
The kids have been in school for 4 weeks now. I guess it is that time. <br />
<br />
Last week, my husband came home from work not feeling well.<br />
He was off on Friday and we just lazed around - he didn't feel well, but wanted company. Saturday we spent the entire day helping our friends move. I can definitely say that I know their kitchen better than they do, since they ran out of boxes, and we had to empty them so that they could be recycled. On Monday (Labor Day), we labored. Literally. <br />
<br />
A friend posted on FB that they were getting rid of some household items, and we called dibs. <br />
We rented a handy van from Home Depot bright and early Monday morning, and picked everything up.<br />
Dropped off the van, then commenced getting things done.<br />
<br />
We moved a desk and small filing cabinet into our youngest daughter's room.<br />
Moved the table out of our room, and a media stand into our room.<br />
Ruined the tv moving it. Spent several hours trying to soder it back together - to no avail. (It was a door prize in 2000, so we weren't TOO heartbroken about it - and we possibly use the tv in our room, 3 times a year).<br />
<br />
My husband decided to tackle garage projects, and also pumped up the tire on the wheelbarrow, and transported 10 bags of the lawn that we had ripped up a couple of weekends ago. <br />
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Several weeks ago, we decided that our pineapple plantation needed some help, so we ripped up all of the lawn that surrounded our pineapples. Then a week later, I mulched the heck out of our yard and planted all of my herbs in a planter bed that we also disrobed of a bunch of non-flowering plants. <br />
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We had a lot of yard waste. We filled our composters completely with it (possibly breaking one) - and still had 10+ bags to tote out to the curb...they were too heavy to carry or drag.<br />
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Meanwhile, our oldest daughter began to lament that SHE didn't get a desk (I told whoever got their room cleaned first would get a surprise...one child attempted, the other didn't).<br />
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We decided to repurpose the old table that we had moved out of our room. Let me be clear - this table was in bad shape. Our friends gave it to us in 2001 when our dining room table was broken in a move. It was second hand, and had been used by a family with 4 kids, and it wasn't in great shape. It had residence in our Colorado home in the basement as our 'craft' table - thus receiving lots of paint and glue spills. And then there was that cut in the side, when I was woodworking and I sawed into the table, thinking it was the wood I was cutting... Yeah - not the greatest piece, but still serviceable.<br />
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So - our eldest and I got out the sandpaper, and began to sand away, and rough it all up. It took a while, and I was dripping sweat everywhere (Florida - sheesh). We vacuumed it off, then wiped it down, and then pulled out the black paint (that we had stenciled her room with) and put on a couple of coats.<br />
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After it dried, I added a couple of coats of polyurethane, and it now, is a beautiful table. <br />
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While it dried, I moved indoors - a woman with a mission. We tackled our youngest's room. Her definition of clean, and mine come in two different dictionaries. We threw out a lot of junk, but got it organized and beautiful. <br />
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And then we moved into our eldest daughter's room. Before collapsing in a heap, we moved the beautiful black laquered table into her room. <br />
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Then we jumped into the pool for a quick cool down, and then collapsed. For the linger longer at church the next day, all I could muster was a couple of packs of cream cheese, covered with my hot pepper jelly, surrounded by crackers. <br />
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I had hopes of tackling the rest of the house on Tuesday, but my husband stayed home sick, and I worked on getting photos re-organized, so that I can get them into albums...like since 1998. The kitties knocked over my organized piles previously. Wednesday, I pretty much stayed in bed, nursing my cold, and Thursday, I began my reemergence into the world slowly. I watched youtube videos on how to set up our automatic sprinkler system, and reset it all. I also spent 2.5 hours on the phone trying to set up new phone service with Centurylink. A little frightened at their customer service and hold times. We shall see...<br />
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Today though, I awoke with vigor, and have begun to find my countertops. Our daughter may have been on time to early morning seminary, and I actually saw her go, and made her a bit of breakfast. Made some banana bread, and tortilla eggs and sent my husband to work with a full belly and food for lunch. <br />
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I'm glad to be alive today, and despite my sneezing (and a few coughs), I'm excited to meet a friend who moved out of town, but is back for two days for lunch at our favorite Turkish restaurant.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-85634607195523366792014-08-18T09:04:00.003-06:002014-08-18T09:04:45.463-06:00August 18, 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The kids are back to school, and we survived the first week! Hallelujah :)<br />
<br />
It has been busy. High school and middle school, we've had some adjusting. <br />
<br />Marching band. <br />
<br />
To the parents who have been through this, I know they are nodding their heads saying - yeah, I know. To those who are toying with the idea for their up and coming brilliant musicians... I don't know what to say.<br />
<br />
Here are the pros:<br />
You child will turn into a zombie. <br />
Going into high school, your child will have already gotten to know 150-200 other kids, so high school won't be so scary. <br />
You child will be so busy they may not have much time to get into trouble.<br />
Your child will seem to be pretty happy. Busy and happy, with new friends, and spending lots of time with them.<br />
<br />
Cons:<br />
You may never see your child again. From 2 weeks of 7:30 - 4:00 pm practices in the hot FL summer sun, your child may turn into a zombie, who pretty much just shows up for feeding and watering. Forget the interaction.<br />
You may never see your child again. From practices twice a week, plus Friday night games, then out to dinner afterwards, plus Saturday trips or projects, and a few sectionals, and several get togethers, and a million group chats with 34 of your best friends, your child will be scarce. <br />
Your schedule will be instantly reduced to rubble. Everything that you have, will become inconsequential as it is imperative that you pick up a lyre for your child immediately, before practice in 10 minutes! Last minute sectionals, you name it, suddenly you will be a frazzled mess trying to fit in pottery and music classes for other children, not to mention your own meetings, and responsibilities.<br />
<br />
Choose well.<br />
<br />
I started up my exercise routine again last week (in conjunction with school). Although, I still think that anyone who exercises in Florida in the summer is crazy. I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with the stinging sweat that blinds me as a bike back home each day! Last week I hit everyday except for Thursday. I biked Mon - Wed. and got a flat on Wed after my ride. Took the day off on Thursday, went to the gym with a friend on Friday, and worked on our yard clearing out an entire bed full of generic plants, and then removing all of the grass from our pineapple plantation. Sore.<br />
<br />
Our yard:<br />
We've got 18 pineapples in the ground, and 4 or 5 more ready to plant. Excited to mulch the pineapples, amend the soil, and plant the dill, cilantro, oregano, stevia, lavender, parsley, basil, and citronella that have been waiting so patiently for their new home.<br />
The papaya plant trunk has doubled or tripled, and there are several blossoms on it! The fig tree seems to be growing a branch - not much upwards or outwards. The mango tree has grown voraciously, and has just put out growth that looks like is turning into branches (it previously just kept shooting straight up), the banana plant root base has tripled, and the keylime/lemon tree has about 10 little key limes that are coming along very nicely. Love growing food in my yard! <br />
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Today on my bike ride, I decided that I choose to LIVE today. To hear the birds sing and the bugs buzz, to taste my sweat on my lips, to feel the sun on my skin, the push of my muscles, and the wind in my hair, and the coolness as my sweat cools me with the wind, and to see the beautiful vibrant colors of the flowers and foliage everywhere I go. <br />
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What a beautiful life - I'm choosing to live it abundantly today!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-72216926965401059192014-06-23T09:15:00.000-06:002014-06-23T09:15:03.577-06:00Mormon Woman - Yes I am <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
While I haven't blogged very often specifically about political or social issues, I wanted to state my thoughts for those of my readers who know I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon). I know there's been a lot in the news about women wanting to be ordained to the priesthood, and I wanted to share my thoughts on the role of women within the Mormon church.<br />
(BTW - if you comment, keep in mind, these are my thoughts, I don't speak for the church, and please be respectful.)<br />
<br />
There's been a lot of hubbub in the media - much of it negative, regarding individuals and groups who have spoken out, and called for change within our religion, specifically regarding women not having the priesthood. <br />
To whit - after a Sunday school lesson a few weeks ago, with the topic of the priesthood of God (God's power to act in His name, granted to men on earth to further His work), one of our children had some very valid questions. We've had much conversation about it here and home, and I've thought and read a lot about it.<br />
Personally, I'm not all worked up about wanting more work. Why should I be? I have enough to do, and my house is still messy! Here's what I think though.<br />
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I believe that Jesus Christ established His church, and organized it on the earth. <br />
<br />
Through His atonement, and resurrection, old laws were done away with (the Law of Moses), and a higher law was established. (Compare the beautitudes to the 10 commandments - more "blessed are ye if..." rather than, the harsh "thou shalt nots".)<br />
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Christ gave power and authority to Peter James and John (mount of transfiguration), to run His church since He was no longer physically on the earth (ascension) - He had also called 12 apostles.<br />
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After Christ's death, resurrection and ascension, the Church grew and did well for a while, but then the people began to turn away. They persecuted the prophets (as always - the didn't like what they were hearing - it personally offended their lifestyles and asked them to change), and eventually killed them all.<br />
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No apostles or prophets=no one with priesthood authority to act in God's name on earth.<br />
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In 1820, a young boy named Joseph Smith wanted to know which church to join. He lived in upstate NY, and it was the middle of the religious revival period of time. He attended many churches and they all claimed to be the "true church". They had fragments of the Church Christ had established - but no prophets with authority (priesthood) or ongoing revelation. Joseph Smith turned to the scriptures and prayed to know which church to join. James 1:5. He was young. He was just trying to figure things out. He went to the woods to pray, and as he did, he received a Heavenly manifestation. God the Father, and Jesus Christ appeared to him. They told him that none of the churches had the full authority, or full gospel truth, and that he shouldn't join any of them. <br />
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Over time, Joseph received heavenly messengers, through which he was taught, and he was called to be a prophet. Later, at various points, John the Baptist (who had the authority to baptize in Christ's time), and Peter, James and John (who had the keys of the church) appeared as heavenly beings to Joseph Smith, and gave the priesthood authority to baptize, and to re-establish Christ's church upon the earth to him. <br />
He was called as a prophet, and twelve apostles were also called. <br />
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The priesthood (power to act in God's name) is passed, through the laying on of hands and ordination. This is how it was established by Christ. <br />
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While I admittedly had very pro feminist ideas while in college and felt very angry about the roles of men and women, in general, I've calmed down ALOT since then.<br />
<br />
Men can't physically have babies. It isn't the way things work. Do I understand it? Nope. Well - yes, but maybe not the "divine reason", other than that's how God organized it. We have roles. While I CAN do most anything I want to (other than grow a little taller), there's lots that I don't NEED or have a burning desire to do. <br />
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In our church, I've had many opportunities to lead, and serve. I've been a missionary, in charge of the women's organization, in charge of the young women's organization, and I've been in charge of the children's organization. I've been in charge of the nursery, and I've been in charge of early morning bible classes, I've been in charge of activities, I've been the pianist, I've been the organist, I've been a teacher, I've been a chorister, and I've left lots out. I'm okay not presiding over everything, or all of the men. When I've been in charge of different organizations, I've never done it alone. We do it together - working in the trenches, side by side - men and women. Loving God's children, our brothers and sisters. Do I need to have the priesthood to be equal? Do I need to be equal? <br />
Nah - not really. <br />
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In my personal experience, my father was a Bishop of our congregation for 7 years. I watched the cares and worries of all of his congregation take their toll on him. Often, his summer vacations included time off of work for scout camp or girls camp. Thursday night visits, Saturday funerals, people calling in distress in the middle of the night, hospital visits, people in need of counseling, people with no place to turn. During those long years, my father needed my mother to support him. She was a comfort and support to him and helped him as he served the congregation. Her role was just as important as his, but it was outside of the limelight. She also learned patience, and how to put the Lord first in her life. She loves the Lord and loves my dad, and served our congregation by supporting my dad and sharing him with the congregation.<br />
<br />
Here's another example from my home of this concept. <br />
We have two daughters. They love crafts, sewing, crafts, crafts, frosting things, crafts, you get the picture.<br />
My husband - he HATES that stuff. It bores him out of his mind. He DOESN'T enjoy it. Well, not after the first 15 minutes. After that, it is pure torture. He'd prefer to walk over live coals, rather than spend time at Michael's craft store. That's just how it is. Other men may be different, but this is my example. :)<br />
I love to sit and work on projects with my kids. I love to see and help them create. I'm not a huge crafter, but I love to spend time with our kids crafting. <br />
My husband and I have different tempraments in regards to crafting. <br />
Our kids need to create, and learn to express themselves as they grow. Luckily, I'm the girl for that dept. He's not. That's just how he is made.<br />
We each have our roles. His role is bed time tucker inner and lame jokes and silliness. He doesn't really begrudge me that I am the head crafter, nor do I begrudge his lame jokes (love you honey, but it is true), or his silliness. These are our roles within our family. We get things done, and it works.<br />
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In our church, I don't have a need to be equal to the men. I'm equal in my own role(s). I'm not a man, and I don't need his role as well as my own. I don't need a title, or the outside world to see my title to feel okay with where I am - I'm already okay right where I am. <br />
Personally, to be honest, I love that my husband goes to work to provide for our family, and I get to stay home and wipe noses, and cook, and teach and love. Some days are better than others, but I appreciate our roles. <br />
Likewise, I'm okay with my role in the church. It doesn't matter if I'm crawling on the floor with toddlers, or if I'm playing the organ (poorly, but doing my best), or if I'm organizing the hymn books. What is happening, is that I'm serving others, and allowing the Lord to shape me, as a humble follower of Christ, hopefully into a more Christlike, compassionate being. <br />
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In light of the political and social media chaos about this, I'm saddened that certain individuals have thrown a pall over the beauty of the symbiotic relationship of men and women within our church. One doesn't exist without the other. Just as procreation needs both men and women. <br />
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So, while I joke that I'm an orthodox Mormon (they don't really exist mind you), I believe that men and women are called by prophecy, and revelation. I also believe that a prophet and 12 apostles live on the earth today, and that God communicates with them, and they lead His church. Even during Christ's time, many people didn't believe in Him or accept him. So it is today, some dissent over social and political issues, as they don't agree or accept things as they are. <br />
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What I know, is that I am a Child of God, and that He leads His church as He sees fit. Sometimes the answer is "just cause", sometimes it isn't the 'right' time. And sometimes the answer comes later. But morning always follows night. <br />
In a nutshell, I'm proud to be a Mormon woman, and very secure in my role as such.<br />
<br />
*Out of curiosity last night, I asked two women who I work very closely with about their thoughts on this. Their responses were - identical to my thoughts. There's a lot to be doing and worried about - distractions such as this come along, and will carry away those who get caught up with them, but really? - is it really worth my time, or is the media blowing something up because it's a slow news day?<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-18382274702250793132014-05-17T12:59:00.002-06:002014-05-17T12:59:21.740-06:00Today - right now<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Here's what's happening today - right now.<br />
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Bright and early we hung out with these cool people - and layed sod in our neighborhood retention pond. 4 pallets of it, and 60+bags of soil. We got sweaty and dirty, but it was nice to work together with neighbors and good people who we'd never met. <br />
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Disclaimer - don't look too close. In Florida, crabgrass is called "grass", so yes - we spent the morning laying crab grass. Never thought I'd do that! <br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">Lots of painting going on. Our HOA (which yes, I'm the president of) sent us a letter telling us we'd better paint our fence or else. Well, we had a difference of opinion - I wanted to just plant some flowers to cover it up, but someone else wanted to paint it. While we further negotiated, and my husband spent a week in Chicago, we got the second letter telling us to TAKE CARE OF IT! So - we spent some quality time at Home Depot. My husband got paint, and I bought herbs - lavender, chocolate mint, cilantro, stevia, citronella. :)</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOBR_nQ4TIkzdZL2DZY_EkN3UP9UaAFYtVilp7ZvFUKro6qike9jGFhx28Axsv_zQQwrPNQVgICzzh9ixN6Yj3hwaHQkZ1BqUc-g92_BTNSyqx6DTXPLdJ0wRBkgKvskLp3QKwG3gpzbM/s1600/Jeff+and+maddie+painting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOBR_nQ4TIkzdZL2DZY_EkN3UP9UaAFYtVilp7ZvFUKro6qike9jGFhx28Axsv_zQQwrPNQVgICzzh9ixN6Yj3hwaHQkZ1BqUc-g92_BTNSyqx6DTXPLdJ0wRBkgKvskLp3QKwG3gpzbM/s1600/Jeff+and+maddie+painting.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Our eldest daughter is painting the neighbor's nails - she gave her a birthday coupon a year ago for a free nail polish session, and so they are hanging out on the back porch bonding over fingernails. <br />
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Tonight - cooking, cleaning, and watering all of that sod.... Yes, it's a thrilling life we lead.<br />
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It has been busy. It seems to always be busy.<br />
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After my brother's family visited and we all visited the Bahamas, (hard life I know) we had some friends come into town who we loved seeing. <br />
And then another one of my brothers and his family came into town - they stayed for 5 days, and we loved playing with them. <br />
While they were here, we traveled to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to see the new LDS temple and go through the open house prior to it's dedication.<br />
We also had a gorgeous beach day. And got sunburned, and we really enjoyed So. Florida.<br />
It has been really enjoyable to spend time with my siblings and their families these past months - and we are so glad we could see them. I don't think they minded the gorgeous Florida weather too much either!<br />
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Our daughter had a birthday, Easter came and went. This year over spring break we worked on our traditional sugar eggs - cement hard eggs made from sugar that we decorate with royal icing (it too dries rock hard) for Easter.<br />
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Then...after years of thinking about it, we bought a ukranian egg decorating kit and we've had LOTS of fun decorating the eggs with wax, and then dying over the wax - creating layers and layers of intricate designs. Unfortunately, mine always seemed to break just as I was finished and melting all of the wax back off again. Stink. They are time intensive, and thus therapeutic and we've had lots of fun with them.<br />
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My husband has been back to work for 5 weeks now. He is still shaking - violent shakes that come from no where - abrupt like a sneeze. Sometimes they are accompanied by small shakes that don't stop. He continues to see a naturopathic Dr. as well as a counselor who is doing EMDR therapy with him - as he tries to sort out childhood trauma. It is difficult. Difficult to see how very little things trigger him, and how they can affect him so profoundly. Church and family are triggers. He has found that tapping has been helpful, and I've been concocting lots of different aromatherapy potions for him, which seem to help at times. He doesn't sleep well - he usually wakes up around 3 am, and gets up and writes and writes and writes. His insurance policy is that no one can read this handwriting. Sometimes he comes back to bed for a while, sometimes he is up for the day. He has been very busy at work, and has slogged through some things that have been difficult. It is a blessing if he makes it through 8 hours of continuous sleep. I'm especially grateful for nights when he doesn't wake up with panic attacks, grabbing me, or small or big shakes in the night. Usually one of us ends up at some point out on the couch. If it is a good night, undoubtedly, the cats will begin picking at the door to get out, or jumping on the door knob from outside as they try to open the door to come in. I'm usually pretty tired, but we are managing...and learning to live with it. He isn't driving long distances still. Sometimes he has to pull over on the side of the road and wait for shaking to subside before he can continue driving. He calls to let me know, and I know eventually he will make it home. This Sunday was particularly bad, (all weekend) and a kind friend noticed how bad it was (I was in primary with the children) - he ended up driving my husband's car home for us. My husband had to stay late, and a friend drove him home. One the way, the friend's daughter saw him shaking, and said, "I don't like it when you do that. Please don't do that any more". My husband laughed and laughed when he told me about it. Our friend was probably pretty mortified. Oh, that it were so easy to turn off... <br />
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I've been doing a lot of reading and research - I've found so much truth in reading and studying Brene Brown's work. We've listened to several of her CD's, her online presentations, as well as a few of her books. I'm amazed - and as I speak with friends who are struggling in their lives, I see answers in Brene's work. I think I should earn commission from her - at least a small marketing perk or something. Really - it has been very impactful. I've been working on some guideposts from Brene's books - to become more wholehearted. As such, I've begun drawing - which I've never done before, but am really enjoying.<br />
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The kids are doing state testing right now, and our youngest is excited to be commencing pottery wheel classes. <br />
Last week the kids were off school for Good Friday - we picked up material, and over the weekend, we made some berets. My friend (and daughter's friend's mom) began chemo treatments last week. We made her some cute berets and are having a hats and scarves shower for her. Our youngest made her a snuggie from fleece, and has been so gratified to see her using it. SO - my sewing machine was still out. My treat - that I hold like a carrot in front of me to clean my house is to have the time to sew. I haven't sewn since we moved to Florida - almost 3 years ago. Since my machine was out, this morning, after replacing the zipper in some jeans, I pulled out an old project. A baby blanket, that I began in Colorado for my nephew. He is at least in kindergarten. I was playing around with machine quilting. It didn't look very good, so it got buried in an unfinished projects box. This morning, I thoroughly enjoyed finishing it. I just need to bind it now. Kind of exciting to almost be able to check it off of my list. And while it took some creative repairs (it was cannibalized by children in a couple of spots for whatever sewing project they had and snipped off a piece here or there), it is actually kind of cute - if you don't look too closely. What 5 year old doesn't want a baby blanket??!! Anywho... I'm not putting away my sewing machine for a while. Both of my kids, and a friend made berets, and my girls are loathe to gift them. They love them, and have begged to make more for themselves, and I've got a spring quilt top that I pieced years ago that just needs batting and backing and binding. I'm going to finish it and put it out for my spring throw. <br />
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Our house has been full of music as our oldest daughter got a keyboard/midi system for her birthday, and she's been composing music like a fiend. I find myself here, humming one of her compositions. So fun.<br />
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We are gearing up for birthday season, and looking at a very very busy summer with a flute camp, and two required marching band camps, along with girls camp, possibly EFY, and some traveling with my husband (since I'm the long trip chauffer). <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-42221437501253389252014-03-09T21:51:00.000-06:002014-03-09T21:51:03.207-06:00Bahama Mama <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So - we had the opportunity to check another adventure off of our Florida bucket list - we went on a cruise to the Bahamas, and it was pretty divine. </div>
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As it worked out - my husband's work wouldn't let him come back to work, so he did some much needed healing as we floated through the ocean. </div>
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Ahem.. the girls didn't mind taking a week off of school either... </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cabbage Beach - Nassau - Bahamas</td></tr>
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While the beach was beautiful, the drop at the waterline was quite extensive, and just a few feet out was over my head, with big and strong waves crashing in and pulling out. It felt out of control (the water), so we didn't actually really play on the beach for very long in Nassau. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casting off!</td></tr>
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We hired a taxi/tour and drove around Nassau. We stopped to buy a conch for $5. Then looked over the sea wall, and saw this! Supporting the local economy I guess. :) </div>
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We climbed the 66 steps - which are symbolic of the 66 years of slavery in the Bahamas. And we even stopped at our tour guide's franchise owner's establishment and waited for him to pay his bills. A little crazy, but it was a fun adventure. </div>
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The third day of the cruise was pretty amazing. My husband and youngest daughter participated in a 5K on Disney's private island. My husband won, of course. <br />
After finishing the race, they ran right down into the water to cool down. <br />
Because our kids are older, I got to spend some time swimming in the ocean. The island didn't have much in the way of waves (my favorite) and so I swam laps for an hour and LOVED it. <br />
We all snorkeled (and saw a baracuda, a huge grouper - with frightening teeth) and played with some tubes, and we rented bikes and biked around on the island. It was a truly paradisiacal day. <br />
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We spend the last day at sea - we went to an oragami class, and the kids spent time in the kids club. <br />
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We've already been talking about how soon we can book another cruise - it was so fun! <br />
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Now the nitty gritty - when we got back, my husband had a message (he thought he was going back to work on the 25th) saying they didn't want him back at work for another 3 weeks, and he had to see a new neurologist, one he'd never seen before who would sign his "fit for duty" paperwork. <br />
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After some confusion, he figured it was a gift. <br />He's been seeing a naturopath. I don't even imagine in my greatest fantasies that I can understand it. He is seeing a counselor doing some EMDR therapy for trauma, and we've been reading lots of books and trying to find anything we can that might lead to insight and understanding of what is really going on. <br />
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In a crucial moment, I called my sister last month, and asked her for some help. She's an amazingly insightful woman. She listened carefully, and said she thought that my husband may be dealing with shame. I know, how weird does that sound? She recommended that we find some books on shame by Brene Brown. <br />
We bought the CD Men, Women, & Worthiness. It absolutely rocked our world. As my husband and I listened, we started to recognize truths. Many of which have been soul jarring painful, but as we've begun to really understand what my husband has been going through, pieces of the puzzle have finally begun to fit together. <br />
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Go buy the CD's. On amazon. Right now. Seriously. NOW. <br />
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I've recommended these CD's to several of my friends, who have bought them and are finding answers to their own personal issues. I don't know if it was how she said it, but it just clicked. So - for 3 months, we'd been searching and sifting, trying to figure out where my husband had experienced trauma. All of the neurologists (6 so far), psychiatrists (2 so far), primary care giver (1), naturopath (1), and counselor (1) have been trying to track down the mysterious trauma that has been causing my husband to have seizures for the past 3 months. Tests, tests, tests. Drugs, drugs, drugs. Guessing, and throwing our hands up in defeat.<br />
Until the CDS. They resonated. We had to sit down as we learned that a body reacts to shame in the same way (if not even a stronger reaction) as it reacts to trauma. Absolute revelation. Now, we've begun to work through it. It isn't pretty. <br />
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But. My husband has been praying for healing for as long as he can remember. His prayers are finally being answered. <br />
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My sister pointed out to me yesterday when we spoke, the girls and I have the beautiful experience of watching my husband's true self awaken. Not the shell of a person who was always hiding, but the vibrant, amazing man that I fell in love with - as a WHOLE person. <br />
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It is a long road ahead, but we are walking it together. It has been a VERY tough journey for both of us. But I know that the end result will be worth it. My husband now has what we call his "crap -ometer". He can spot it a mile away. You know, insincere words, lip service and the likes. He is no longer the deliberate diplomat, but now is calling it how he sees it - who cares what others think? And to be brutally honest - right now, he is angry. His entire belief system of how he fits into the world has crumbled into the dust and blown to the wind. <br />
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Today, he was asked to speak in church (give a sermon). It was one of the most honest talks I've ever heard. He was so real. True to what he really thinks and feels. And he threw it out for everyone, and it was gripping. A man from Holland who isn't a member of our congregation came and asked for a copy of his sermon, so he could share it with his wife who couldn't come. Another person who isn't a member of our congregation came up and spoke with him about it, and so many people have commented about how heartfelt and timely it was. Did I mention it was beautiful? <br />
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So - this week, his shaking has slowed down and almost completely stopped. In it's place, is anger, and flashbacks, and tears as he tries to figure out how to process everything. I described an experience he had with his counselor to my sister, and she said that he is actually suffering from PTSD. Wow. Who would have thunk?<br />
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On a final note, our cub scouts troop had its pinewood derby yesterday. I made a pickle car, and our youngest made a hershey bar. But the paint got smudged, and no one knew what it was. She got the prize for the most 'rustic'. Yes, please kick me in the stomach again :) She wasn't thrilled but it was fun. My car fell off of the track twice, then when I fixed the wheel, I added too much super glue and then my wheels ended up not even turning at all. Oh, the pangs of pinewood derby cars.<br />
<br />
Finally, my last news (I almost forgot). The week after our cruise (last weekend) there was an LDS women's conference, called Time Out For Women. I had the opportunity to play my cello and perform with one of the music groups - Mercy River.<br />
The fun part was that my friends had NO idea, so they were surprised when I went up on stage. (I'm sneaky like that sometimes). I got to hang out back stage with the presenters - so that was pretty exciting. My oldest daughter and her friend, and my neighbor from across the street got to go with me too, and it was really fun. <br />
Playing onstage for 2,100 people was exciting too. My biggest venue yet!<br />
<br />
Pictures to come, but that should catch us up for now. XOX Mare<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-59343472985972400182014-02-02T18:50:00.005-07:002014-02-02T18:50:51.786-07:00Roller Coasters and the power of fasting and prayer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<img height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Albrecht_D%C3%BCrer_-_Praying_Hands,_1508_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" width="273" /></div>
<br />
This week has been a doozy.<br />
Monday, my husband spoke with his HR dept & was told him that after his medical leave expires (in a few weeks), company policy is to terminate the job if the individual isn't ready to return. (They had previously told him something different.)<br />
In a panic to return to work or bust, I took him to work at 6:30am Tuesday morning to see if he could make it work in the office environment, as long as he had some quiet hours without everyone around.<br />
<br />
(He has been working part time from home since the beginning of January.)<br />
<br />
He called me at 10:30 and asked me to pick him up. <br />
Apparently, he had popped his head into HR to say hello and was told that the info he had received wasn't accurate - which was a relief. But, they also freaked out that he was there. He had been in some meetings, and he had just told everyone that "I have the shakes/seizures" and kind of explained what happens and that he isn't in pain or hurt, but what to expect. As he chatted with the HR lady, he shook (the new normal around here), and she told him he had to leave the premises as his DR orders didn't say that he could come into the work place.<br />
<br />
So, he came home and worked from home. He worked a strong day on Wed. until he received an email from HR asking him to cease working immediately. Due to the 'incident' (? whah??) they wanted him to stop and would have a phone conference with him on Thursday. So.... on Thursday, he had a conversation with them. Because of "what transpired" on Tuesday (seizing/shaking?? we don't know what else transpired) they are very concerned and want him to stop working so he can get better. In three weeks, if he isn't all better, they will terminate his job, but offered him an extended leave. If he isn't better by then, he could then be placed on a long term disability leave. <br />
We are grateful for his company's generosity and willingness to work with him. But as it stands. Get better, or you can apply for a new job here or elsewhere if you ever get better.<br />
He's been in a turmoil, trying to figure out if he can 'push through' everything to be better completely in 3 weeks. Including the 25% of traveling that he must do to fit his job description. It seems a very tall order.<br />
<br />
So, we've had a very emotional week. UPs and Downs, and all around. What to think, what to do?<br />
<br />
On the flip side of all of this, I want to share something very personal.<br />
Do you believe in spiritual power?<br />
I do. Do you believe in family spiritual power? I do. <br />
<br />
I learned as a child. When a certain uncle was out of a job, or when a cousin was having a health problem, we all set aside a specific day to pray and fast together for that individual as a family. Grandmas and grandpas, uncles, aunts, cousins...all of us.<br />
I saw it work.<br />
I felt it work.<br />
It works.<br />
<br />
This weekend, desperately in need of family spiritual help, I messaged all of our aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, nieces and nephews and the likes, (thank you for keeping us in touch face book), and asked them to all join with us in a family fast for my husband's health. (This means 24 hours of no food OR water - yep - 24 hours. We do it once a month. We try to focus on our relationship with Heavenly Father and bring our will more into line with His. We also donate the $ we would have used for food for the use of helping those in our area in need - it is beautiful.)<br />
<br />
As I write this, it is 8:45 pm. <br />
Is it too soon to say that it worked? That I know and have felt an incredible power from this prayer and fasting? I know it works.<br />
<br />
I sent out the message on Friday night and awoke on Sat. morning with a feeling of strength. Strength that wasn't my own. It is hard to put a name on it, but I felt a steadiness and strength. I could feel the power of prayers being offered for us.<br />
<br />
Today, I have not seen my husband have a seizure or shake even once. He said he had a super mini shiver of something earlier today while at church, but that's it. <br />
Compare to two weeks ago - after an hour and a half of meetings, I had to take him home. Compare to yesterday, and every day before, since mid Nov. (except for Thanksgiving after my brother in law had done some brainwave balancing on him) and the daily multiple seizures and shaking - such as the 5 in one hour on Thursday at a dr. appt.. <br />
<br />
For now, for today - he isn't shaking. I'm not sure why. Do I believe that it was because of the faith, prayers, and fasting of others on his behalf? Absolutely. <br />
Do I believe in miracles? Absolutely.<br />
<br />
Am I afraid to wake up tomorrow? Perhaps a little, but I know that this is in God's hands. I have felt a calm reassurance that this is in His hands.<br />
I have felt his love for me through the kind actions of others (like someone who just happened to bring dinner to our family out of the blue last week, or someone who called this morning to offer him a ride to an early meeting). I see God's love manifest in our lives. I know that He hears and answers our prayers. I don't know what direction our lives will take from here, but I know that I can trust God, because He is in charge, and all week a phrase has been rattling around in my brain. <br />
That phrase is: "Be still, and know that I am God" <br />
<br />
For today, I am incredibly grateful, still and in awe.<br />
#prayersandfasting<br />
#Godshealingpower<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-20289846578915742152014-01-23T11:00:00.002-07:002014-01-23T11:00:30.752-07:00For the record<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Another week has rolled through. I made it through the last one.<br />
Today's best news is that when I called the power company this morning, and asked them to look at the past 2.6 years of our history with them, they saw that we (indeed) have paid our account on time, and so they were willing to waive the notice they'd sent us stating that they were requiring a $600+ deposit for the next three years until we'd proved our credit worthiness with them after they moved our payment date, and then shut off the power last week. What a monopoly! Grrrr. Thank you to the nice lady who helped me. <br />
<br />
This week, started out with Dentist appointments, but due to the President of the USA and his lovely medical plan, all of our medical plans changed this year. The insurance office wasn't open on Monday due to the holiday, and therefore some transfer that had to happen with our dentist (who has always been our dentist) so that we could have our teeth checked wasn't able to happen. So, my kids didn't get to go to the dentist - even though we made them get up and ready by 8:15 on their day off of school. Yes, they were loving me!<br />
<br />
Tuesday, we had another Dr. appt for my husband. The one with the 1.5 hr. commute. That Dr. told us that he's not quite sure that my husband's seizures aren't medically related. All of the neurologists told him that they can't find anything so it must be mental/emotional. Pot/Kettle/Black?? Then the Dr. told him that it is just recently that non-epileptic seizures are being recognized in the medical field, however, there is little or no research to rely on. He recommended sending us to a neurologist for more testing....Feels like back where we started. Again.<br />
<br />
Wednesday, I got to go to the dentist. Not my favorite, but at least no cavities. Thanks to my cousin, my previous dentist, I'm on a rolling streak! Speaking of rolling...we went roller skating last weekend. Ummm hoping to never have to do that again?! I was almost to the point of feeling comfortable on wheels again (guess my point of gravity has changed) when we (mercifully) decided to leave. Our kids, though - LOVED IT!!<br />
<br />
Yesterday afternoon, we met with some friends who are in town - we knew them in Colorado - and bought their piano from them. Then they moved, but it was fun to spend time together and catch up. We went to Blue Springs State Park, and saw TONS of manatee (cause it is so cold here right now - sheesh!). They had counted 238 at the park that morning... I'm not sure if we saw half, but we saw several close up, and it was fun - as always.<br />
<br />
Today, another Dr. appointment, then a phone call visit with a financial adviser - that was useless. He told us to find a local financial adviser. I tell you - the fun never stops at our house.<br />
<br />
I stayed up late working on tax returns (why won't that one mutual fund company send out year end documents sooner? I'm always stuck waiting on them!). After I finish chronicling my exciting life, I look forward to a shower (hot, because it is so cold), and laundry folding, perhaps snuggling with the kitty, and a few music lessons before running around to drop people off at rehearsals. <br />
<br />
Guess what? Tomorrow.... another doctor! Our daughter has an eye appointment. One has an all day rehearsal for an all county band event, and the other an eye appointment. <br />
A week of appointments. I think the calendar is empty next week. Thank goodness!<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-36158434266187571192014-01-15T11:06:00.001-07:002014-01-15T11:06:34.276-07:00One of THOSE days<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
You know those days? The dreaded ones? The type that you just can't believe is actually happening?<br />
I'm having one.<br />
Right now.<br />
Really.<br />
<br />
I was supposed to go walking this morning. It didn't happen. My husband had a bad night, and so, mine wasn't too great either.<br />
<br />
I woke up, got the kids up, made healthy waffles, made a great healthy kale/cranberry/red pepper smoothie to give me a little pep and energy for my exciting day of new biking trails with a new biking friend, with a promise of a dedicated mountain bike trail - complete with jumps and dips etc. <br />
<br />
Got the kids off to school, and took my daughter to Target before school because she needed 'close toed shoes' for her science project today (??). She wore me down and she got Uggs. As if furry boots were EVER needed in Florida. Whatever. At least they were on their way out, and only cost $10.56, and she pledged to pay for half.<br />
<br />
Then, the fun began. I dropped her off at school and got home, texted my friend that I needed 10 minutes to get ready. As I was rummaging around for my biking shorts, I heard a truck, then a cling/clang outside my bedroom wall, and the electricity shut off. I quickly assessed my options. "Should I go to the kitchen for a knife? Where's the bat? Where did my husband say his gun was?"<br />
I opened the garage door, and saw that the big door was open which was strange. And then. <br />
I saw him. <br />
Evil man.<br />
<img height="320" src="http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/utility-man-2671108.jpg" width="239" /><br />
Sitting in the utilities company truck. DUKE ENERGY. Avoid them like the plague - I very very strongly dislike them, and have ever since we moved to FLORIDA. Can you say monopoly?<br />
<br />
I yelled "HEY" just as he started up the truck to drive away. "I don't have any power", he replied "I know, that's my job". WHAT?? <br />
"You have to call them to get it back on", "Um...my phone isn't working and I don't have internet to get the number, what number do I call?" He handed me a business card and said, "don't call the 1800 number, who knows where they are. I'll be around as to turn it back on as soon as you work it out." <br />
<br />
I headed inside. Dialed the number. After unsuccessfully trying to find a human, I was disconnected since I didn't have my account number memorized and handy, and couldn't find it without the power. (So much for paperless filing).<br />
I rummaged around the house and found a letter that I'd received 3 days ago, dated Dec. 30, 2013. It said if I didn't pay my by the 8th, my electricity would be shut off. <br />
<br />
By then, my husband had turned on his hotspot for his laptop and I was able to verify that I indeed had paid all of my bills to the utility company for the entire past year, 9 out of ten times even a week before the due date. Come on - we are pretty responsible people. Most of the time. <br />
<br />
I called again and must have pushed the right button because I finally got someone on the line. Ricardo. Poor Ricardo. I wouldn't like his job. Not one bit, because I was angry at this ridiculousness. He and I chatted about my payment. Yes, he could see my payments had been received. Yes, but there must be a 'missing payment'. <br />
<br />
APPARENTLY, sometime in September, I was notified that the payment due date was changing from the 10th of the month, to the 30th of the month (as in, 10 days earlier). <br />
<br />
Unfortunately, in September, my husband had an appendectomy, then a prostate infection, many tests and Xrays, and then ended up in the hospital for several days, and is still not better. Add two weeks of house guests, and the holiday season, and that pretty much sums up how I somehow missed the alert that the monthly payment date was being changed and accelerated. <br />
<br />
It isn't their fault, it was mine. Ignorance isn't an excuse. I know. But REALLY? How about a phone call, a second notice? Something? No sir - this monopoly doesn't mess around. They just turn off your power. I guess they got the results they wanted.<br />
<br />
So, Ricardo explained that my meter is now read on the 6th of each month and payment is due by the 30th. Pretty short billing cycle I'd say. At least I guess I know now. <br />
<br />
So I paid the bill. That was apparently 2 weeks late, unbeknownst to me. I'd figured when I saw the previous notice that the bill and payment had crossed in the mail since we've never ever been delinquent on a payment. <br />
<br />
Moving along. <br />
I found my clothes, then headed out to prep my bike. I decided to use my daughter's since my wrists have had a lot of pain with my bike. Her tire was flat.<br />
<br />
I had a spare tube, and changed the tire. <br />
We started along our way.<br />
We got 6.14 miles when I went around a curve in the path and felt a 'swoosh' and felt like my back tire was sliding out from under me. My friend looked at my back tire and told me it was flat. <br />
What are the odds? Sheesh. <img height="300" src="http://static.electricbike.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/flattire-ebike.jpg" width="400" /><br />
We walked back to a nearby park, sat down and waited, and called my husband to put the bike rack onto the car, and come and pick me up. <br />
<br />
I'm thinking about spending the rest of the day in bed! <br />
<br />
I saw a post on FB that said, THINK POSITIVE, like if you are falling down the stairs, think about how quickly you got to the bottom. :) I think that post was meant for me.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921550975191713509.post-87958412513785336542014-01-13T21:31:00.001-07:002014-01-13T21:31:09.324-07:00Holy Smokes - it has been a while!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We were so flipping excited to roll in a new year. <br />
My husband's dr. told him he could come back in 6 months (YAY!!), but he's still seeing 2 other drs. in the meantime. <br />
Our holidays were oh so very quiet this year. Which is okay, but it didn't feel like Christmas to anyone for the most part. Anyways, the kids are back in school, and all of the Christmas clutter is put away (thank Heavens!). The missionaries (the Elders and Sisters) came over for dinner on Christmas night along with some other friends, and we have flan and carne asada.<br />
After many years of marriage, we finally realized that we have virtually no traditions for Christmas day evening. We decided that since we don't like turkey or ham (once a year is plenty thanks), we should figure out a meal we really like. <br />
So - if you wonder what we eat for Christmas dinner - Carne asada, black beans, rice, & flan. If you were wondering about Easter - Taquitos and Trifle. (Yes, I'm aware of the mixed nationalities on that one, thank you very much).<br />
<br />
Not sure how I got onto that food tandem. <br />
Moving along.<br />
<br />
My husband worked 27.5 hours last week. I think he felt really good about it. The kids went to school, we moved a bunch of shelving out of our bedroom and some storage things around in our spare room and turned it into a home office. This weekend, he graduated from a tv tray table to a table - and we picked up a 6' table for some other projects - like sorting 16 years worth of photos and putting them into albums. Can I cry yet? <br />
It also comes in handy for entertaining - we actually used it tonight - before I had a chance to spread out all of the projects on it. Nifty nifty.<br />
<br />
So. Kids in school, husband working, me in a quiet house (except for when he takes piano breaks). I've read a few good books, and have enjoyed re-locating my kitchen counters and floors (work in progress). I also got 40.5 miles logged on my bike last week. A family ride including dinner, a 20 miler for me just cause (and I explored some new trails!), and then a tenner with my daughter on Sat. with lots of water breaks as we combat her asthma. <br />
<br />
I still have a feeling of being underwater - like there's so much to do, and I just can't find the motivation to get it done - things seem like they are going in slow-mo. But, I'm slowly getting closer to the surface again (I hope). <br />
<br />
I had a thought this morning which brought me comfort. I was thinking about a friend who's son has been really sick. Her husband has been out of town, and so yesterday, she called the Elders (that's their title even though they are only around 20), and asked them to give her son a priesthood blessing. Last update from her this evening was that he is doing much better since the blessing. Her son, he isn't 18 yet, he is still young. I thought about - why was he sick? As in, what would the purpose be? He's very recently had a LOT of stress and very heavy challenges, and this seemed to be the straw that would break the camel's back. So, what is the purpose of everything he may be going through?<br />
<br />
Then I saw it. The answer - just simple and there. How could this young man ever expect to gain a testimony of priesthood blessings, if he never got ill enough to need to be healed through one?<br />
<br />
Take it a little further. Our experiences in life teach us, and give us opportunities to grow.<br />
So - where am I/he/our kids growing right now? Sometimes it is hard to see the forest through the trees. I've learned that there are so many kind people, and I will be forever grateful to them for their kindness and compassion. I've learned that things just don't turn out as planned. I've learned that there are many worse things that a husband who experiences what is "formerly known as seizures". <br />
<br />
My husband has been working with a counselor, and has asked me to join him. I'm learning more about who he really is, and what he thinks. Our relationship seems to change every day. I'm learning that I'm maybe not very patient. We have found opportunities to discuss many things, as we try to figure this out day by day. During my husband's last session, I actually found myself remembering some incidents from MY childhood that I had buried deep down in the recesses of my mind. <br />
<br />
I've also realized, that if you break an arm, it needs time to heal. Whatever my husband is dealing with may (hopefully) heal very slowly. It may also never heal. <br />
<br />
But, one thing that I have learned is that I'm not in charge, and neither is he. I have to let go, and let the Lord steer and guide us, and the closer I am to listening to the Spirit, the closer I'll come to understanding the meaning of this experience we are having. Then again, perhaps not. Perhaps, there is a much more subtle meaning from all of this, and I may never know.<br />
<br />
The one thing I do know is that GOD Loves Me! No matter what. He is aware and mindful of my prayers and my needs, as well as those of the family. But, as long as I faithfully believe on the healing merits and power of Christ and His love, I know that we can make it through this, and it will be all right.<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0