Just Remembered Something Cute Amelia Said...

We were at Burlington Coat Factory trying on lil gloves & hats on the kids. I can't remember if Amelia was singing or screaming? Probably the latter haha and this lady says, "Oh BOY!" And Amelia looks at me confused and said kinda sadly..."I not a boy...:o(." Haha I had to explain to her that it was just a saying people say and that the lady wasn't saying she was a boy...haha! I am not sure she still understood awww!

I am SO Behind!!

So at the beginning of November we moved into our 1st home!! We have been married for 8 years and I never thought it would happen! And I LOVE it! I feel so at home and I no longer feel cluttered! (well there are still areas we need to organize, but at least I can go to another room and not have to think about that clutter! ;o)). Ben found a new way to get down the stairs by locking his arms in the stair rails and sliding down them haha! It's really cute. LAZY, but cute! We are trying to potty train Amelia and we are realizing that we are going to need more than one lil toilet seat up & downstairs...we aren't used to having 2 1/2 bathrooms! The other day Amelia pooped in her pants and I made her help me clean it out...she was SO upset and screamed (while crying), "I DON'T WANT TO TOUCH IT!!" And I told her..."That is exactly how I feel about it!" She didn't have to touch the poo, but she helped me roll it into the toilet and clean it out.

Our last property management company is trying to take 75% of our deposit and I am fighting it. They are charging us for the old blinds and some other things that are ridiculous. I sent them a letter and asked for the main lady to call me to set up a time to meet today...she never called. So I have a co-worker that has access to do background checks and she got me the owners of the apartment complex's address and they will be getting the letter as well (certified mail.). I want my money back and I am going to get it gosh darn it!! :o)

Benjamin had his birthday party a week late because we were in transition living with Chris' parents while we waited to get into our house. I am so thankful to them for offering their home to us during that time!

Also at the end of September I started to feel sick and bacon disgusted me...took a pregnancy test & I AM PREGNANT! Right now I am about 4 month along! By the end of October I was feeling great! Had my 1st doctor appointment on Nov 11th and got a little ultra sound that had a little baby in there...already had kicking legs and lil arms...I KNEW I FELT LIL BUTTERFLIES IN MY TUMMY! My due date: May 26, 2010! Chris' B-day is May 21st and because I have to have c-sections the birth will be closer to his b-day...My 2nd appointment will be this week. Ben and Amelia are always wanting to give the baby hugs & the like to give the baby kisses too ;o). They are so excited! Ben wants the baby in his room and we may just do that...he sleeps like a rock & Amelia is a light sleeper.

We got to have our 1st Thanksgiving in our new home!! Chris' mom asked if we would like to and at 1st I thought...uhhh not sure... But it turned out really well! We just had people bring stuff and Chris & I got to make our 1st Turkey. We cooked it upside down, but it still tasted like turkey haha ;o). I asked my kids what their favorite part of Thanksgiving is and Amelia said, "The apple pie..." Ben said, "Having people over..." My favorite was having people over and the yummy pumpkin cheesecake that Chris' parent's neighbor made! IT WAS AMAZING! Their neighbor is a pastry chef! So if that says anything about it... ;o)

Work is still going well and the drive to work is not too bad...but occasionally I will get road rage :os! I have figured out which lanes people aren't merging into me and that helps with the rage haha!


It snowed for the 1st time here...the kids are really excited to play outside, but haven't had the chance yet. Our daycare provider doesn't let them play outside so they get cabin fever for sure! Ben has been pretty sassy and Amelia gets a bit sassy too...A LOT of time outs here lately.

Well that is all the updates that I can think of for now...I will try & keep ya posted ;o) I hate that I missed some of the cute stuff the kids have said cause they say some silly stuff! Actually today when we got to the babysitters Ben says to her little boy, "TICKLE LISH OUS!!" And was tickling him. haha! Not sure where he got that from...our babysitter said she doesn't say that haha!

Try & Guess What Amelia is Saying...

I know what she's saying, but can you guess?


"Pock a mino mino mo....and you are NOT IT!"

Internet is down right now...

I am at a local coffee shop to use their free wifi!! Chris transferred our internet about the 16th of this month so I have been without internet!!! Crazy right? Anyone miss me?? haha! We are to close on our house on Tuesday!! Let's hope all runs smoothly!

Great Day!

Got up with the kids at 8 and stayed up (unusual for me ;o)). I actually made cookies (pumpkin with frosting) and Amelia helped. I still have a hard time letting Amelia help cause I worry she will spill all over...I am a baker and don't like to lose ingredients LOL Might be an OCD thing ;o). Then someone from our ward called and said a lady was letting people pick apples from her yard. So I had Ben get Chris up and we went to pick apples! I thought it was a lot of fun! I got a picture each of the kids with Chris picking apples. Ben was scared to be high on the ladder so by the time I got the camera to them he was coming back down. The I got a GREAT picture of Amelia getting an apple from the tree! We came home to have naps...now we are having a slumber party with Braden (our babysitter's boy). He has spent the night before & he has been great. Keeps the kids entertained ;o)!

Superman a Ballerina?

Ben said, "Mommy Superman looks like a ballerina...cause his leg is up." LOL!

Then he proceeds to twirl Superman and sing in his low deep voice, "I'm a ballerina...I'm a ballerina..." LOL!

Where's Haydon?

Amelia likes to play this game by asking where people are....

"Momma where's Haydon (our neighbor)...?"

"I don't know maybe at his dad's..."

"Haydon's dad IS IN JAIL!"

"Oh ok LOL"

Karate

Ben said he wanted to do karate that it was a great exercise...and i asked where he learned that and he said, "I just know its in my head..." he also said he knows how to punch and i asked where he learned that and again he said he just knew and i said where did you hear that from and he pointed to his ear and said, "this ear told me." haha ;o)

Feeling Great About My Job

I just want to start out by thanking my parents for teaching me work ethic and hard work comes a long way at a young age ;o).

We had a pretty scary AR meeting a couple of weeks ago and there was mention of if things don't get better might have to make some changes in the department. I felt I do ok, but at the same time I had doubts. Feelings of I definitely need to do better. They announced a bonus that they want to make attainable and I really hope I do well enough to get it. It would be great to receive it due to us buying a house...

So I have worked really hard calling people and making sure I know what is going on with my accounts I am to call.

Well today I got a complaint resolution back from Reed, president of the company, and he put to give an account to a different rep and to have the new rep up sell this one customer who took over another person's business. Did that make sense? Haha! And I had been trying to contact the business that was bought (because it it one of my alphas) and the person no longer works at this # I have and also there is no way to contact him. I actually just sent a letter to his home asking for his info. Anyway I left a voicemail for Reed asking why this account was given to this other rep and what happens to the rep that had it before? So when Reed called he asked me to add onto this complaint resolution that the commission the 1st sales rep had stays the same and the other rep who is getting the account is to only get commission from the up sale amount. Reed also said that the new owner has worked with this one sales rep before and he asked for him specifically (I added that on to the form too).

So Reed calls me back and he tells me that he really appreciates the fact that I care and he liked that I actually read his notes and questioned about that. He said he forgets about commissions and things like that. He also told me that he knows I work really hard and that I am always on the phone. He said he appreciates that I understand the importance of getting people to pay their bills so that a company can survive. He said in the meeting he appreciated my attentivness and the fact that I was really gung ho about the things they asked of us. He said when he was talking about everything wrong he said he wasn't talking to me at all. He said he knows I do a great job and I am a good person. I let Reed know that I felt like maybe I hadn't been doing my best and so I understood and that I have tried harder on calling people.

I was ontop of the world after this conversation and just felt really great that he thinks so highly of me! Anyway I wanted to share this before I forgot!!

YAY Mac N Cheese!

I am watching Shannon's kids tonight for her while her & Dave go to the temple...and they picked up my kids from daycare (YAY so nice not having the commute!)

My sister-in-law (Shannon) was going to get the kids Wendy's...and Ben yelled. "NO MY MOMMY IS MAKING DINNER!! MAC N CHEESE!" haha It's homemade mac n cheese so it's definitely a fave ;o) Proves homemade is always better ;o)!

Weirdo Road

They have been doing construction on our freeway entrance forever! Today Ben saw that the road was getting closer to being done (they have the cement done...) and Ben says,

"I DON'T WANT TO DRIVE ON THAT WEIRDO ROAD..."

LOL

"IS That A Temple?"-More Ben & Amelia Sayings...

Amelia-"IS THAT A TEMPLE?"

Me-"No that's a hotel. It's were people go to sleep when they are traveling."

Ben-"Amelia it's were people go to sleep when they are LOST!"

Me-"Well that could be true Benjamin"
LOL!

Amelia-"I WANT TO GO TO THE TEMPLE I AM BIGGER NOW!!"
(I went to the temple last week and Amelia has been all about going there too...and I keep telling her when she gets bigger.)

Amelia to daddy- "Daddy where's mommy's temple bag??"
(I lost my temple bag and looked EVERYWHERE for it so I had to rent the last time I went and a week later Amelia asked Chris that haha!)

Amelia's Pretties!

Tonight at dinner I had turned my back and Amelia yells out "LOOK AT MY PRETTIES!!" I look and she has ketchup on the ends of each fingertip LOL! Then she started to sing Happy Birthday haha! I took a picture & it doesn't show exactly what I saw, but I still thought it was super funny & cute ;o)

The Things Ben Says...

"Mommy we should do something nice for daddy it's been a long time..."

"What should we do for him?"

"Let's make him a BURRITO!!"

LOL!



"Is Daddy going to work tonight?"

"Yes"

"YAY! That means we can have BACON PASTA FOR DINNER!"

Love that kid! Chris says the bacon pasta is alright, but the kids LOVE it!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

I took some ideas from a recipe on Cooks.com, but made it my own. The recipe online said to flatten the chicken and roll the cream cheese & chives in it...I did something pretty random from that haha! And I used the same temp & time this other recipe had. (And NO chives..ewww haha)

2 Boneless chicken breasts
8 pieces of bacon
1/2 brick cream cheese
1 Tbsp Oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 packet chicken gravy
1 cup water

Preheat oven 400 degrees.
Spray glass pan you will be baking chicken in.

In a bowl mix seasonings with lemon juice & Worcestershire sauce. In a bigger bowl mash cream cheese with a fork & add the lemon juice mix (smash all together with fork until blended). Take chicken and spread the cream cheese mix on the top. Then take the bacon and wrap around the chicken and fasten with toothpick. Do that with each bacon strip until the chicken is completely wrapped. Place in the glass pan for baking. Do that with each chicken piece. Then take a liquid measuring cup and fill with 1 cup water. Put the gravy packet in the measuring cup with the water & mix. Pour gravy into the glass pan around the chicken pieces.

Put in oven. Bake for 45 minutes and the last 3 minutes put the oven to broil to make bacon crispy. When you take the pan out mix gravy with a fork.

The Family Pic IS Blurry

I wish I had a better pic, but this one will do ;o) I like the family pic I have put up for now... :O)

There Is A Green Hill Far Away....

So we like to sing before we read scriptures and the kids like to hold up the scripture pictures when we sing. Ben found the picture of Jesus on the cross and he says, "Sing the Jesus died song mommy!" So I will sing, "There is a green hill far away without a city wall...where the dear Lord was crucified who died to save us all..." And I try to do the other verses without using my hymn book and I think I mess up the words a little...:os Anyway the kids get these somber faces and know it's a song of reverance and sadness (yet happiness). And so I have sang that one only a few times at home...well yesterday in church that song was chosen for the sacrament hymn...and I told my kids, "Hey it's the Jesus died song!" And Amelia sang it! And the rest of the day she sang it!! I mean there were a few words here & there that she misses, but amazing!

AND she has the 1st article of faith memorized!! And again there may be a few things she missed or adds in, but for the most part she has it down! She is learning the articles of faith because I was told by the primary president that Benjamin needs to know them...I thought that was a huge request for a 4 year old...BUT Amelia is proving that they can memorize at that age & younger...! I think Ben has it too, but he gets frustrated.

Oh and during the sacrament and when we let the kids partake of the bread & water I ask them what the bread & water represent...Ben used to say, "Jesus Body!" And now he says, "I eat Jesus' body so he can live inside of me..." He kind of gets it LOL! And Amelia says, "Jesus' body..." And for the water I tell them it represents Jesus' blood and how it was shed for us... I think there was a Sunday lesson one Sunday that someone mentioned how kids shouldn't take the sacrament & I believe the teacher said that the leaders said it is good to get the kids in the habit of it...and I thought it was a good time to teach them while they partook so I started to tell them that simple part. I don't know where Ben got the live inside me thing, but he is kind of right...we partake of the sacrament so we can remember Christ and to renew our covenants which is to learn to be like Christ...So he kind of gets it ;o)

Best Friends Since 4th Grade!

I was trying to find a photo of us when we were younger and I love this photo!

Angie & I have been best friends for approx. 23 years!
(Since 4th grade...)

We were talking last night on Facebook and the subject of how rare it is these days to have best friends. What we meant is we have been friends forever & will remain friends forever and will do ANYTHING for each other....but we live so far away...it's hard to find anyone else to be that friend that we have been for each other. I can say that I have 3 friends that I enjoy spending time with and I feel like they are soul sisters like Angie is...but other people don't call they don't seem to want to be a friend. They don't make that effort.

When we lived in Logan we would meet people & think...YAY they are so cool hopefully we can maintain our friendships when they move...and it didn't happen...so many times people would move & do they forget about us? I want them to know I think about them & I am thankful for those times we had in Logan. People say...we just grew apart or moving on with life...WHY? Why do we have to move on? I guess that is why I LOVE Facebook and blogs so much is so I CAN keep some of the old friends and let them know I think about them. And it seems that I am the only one interested sometimes. I appreciate the friends that have commented on my blog and keep in touch with me...I love that we can keep in contact!

Ok so here is the main reason why I thought this post was important tonight...Today in church the lesson was on being friends!! Talked about how Joseph Smith had such good friends who stood by him when he was persecuted and they remained friends even though they knew they could be persecuted for it. Aiding and abedding (sp) is what one person at church said. And it made me think about how Angie and I had just had this conversation last night about the same exact thing! Church has been really on with the lessons lately haha! ;o) I have to admit I don't read the lessons and maybe I should. Ok I KNOW I should!

Angie isn't a member of my church and I have offered, but I try not to push...I love her so much and don't want her to feel like I am trying to "shove God down her throat...". She has had struggles in her life that we have talked through and I have mentioned my testimony a time or two, but that is all I will do. I will always remember when she came to me with such sorrow and told me a secret that hurt me as much as it hurt her and we cried together...I felt her sorrow...I don't want to sound blasphamis, but I felt a shred of what the Savior felt knowing we all would sin...and letting us know he LOVES us. I have that unconditional love for Angie. And I let her know that.

I love having friends I always have. I get really down and depressed when I feel alone. I know I have Chris & the kids, but there is something about having those best girl friends to lift you up and let you know you are not the only one...GIRLS NIGHT is very important in my opinion...as well as BOYS NIGHT...and I wish that Chris had friends he could go out with...He thinks it's weird that I have to have friends & I think it's weird he doesn't have friends...haha

We need to make people feel wanted and welcome at all times...Seriously I will welcome anyone over at anytime...as long as they don't care about a messy place now & then... :o) I like to feel needed :o) And I like to let people know I care about them.

Amelia is Getting Older!!

This post is late as well...Amelia came into this world August 19, 2006! SHE IS THREE!!! I love my lil stinker sweet ;o) Here are some pics along the way...

(this was after I took her birthday hair out...she did NOT like that...)

OUR EIGHT YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!

Chris & I have been married EIGHT great years ;o) We celebrated our anniversary on August 25, 2009 by going to dinner at Tucanos and then to the movie GIJOE. Yep you guessed it this post is late haha ;o) Our marriage so far has been pretty easy. I feel blessed to have Chris in my life and I am so grateful for the husband and daddy that he is!

I tried collard greens for the 1st time...they were YUMMY!!!

Thought I would try sushi to see what all the rage was...I am not a fan haha

Chris snapped this number when I wasn't ready haha!

I have more pictures, but I figured more isn't always better ;o)

House Pictures...

This is the house we put an offer on and the bank accepted our offer...but today when we looked at the house (cause I only saw it once and didn't get pictures...) a Realtor came by with prospective people and said they were there to look at it one more time before they put an offer on the house...our realtor said..."Uh this house is sold..." He did say that he hasn't gotten the written contract back from the bank and so he called the listing agent to make sure she takes it off the market. Cause we signed off on everything and it's pretty much a done deal except we need to close...Ugh! So I am thinking...Is it REALLY final?? We are supposed to move in in October! Well here are the pics...enjoy ;o) (My mom called me today and told me I needed to get the pics up so she can see it ;o)).

Again I did the pictures out of order LOL The front of the house is at the end ;o)

Stairs going upstairs

Right is 1/2 bath, front is garage door, left is kitchen pantry

Electronic sprinkler system in garage

Water heater & furnace in garage

3rd car garage

Main garage doors

From the kitchen to the family room the color is more dark red...

Looking at the back yard from the master bedroom (left)

Looking at the back yard from the master bedroom (right)

Looking in the master walk-in closet...there are shelves behind the door...

The other side of the master walk-in closet...could TOTALLY be a baby room LOL jk ;o)

In front of the toilet in the master bathroom there is a linen closet

Master bath toilet & bathtub...

2 sinks in the master bath!

View from one corner of the master bedroom

Walking into master bedroom

Upstairs hall facing the laundry room & 2 of the bedrooms (yes I see an orb...hmmm)

Chris entering the kid play room ;o)

Cute windows in the kid play room upstairs ;o)

Linen closet in the upstairs hall

The kid's bathroom ;o)

Cool windowsill in the kid's bathroom...

Bathtub in the kid's bathroom

Another view of the kid's bathroom...

The UPSTAIRS laundry room YAY!

The other side of the hall upstairs...

Kid's rooms...

Amelia playing on the stairs...

One kid room

Other kid room

Kitchen downstairs...

Kitchen again...

Downstairs 1/2 bath right by the kitchen area

Kitchen pantry

Front room (livingroom)

Front room closet which could be a kid play area...not sure yet ;o)

The front room to the left & the family room to the right

From the family room looking to the stairs and the kitchen...

From the family room to the kitchen

Family room

back yard

The house from the back

Here is the house! (I asked about the spray paint on the garage & the realtor said he thinks a kid got a hold of their parent's spray can while they were moving...hmmm I hope so :os

Another view of the house

A view of the house from across the street...nice huh? YAY!

I haven't Posted In a While...

Sorry I am trying to get pics on the computer before I write about Amelia's b-day and Chris' and my 8th year anniversary...it's been a busy week!

We didn't get the house :o(

Someone offered the same amount we did, but had more earnest money :o( JERKS! haha But at least our real estate agent knows EXACTLY what I want in a house...That house seemed so perfect! Everything was right about it...Well hopefully there is something out there for us ;o). AND I told Chris very firmly that I DO NOT want a Corey Barton or Hubble home. They are nice, but nothing unique about them...

Had a Happy Birthday Yesterday...

For my birthday we started the day off with the primary activity...I felt weird because I was the only parent there...and I felt it was weird how there were no nursery kids there. Then the kids & I went home to pick up daddy. We all went to Mongolian BBQ mmmmm so yummy! Then there was this gourmet popcorn place right by there & I had always wanted to check it out so Chris said it was ok...and he said, "no more than $10 worth!" haha. So I went in and they had free samples....SO YUMMY! The lady & her husband were SO cute! I asked if they did anything for birthdays and the husband joked and said he needed to see birth certificate etc...then he said I could have a free chedder. So I got a free 4 oz bag of white chedder popcorn. I thought it was cute how he said to his wife, "I will see you in a bit" and gave her a kiss! CUTE! I sampled a bunch and settled with $10 worth of popcorn haha ;o) I got Mountain Dew flavor!! MMMMM it was good (notice I said was haha) and I got chocolate orange, caramel, and blueberry muffin. I was in popcorn flavored heaven! ;o) Then we went mini golfing at Wahooz. They charge $5 per kid 12 & under...I want to write a letter saying they should do 3 or 4 & up $5. The kids hardly played...will be a while before we go again. Then we went home and took naps. Went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner & invited Chris' parents. It was a good time. They gave me money for my birthday so I can go get a massage or do whatever I want with it!! I NEED a massage! I should totally do that...but then I think hmmm I really want a piano... ;o) Chris gave me $40...my parents said they are sending money...AND they told me tonight my bro sent me a check for the money he owes me...SO maybe I can get a piano sooner than later... ;o) Of course I had many friend on Facebook wish me a happy birthday...so it was a good day all together! ;o)

Guess Who Would Be In My Ward??

We went to the ward that we may be in if we get the house (below...) and right away the bishopric member came and greeted us. That impressed me...and also the ward choir got up and sang and that made me SO happy because I LOVE choir and the ward we are in now has an awesome choir, but many of the wards we have been in have lacked in that dept. So I was hoping there would be a choir & there was & they sounded amazing!

Then we took the kids to primary and nursery & looks like the ward has a big group of kids ;o). Ben even got situated quickly & we didn't have to go with him!! That right there was a good sign! :o) Chris & I went to a gospel doctrine class and we learned about how to share with our friends about Joseph Smith and how he brought about the glory of Christ in these latter days (or something like that LOL ;o)). And a lady raised her hand & the teacher said, "Sister Gifford..." Now I knew that my Aunt Katherine could possibly be in this area of Nampa...IT WAS HER!!!! I gasped and she looked at me & I said, "Katherine??" And she said, "Yeah?" (in whispers...) and I said, "I am Harriet Bakly's daugher!!" She nodded in recognition! Anyway we sat in the class & the whole time I am anticipating talking with her! I haven't seen her in SO long...I don't even know when the last time was! The teacher had asked how the scriptures were important in our lives & I raised my hand...I said, "I understand now why they tell us to read the scriptures ALL the time...because at different stages in our lives different things in the scriptures pop out at us & we have a new understanding of it. For example now that I have a family the family scriptures pop out to me, but when I was single other scriptures popped out like: God will send down justice upon those who seek your destruction..." The whole class laughed and liked my examples haha! Chris leaned over to me and said, "You can never just sit and be quiet..." He wasn't being mean he thinks it's funny how I join in even if it isn't "my" ward...I like to offer stories and things I know how it really helps the teacher ;o). And the teacher noted that, "yeah like we know how Alma feels with his son and the teenagers etc..." After class I gave Katherine a big hug & we just talked about how long it's been and what was going on in our lives...why we were there... Katherine asked how my mom was doing and I told her I thought she was better (it had maybe been a week since I called so I wasn't positive...) Katherine took me to relief society and there were a lot of older women, but I knew our ward had a lot of younger people because as we were leaving the last class TONS of youth spilled into the room. The relief society leaders were SO sweet and when they asked Katherine about her guest we stood up and she introduced me and said it was a suprise visit as well to her...I explained how we put an offer on a house in their area and how we wanted to check the ward out and that we just found out my Aunt Katerine was in the ward! WAY COOL.

The lesson we had today was how to be of good cheer. I wrote down what we all came up with and awesome answers by all! It made me think yeah maybe I am doing something right... ;o) Here is the list:

Smile
Count your blessings
Pray

Sense of Humor (a lady shared a story of how a wife asked and asked her husband to mow the lawn and he wouldn't...then she went out and took her scissors and started clipping the lawn with them...her husband came out and asked what she was doing and she told him she was tired of waiting for him to mow the lawn so she was getting his attention...so he went back in the house and got a toothbrush and brought it to her and said, "If you sweep the hall with this I will mow the lawn..." And they had a good laugh ;o)). I liked that story haha!

Serve
Positive
Dress/clean clothes
Be a Friend
(I said don't watch the news...it just brings you down...everything is about despair)

I liked what the teacher said,
"The Savior sacrificed all so we can live with our families again.
Be of good cheer!"

The person that taught the lesson was so cute & Katherine leaned over to me and told me that the lady was her best friend. Katherine had also told me that her & Joyce were best friends and she was so devestaded with her death. :o( I hear that Joyce was truly a blessed soul! (If you look in my past posts she is my mom's sister and died when she was 11-ruptured appendix). Katherine is my mom's step sister, but they are family all in the same. Katherine told me that after church they have fresh veggies from people's garden surplus and we can go get them for our families...I thought that was really cool. This ward also does their own dry packing for food storage. Chris told me later today that the ward has a planned trip to a peach orchard to pick peaches. I am REALLY liking the ward & I got this feeling in my heart that said, "Heavenly Father I REALLY want this house more than anything!" We will see. I am now getting my hopes up and we find out tomorrow! I told my mom tonight about it and she said she would pray for us! Her prayers always seem to get answered ;o). She did tell me though that if the Lord wants it to be so he will make it happen. When I got home from church I put on my facebook status that I went to my Aunt Katherine's ward & her daugther and son, Mona and Kevin, both commented saying that was their mom and my cousin Kristina commented at how small a world this is...the my sister-in-law, Shannon, commented and said that it sure was a small world because Kevin was in her ward! I didn't know he lived in Kuna! So it was an amazing day and I had the best feelings!

I made peach & raspberry cobbler tonight. It SUPER sweet! Almost TOO sweet. I think I will take it to Brandi's house tomorrow.

We Put An Offer On A House!!

http://idx.diversesolutions.com/search/1610/2#PropertyID=17052984

We put an offer on this house!!! Not sure if we will get it, but who knows...I am not getting my hopes up yet ;o)! It's totally wicked awesome though! The neighborhood is like WOW!

MY MOM'S CANCER IS GONE!!!

I spoke with my mom a few days ago and she informed me that the cancer is gone! They got it all!! I was so worried!

Divorce Is So Sad

Watch this awesome video about divorce it was put out by the church & I found it amazing & inspiring. My friend Sara shared it on her blog and told me about it when we talked the other day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ1yLFIEVNo


Here are some of the things I have been thinking about the past few weeks:

What I see by being on Facebook is everyone is the same. Those that are on the most are trying to connect with their past because they miss the life they once had. They want to connect to their friends and family by, getting comments & messages. People are the SAME. We all want the same things. A home, vacation, children, be close to our families, recognition for the things we do...etc. I know I am on Facebook too much and it's so hard because I miss everyone. I miss being with my family & my friends. Because I am stuck at home so much I can't just pick up and go all of the time like I would like. That is how I am selfish. I need to retrain myself and not get on as much. I have been working on it a little bit...I actually read through, "The Host." I deep cleaned the house (which feels AWESOME!) And now all I have to do is laundry & dishes...ugh! ;o)

We need to be chill when it comes to other people. Love them no matter what. We don't know what is really going on in their lives! I feel that in this life if they are choosing to do what we may not feel is right, that it is their trial & struggle. It's up to them and God. "Who am I to judge another when I walk imperfectly? In the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye can't see." (Hymn 220 Lord, I Would Follow Thee) When people are mean it's because they are depressed and hate themselves. Self Esteem is HUGE! Remember to think of others and to serve. I miss doing that! I miss serving others! I am hoping I can get back into doing things in the community like I used to before I was married. (I was able to help at the DI today hanging clothes that have come in...so fun!)

Lately my thoughts have been on divorce. Not from my husband, but seeing other family members struggle thinking that divorce would be what is best. My friend Sara & I commented at how it seems like so many people are getting divorced it's scary & sad...Satan is REALLY working on the family right now!! I even talked to my brother that same day about how hard marriage is. The #1 thing my brother & I came up with is people are selfish. I have to admit I can see when I am being selfish & how things get tense. I also recognized that when Chris & I haven't gone on a date that we are at each other's throats & nit picky about EVERYTHING! One thing Chris told me when we got married is he didn't like nagging....I don't think I nag, but I know before I do nag about something I think 1st because I know if I nag I won't get a response.

What is with marriage after 8 years? Is the 8-10 year mark the hardest? Do people feel trapped and have a mid-life crisis? Raising my children and even seeing my husband with his parents I am realizing we are like our parents. How they react to things, wanting so much to impress them, and what the goals are.

Another thought I had is...what is with UT Mormons (People that have been born, raised and are still living there)? Most are on anxiety pills. Their stress levels are off the charts! Always trying to impress and to be "perfect." I know from working there so many of my co-workers were sharing their prescriptions and had major anxiety. I did the same job they did & I didn't get all worked up about it. It didn't drive me to smoke or get on pills. And how do we help others realize that material happiness is NOT what makes US happy.

An additional thought was...How can the government make it easier for the military husbands & wives stay faithful to each other? Look at the # of military couples that have cheated on one another. It's really sad. I wish there were more support groups for them!!

HAVE THERE BEEN HARD TIMES IN YOUR MARRIAGES AND HOW HAVE YOU OVERCOME THEM?

**Ok as I was putting the kids to bed last night I went to my room to look at the books I have and that I want to read next. I came across my manual for "Achieving a Celestial Marriage" handbook! So I flipped through a few things and came across the divorce chapter!! Wow it is so upfront & direct it's crazy! Here are the titles under that chapter:

Marriage will require adjustments
Temple marriage does not guarantee that life will be without problems
Some conflict may be expected in marriage
The first year of marriage can be a period of great adjustment
Family strife is the result of yielding to the spirit of Satan
The "sharing if the heart" brings conflict to marriage partners (talking about sharing with someone other than your spouse)
The lack of communication within a family can lead to discord
An unbridled tongue magnifies contention and conflict
Marriage vows must not be set aside capriciously
A married couple should seek at all cost to preserve their union
Divorce will no permanently solve the fundamental problems of marital conflict
Most divorces are the product of selfishness
Physical attraction for another can never justify divorce
Divorce is not a part of the Gospel plan
Seek to improve rather than to divorce your spouse
The family is a problem-solving unit
A spirit of sacrifice will make adjustments within marriage natural and easy
Spiritual sensitivity will increase our ability to solve problems
Repentance must often precede conciliation
A Spirit of mutual forgiveness can greatly reduce discord
Perspective and communication solve most marital problems
Humility is vital to problem solving within marriage


Wow that's quite a list. I think the #1 thing is to communicate and to sacrifice to make things work. I have to admit I have felt trapped these last couple of years, but I know that it's because I miss my family and I miss being able to travel, but I am sacrificing because I love Chris & the kids and I would never just leave like that. My stress management class I took in college really helped me for my future. Not that I haven't gotten stressed, but I know certain tools that have helped Chris & I not fight. I always warn him that we will need to discuss something and I let him know what time to meet to talk it over. Then when we meet we both can be prepared for what we want to say. Then there isn't a complete attack on one or the other person. WORKS wonders! ;o)

And my thoughts that I have been having are not because of one family member there is another and so I don't want them thinking I am talking about them. It is all around us.

Took the Kids For a Walk...

"CHEESE!!"

So I picked the kids up today and decided I would take them on the long walk along the river, that we like to do...I planned on picking up Wendy's or something and I thought that I better go home 1st and get the stroller.

Well I searched my bag while at home, which is a HUGE mess, and I couldn't find my wallet!!! Ugh! So I dug for quite a while and then decided I would call it quits & check work tomorrow.
Well I still wanted to go get dinner so I text my friend Sybil and asked if she was working tonight. She works at Albertsons, "IT'S YOUR STORE..." Anyway she said she was! YAY! So we went to see her and I had the check book and I knew most fast food places wouldn't take checks, so we got our dinner at Alberstons. Sybil took my check & made sure it would go through her machine and it did so I got $20 in cash. I was so glad that she was able to do that for us! We got turkey bacon wraps that came with chips and a cookie.

Then we drove to the downtown library and took a walk. The smells along the walk were so fragrant & sweet, almost a honeysuckle smell. We saw people floating the river having a great time, people out with their dogs running, people riding their bikes along the trail with my kids yelling, "HI & GOODBYE!!", and people playing volleyball. Fun times! We got to a pavilion and ate our dinner. Then we went on to the "Big Park" as my kids call it. I let the kids play awhile and then I looked across the park & saw the fountain was on...
AND IT WAS HUGE! So I got the kids packed up in the stroller again and we went over to the fountain! It was SO MUCH FUN! The kids ran & played in the water...
They were screaming too haha!
Cute lil stinkers ;o).

Ben would stick his bum (he still had clothes on...LOL) in the water, that drained out, and he got ALL wet. Pretty wicked cool move Benjamin, below...Amelia would just stick her hands in the water haha. I finally told them we had to go because the sun was going down & we had to walk ALL THE WAY to the library...

As we walked through the tunnels the kids & I would yell, "TACO!!!!" and "OHHHHHHHHHWEEEEEEE!" Amelia started us on the Taco thing, back when she was REALLY little, because she thought we were saying "TACO" when we were saying "ECHO." LOL!

We got to the car safely and had an enjoyable time. Got the kids home, bathed, and in bed!
Great day & I wish there were more like them!

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY DOING WITH YOUR KIDS?

This Video is of Amelia squealing while running from the fountain haha (poor quality due to it being my cell phone :o( .) It's what the kids did the whole time ;o). We weren't there long, but will go back again & spend more time there for sure!!

Coka Dew?

We got our carpets cleaned!! YAY! It looks amazing & now I feel confident enough to start inviting people over again without being embarrassed by the black ugly stains of sugar spills (you know kids & drinks & food...all over my floor).

Anyway so Amelia found her BIG Elmo and he was sitting in our computer chair in the livingroom...well I put my Mountain Dew 2 L bottle in his lap. Then when I was getting Ben out of the tub he points & says, "LOOK MOMMY! ELMO HAS YOUR COKA DEW!!" Then I prentended to be mad LOL And I took Elmo to time out for drinking my Coka Dew. Ben thought it was hillarious. ;o) I love making my kids laugh! I really like Ben's name for my Mountain Dew haha! "COKA DEW!" mmmm (I hate Coke & Pepsi by-the-way...but Mountain Dew is my weakness!)

Uncle Joe Jiggling Teeth

Uncle Joe jiggled his teeth for Amelia...she tried to do it too LOL! My late grandpa used to do it too haha! AND my older brother said when Uncle Joe and my sister, Moriah had an eye staring competition my uncle Joe rattled his teeth and Moriah blinked LOL.

The Family Reunion Pics...Finally! Haha

Here are the pics from my family reunion July 24-26th.

The Corbett Family.

Benjamin & Amelia at a rest stop on the way to the reunion...

Ben wanted to get a cool pic by this sign I have no idea what it means...and Amelia being miss sassy pants

Amelia doing the same pose as her brother cause she wanted a pic by this sign too LOL

Ben being Mr. Climber man...

My mom's brother, Uncle Joe. He & his family love to go to the sand dunes and this is a lil # he built. Taking Ammon Tolman for a ride.

I just love this fun train because it kept the kids out a little while and I was able to clean the car out and get some things done...And I love that the kids had fun...

Amelia wouldn't go on it without her brother...this was a cute lil car...

Thanks to Auntie Louise, Uncle Joe's wife, she gave the kids a milk carton from Gossner's. Amelia could be a poster child for their milk cartons... ;o)

Ben is asking Amelia to trade cars...cause I think he realized he was driving a girl colored car haha!

Ben playing a little basketball in the barn...I used to do that when I was little ;o)

Amelia loved the little cars...

This is the coolest swing ever...it is motorized...and if the kids weren't on the train ride they were here... ;o)

The Randell's...Louise is a cousin to my grandpa.

These ladies were so cute & smiled a lot...I had fun listening to them all talk...

I love this path...I remember riding horses when I was little here...

I love her cute little pose & we found out at the reunion that her mommy is getting baptized...way cool!

The clan playing a mean game of volleyball ;o)

The kids had fun riding in front of the train...

Ben told me he wanted the tractors someday...he thinks it's very cool ;o)

The barn...the motorized swing is to the left of it. I remember how they would have movies for the kids upstairs and some kids would sleep up there.

Four wheelin' lovin' family ;o)

The kids loved the kitties they had...

Everyone visiting around the big tree...the building in the back is one that is a pavillion and it has bathrooms and showers...pretty nice!

The Tolman's let me know that this used to be a cellar and it's now a fort...pretty cool looking building!!

They built really nice bridges to cross the irrigation ditch...I tried to get an action shot of a kid swinging into it & it was blurry...wish I had a better camera!

Momma Tolman ;o)

Kala Tolman & others...

Me and my Uncle Joe...

Louise Randell

My Aunt Louise, Uncle Joe's wife...

Uncle Joe...I took a pic before this one and I made him smile because he looked mad when I took the other one...he wasn't mad just looked it. He told me to be careful taking pictures of him and that I might break my camera LOL

Amelia kept asking me where papa was and I realized she meant Uncle Joe haha. They were buds this weekend...

My wicked cool kids....

I let Ben sleep outside...I had to put Amelia back into the tent cause she wouldn't stop pulling the grass & she NEEDED a nap...haha. I sat in the chair and read my book and I shaded Ben's head...

My cousin Tammy and her hubby holding grandbaby...CUTE!

Gideon Tolman making everyone laugh as usual...the whole family is a lot of fun and very funny ;o)

Amelia enjoying the cool grass...

I saw these cool rocks and I am not sure what formed them to have pockets like these...there were a lot of cool rocks on this drive...

Snow on the mountains in July....right outside of Sydney, ID.

The road trip was 6 hours and was a little rough going, but coming home was a breeze...I thougth up a story on the way home and it made the drive go by SO fast! The story is a bit creepy and I am not sure people would be interested in it LOL. Maybe someday I will enlighten everyone with the story....

My Forklift Skillz

I got to drive the forklift at work today ;o) The guys that came to drop some book pallets off said they could drive the forklift and when the girls asked Quinn he said no they couldn't and so then they called the distribution manager,that was gone, and he said to have me do it (cause he knows I have driven before). The guys were like, "uh ok..." And when I went out I surprised them with my skills haha ;o) They were like, "I am gonna tell Anthony from now on we want you to load us..." Very cool. My co-worker was VERY impressed and she took a picture of me with her phone & sent me the picture... ;o) And my boss said, "I didn't see that quality on your resume..." And I said, "Well I didn't think it would apply haha..." She was teasin' me she thought it was cool too ;o)

"You Hate Ants?"

We had quiet time tonight before bed. I let the kids sit in their bed with their books & read. I was able to read my book as well (still trying to get through "The Host"...It really does get better after the 1st 100 pages...) Anyway Ben picked an ABC book and he turns to the A page & sees an ant. Then he says, "Mommy you HATE ants?" And I said, "Yeah I am tired of them taking over the kitchen!!" Then he says, "Don't get rid of them!! They are MY ants...I bought them!" LOL

The Things Ben Says...

We went to this model house the other day and we were in the house for a while. Ben says to me, "Mom can I take my shoes off?" Me, "No." **whining starts** "BUT MOM MY FEET ARE BORED!!" LOL The guy showing us the house smiled and kinda laughed and said, "I haven't heard that one before..." ;o) It was pretty cute.

The Things Ben Says...

I hit this really big bump today and knew I was going too fast for it right when I drove over it...and I said, "OPPS I hit that bump too hard!" And Ben says, "You are going to break the car mommy...the car is going to blow up now and when it blows up we can get our red truck back." LOL He always brings up the red truck we had...it was actually a maroon & silver Pathfinder. We haven't had that car for over a year...he STILL remembers it.

Camping Pics From Last Weekend

Here are the pictures from the camping trip a week ago...I need to get the videos on here, but here are the pictures (I am the worst blogger LOL...I write really LONG stories and then add the pictures later & not in order...I need to learn from the pros LOL):

Savannah wouldn't sit to pose for a picture...this was the best I could do ;o)

It took 5 photos to get this one...

I love this one of Ben ;o)

Amelia right before nap...

Our campsite & tents mine is the blue & Yellow

Our awesome sandy beach!

Amelia & the "puppies" she did ok with them.

Beach babe...

I saw these life jacket's on Betsie's kids so I had to get some for the kids. They liked them for a little while, but ended up taking them off...they didn't fully get in the water...

In the distance was our neighbors & also where the hot springs was.

Our beautiful view...

That cell phone was Savannah's and it was what warmed Amelia up to her...they became friends after Savannah shared it ;o)

Benjamin's 1st s'more (minus chocolate) and he told me later, "Graham crackers are DISGUSTING!"

Here we are on our 1st night just after we got the tents set up...before dark...

There's the kids so excited to eat & that is Jen on the right.

Ben & Savanna or as Ben would say it, "Aunt Anna" LOL

We had a lot of fun & the kids are LOVING camping! I will post the family reunion pics later...

Update To The Rock Breaking...

part of the camping story. Jen told me today that the real reason Johnny stopped wasn't because of his hammer it was because of Milly throwing rocks at him LOL!! She said that Johnny was waving his hand like he hit it & Jen said she asked him if he hit his hand & he said, "No Milly threw a rock & hit me on the thumb..." Jen said that Johnny told her that he kept telling Amelia no, but she wouldn't listen. After the 3rd rock throw at his head he was done haha! Jen said that because Amelia is so sweet and innocent it was hard to get mad at her so he had to just quit. We were all throwing rocks in his direction & I think Milly thought we were trying to hit him or something LOL! Lil stinker sweet! ;o)

Breakfast For Dinner

Benjamin told us he wanted breakfast for dinner and since I got off work so late & Chris worked all day delivering phone books, in the hot sun, we decided to eat at Ihop. Ben got the happy face pancake and Amelia got the baby cakes. After we got done eating Ben said, "Let's go to the BIG store (the mall)..." Chris said, "What do they have there?" Ben said, "They have food there!" Chris said, "We already ate!" (we were still sitting in our booth at Ihop LOL.) ***BIG PAUSE*** Ben said, "NOT Lunch!" Haha since we ate breakfast he thought we should eat lunch next LOL. He cracks us up!

Amelia's Learning body parts...

Today Chris took Amelia to the potty...and she has said this before, but this time it was really funny and this is why:

Amelia said, "I HAVE A PENIS... I HAVE A PENIS!!" And Chris said, "No Amelia your belly button is NOT a penis!! LOL" And we correct her & let her know that she doesn't have a penis, but a vagina. We teach proper body parts here not made up words ;o). Anyway I thought it was so super cute that she thought her outy belly button was a penis ROFL!

I Took The Kids Camping

By myself! Well with a co-worker/friend and her husband & daughter. It was really great! We took off after work on Friday and drove for 3 hours...it was only supposed to be 1 hour, but we took a bad road & off roaded a bit...it was a little creepy how little the road kept getting & how much deeper the canyon was getting to the side of the road. We stopped when the road narrowed so much that there was no way we would be able to make it. Also the road had deep gouges in it from what looked like run off. I bottom the car out so much that when I hit the dip my friend looked back at me like OHHHHH! Yeah it sounded bad...I haven't washed the car yet so I am not sure if it really IS bad. We decided to go back and so I had to back up on this road and my friend's husband got out and guided me and when the road got barely big enough for me to turn around he helped me out. We drove on dirt road the whole 3 hours...by the time we got back on the grated dirt road Amelia cried, "YOU'RE MAKING ME CRY MOMMY!!" Awww I didn't know what to do for her... :o(

We found a camping spot and got out to check it out...it had WAY too many mosquitoes for us...so we packed it up again and drove another hour. We actually found an AWESOME camp spot! I am glad we kept going. I will add the pictures and the videos I took to the end of this...We set up the camp and then got the kids roasting hot dogs on the fire...Ben also had his 1st smore (without chocolate...I am not THAT brave haha). He told me later, "I don't like it with graham crackers...it's DISGUSTING!" haha We got the strawberry marshmellows and Ben LOVED that! He is obsessed with strawberries. Amelia just ate the marshmellows plain...not cooked.

I just asked Amelia what her favorite part of camping was and she said, "The Puppies!" My friend brought 3 dogs with them...and at 1st Amelia FREAKED OUT! She has always had a fear of dogs. So I was a little worried at 1st and then once my friend had me hold one of the puppies Amelia warmed up a bit...then the next day we played in the creek by our campsite and Amelia saw how fun the puppies were by throwing rocks & sticks and having them retreive them for us. We sat our camp chairs in the creek and had our legs in the water. I put TONS of sunblock on us and Ben STILL got fried! So by noon I put a shirt on him. He didn't like the idea, but I didn't like the idea of him getting toasted. Amelia did ok though...she must have Chris' skin... I put sunblock on myself and STILL got burned! My legs remained white...but today I realized as I showered that my legs got burned on the inside of my knees. I tried to read my book, "The Host," but it was hard with the water & having to jump up for the kids...We had a nice sandy spot, but there were deep parts.

We had neighbor campers that were down the beach from us and one dude kept coming over and he kept telling us where he was going. My friend said, "It's like he thinks I'm his mom or something..." LOL She said they were smoking pot cause she could smell it. They were friendly neighbors. They left for the day and we saw their tents tip over and so we went to pick them up for them...we walked across the rocks that used to be the creek that had dried up and I had taken the kids in their sandles...BIG MISTAKE! I ended up carrying them because their shoes kept popping off. As we were over there we noticed a puddle that was dammed off from the creek and Jen (my friend) stepped in it & she was like, "IT'S HOT!!" And we looked and there was water coming out of the dry rocks and it was a hot springs flowing into the cold creek. Benjamin kept walking in it & I kept yelling at him to stop...it was REALLY hot! He acted like it was no big deal...maybe playing in the FREEZING cold creek all day made his legs numb LOL. Anyway we thought that was pretty neat. Then there were some fisherman standing close by & I thought I would walk along the creek edge instead of across the hot rocks...and the fisherman let us pass and all of a sudden the fisherman says..."hey you almost stepped on this" & it was a snake!!!! He kept saying, "Is it a rattler?" I was thinking he was an idiot because it was a black snake with white spots. Anyway I was glad I didn't step on it. They threw it into the creek. So then I was paranoid about that and decided to cross the hot rocks.

Speaking of the rocks Johnny told Savannah to shake the rocks for treasure cause he heard that the crystal ones sound like something is inside. I found one, but it wasn't quite formed. The rocks were round but smooth & today my mom said geodes are rough around the edges...I will have to let Johnny know that...we had fun "looking for treasures" for a while. Johnny would crack the rocks open with his mason hammer (he does masonry by profession). He finally broke his hammer and we stopped. It was a lot of fun though!

By the end of the day my patience were wearing thin because I was so hot! I was just drained by the sun! So Jen made the kids soft tacos and we made them marshmellows again and then I got them ready for bed. I had made tin foil dinners and I had them cooking as I was taking care of the kids....well I guess they had been in the fire for over an hour and got TOO cooked :o( Jen took the burnt one & I felt bad about that.

(SIDE NOTE) They brought this bucket that was a toilet...and this campsite was BAD for finding a place no one could see you LOL. One side of a tree the road can see you...the other side the creek can see you (you know rafters)...the other side our campsite....the other side the neighbor campers....that was how ALL of the trees were in our sight. Yeah so you had to go FAST! haha ;o)

After the kids were "in bed" I went to hang out by the campfire and the kids would NOT go to sleep! So since I was so grumpy anyway I just let Jen & Johnny know I was going to go to bed. Their girl, Savannah, was sound asleep. I tried meditation on the kids LOL! I would tell them to close their eyes and I counted 20 down and would get quieter & quieter as I counted. Ben fell asleep and Milly looked like she was about there & so I tried to leave the tent & she cried and then I hear Ben hit her! So yeah that was it & I just stayed in the tent with them. I couldn't sleep! It was SO hot...so when I knew the kids were sleeping I got my book out and read it for a little bit. Then I dozed off.

I woke up to the sound of rain on our tent. It didn't rain long and we didn't get flooded so that was good! I woke up again but to the sound of the dogs growling. My friends told me this morning that it was a fox that had come close to our site. And I noticed the bag I had with Milly's messy diapers was GONE...like completely VANISHED. So much for packing in & out...I felt bad :o(. They also told me that there was a light on the mountain and they watched as it got closer to the bottom and I guess Johnny was out of it cause it was 4:30 AM when they noticed it and he thought he was imagining things. Well it ended up being 2 guys hiking down the mountain and Johnny watched them and made sure they didn't come into our camp. They didnt.

We packed up camp today and drove out. The trip only took an hour and Milly again cried, "YOU'RE MAKING ME CRY MOMMY!......YOU'RE MAKING ME SICK!" The road was wind-y and a grated dirt road...made a rough ride. As I got to the point of the city limits my phone beeped 3 times letting me know I had messages...yep I camped with no cell or wifi service! NO FACEBOOK FOR A DAY! LOL We were in the middle of nowhere! It was AWESOME!

I asked Ben what his favorite part of the trip was and he said, "Having Savannah to play with..." They had a lot of fun. We found out that Savannah and Benjamin have the EXACT same birthday! Same day and year. She was born in the morning & he was born at night...so she is older ;o) CUTE!

I can't wait to camp again! Well next week I am taking the kids again to my family reunion in Salmon, ID for camping on the ranch. I am a little nervous because my family won't be there...I will be the only one to represent! I wish I could get Chris to come... :o( Makes me sad that he doesn't want to be a part of my extended family and even camping...he HATES camping unless there is a shower :o( I guess the kids & I will make the memories together...

Ok I was going to put pics & videos up, but I cannot find the camera!! I swear I brought it 1st thing in the house...I KNOW I had it in my hands...what to do?? I guess pray right?

Ben sayings

Benjamin prayed for snow in his dinner prayer...and then he prayed for Santa...LOL He ate a cookie the other day & he said, "I am going to save a part of this cookie for Santa..." LOL I said, "Uh I don't think so...hopefully we will make cookies before Santa comes again..." haha!

A week ago I was driving the kids home and Ben says, "Is daddy going to be home?" And I told him no & then he says, "Is he going to be at work?" And I told him yes. Then he says, "I have money... and I could give daddy money...so that daddy CAN GET A NEW JOB! I JUST FIGURED OUT BLUE'S CLUES!!!!" I thought that was pretty adorable! It also made me realize that Blue's Clues teaches logic. I never thought about that before until I saw how Benjamin took a problem and resolved the problem. Pretty smart ;o)

My Mom Has Endometrial Cancer!

I went home to WA to go visit my family & my mom said she wanted to get the family together so she can tell us about what is going on with her...We went to my brother's home and got my other siblings on the phone. My mom let us know that she was diagnosed with endometrial cancer! She started to cry when she told us & I cried with her...We asked her why she was going to get the treatment in MT when the cancer research center was in WA...we think it's because the doctor in MT was the one that found it. She had always been told by doctors that she needed to lose weight & that was why she hurt all the time. None of them did the kinds of tests this doctor did in MT. I am glad the doctor looked her over well. She goes into surgery the 17th of this month & I hope it all goes well! The doctor had done an ultrasound on her and said that the wall of her uterus was 2 inches thick. Normally it's supposed to be paper thin. They don't know how severe it is until she has the surgery. I really hope everything goes well for my mom! I pray she doesn't leave us! My dad mentioned that he just can't imagine losing her in the next couple of years(they have been married for 44 years). I was so thankful that I went to visit my parents when I did & I love them so very much! As I was leaving their house (after a 6 day weekend) my mom looked me in the eye and told me she was proud of me...made me cry, because maybe that would be the last time I hear that from her! Never know...

I looked this cancer up online...here is a link to it:

Endometrial Cancer Treatment

Shriners Hospital in Spokane is Closing??

I just found out that the Shriners Hospital in Spokane is closing!! They decide on Thursday the 2nd of July if they will shut it down for good! This is devastating to me! I had my back surgery at that hospital and they have helped so many kids! If you read this please donate if you can:

Facebook Group

My Spiritual Experience After Back Surgery

Shriners Hospitals Website Here

Ronald McDonald House Website Here

Shriners Locations

Shriners Donations

Article written to the Spokesman Review (Paper in Spokane)

FACEBOOK GROUP TO SAVE SPOKANE'S SHRINERS...PLEASE JOIN!

My life has been a better life because of Shriners and I would hate it if the one I was taken care of had to shut down. If you can donate please do!

My Kids & Rearranging Words to Songs....

We start our bedtime routine after bath by singing, "Jesus Came to John the Baptist..." The kids LOVE that song. We have been reading our scriptures every night and before we read them we sing, "Scripture Power!" And then we read a section. We are in 1st Nephi right now and I told the kids how Lehi started to prophecy...and we started to sing, "FOLLOW THE PROPHET!" Then when we are done with that we sing, "Reverently Quietly." Then we say our prayers. Anyway the last couple of days Amelia will break into song & sing, "Jesus CAME to John the Baptist in Judea Long AGO...mino mino mino mino flo....and she gets the 1st half so clear & right then by the end she trails off, but still has the tune down great! I am impressed for her still being 2! So today in the car we were singing that song OVER & OVER again. Love that they love that song! Then I broke out in, "FOLLOW THE PROPHET FOLLOW THE PROPHET FOLLOW THE PROPHET DON'T GO ASTRAY....FOLLOW THE PROPHET FOLLOW THE PROPHET FOLLOW THE PROPHET HE KNOWS THE WAY!" And Benjamin changed the words on me. He sang the song & then at the end he sings, "I KNOW THE WAY!" LOL So cute! Then he went as far as singing (in his low voice...) "Follow ME! Follow ME! Follow ME! Don't go astray.... Follow ME! Follow ME! Follow ME...I know the way!" He cracks me up! Then Amelia sings Following the Leader...and the kids always fight over who will get to lead (mainly Benjamin) and I told Benjamin that anyone can be a leader. He tells me today, "Only BIG brothers get to be leaders...not little sisters...." I then repeated myself & told him, "yes anyone can be a leader even little sisters!" He doesn't believe me. Maybe someday I can convince him ;o).

Puffed Wheat Food Storage Style

I was asked, by our food storage leaders, to prepare something from my food storage to share tonight for the food storage preparedness class. So I thought mmmm Puffed Wheat Cake! Chris HATES Puffed Wheat Cake, but my family loves it! I grew up on the stuff! I have to say it kinda has a coffee flavor, but no coffee in it. As I was getting ready to make it I realized...BUTTER! Butter is an item that is perishable...!! I was supposed to use stuff that didn't perish quickly. I later found out that you can CAN butter! I am going to find out how to do that because this recipe isn't quite the same with the items that I DID use...I went to the store & I asked if they had powdered butter. They took me to the isle with popcorn salt butter. Not quite what I was looking for. Then I thought...what could I use?? CRISCO-butter flavored. I thought I would give it a shot. Crisco in the cubes is so easy to use. Anyway so I replaced the butter with Crisco & the sauce wasn't right. The Crisco didn't melt. It formed a paste. So I gave up after stirring for 10 minutes on the stove and poured the frosting like sauce on the puffed wheat. It was ok, but had a weird after taste...greasy like. BUT the next day it seemed to appear like the puffed wheat cake that I know & love ;o). It was ok.

Then I went to a new store in town called Food 2 Store. They have been here 2 months and I was impressed. My father-in-law mentioned it on Sunday and so I thought I would investigate. I am definatly going there again! They have samples you can try & I tried the freeze dried shredded mozzarella cheese & the freeze dried pineapple. THE FREEZE DRIED PINEAPPLE WAS AMAZING!!!!!! I have to get it when I go back! They have lots of fruit dried. I am linking the website here, so you can check it out & see what they have. If you live in town check it out they have samples! They had freeze dried broccoli. I didn't try it, but I am sure it would be good. (if you like broccoli like we do LOL). Ok I bought powdered butter there & it was $22 for a #10 can! BUT it will last me a long time.

I ran home & tried the recipe with the powdered butter. HATED IT. For one thing the #10 can KILLED my can opener :o( When I added the powdered butter in the recipe I added water like it suggested. I am thinking water isn't right. It didn't blend at all into this recipe well. Powdered butter must only be used for baking I guess :o(. SO I would say CAN butter or use Crisco if you want to make this one. I am going to can butter LOL. I also thought it would be cool to make your own puffed wheat, but looking online at the instructions...looks a BIT complicated haha! Ok so here is the recipe for Puffed Wheat Cake if you want to try it (the real way haha):

PUFFED WHEAT CAKE!

1/2 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Corn Syrup
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2 tsp Cocoa
2 tsp vanilla
8 Cups Puffed Wheat

Put the butter, corn syrup, brown sugar, cocoa, and vanilla into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
Measure out the 8 cups of puffed wheat & put into a large bowl. Pour the sauce on top of the puffed wheat & toss to coat. Technically you are to press it into a buttered pan, but in my family we eat it like caramel corn. It's an easy & fun snack to make! My kids love it like I do! Enjoy!!

This is the Bakly House as I Remember It

I did these on The Sims...and the 1st one is the old house & the 2nd one is the New & Improved house... ;o) This was the house I grew up in in MT

Music at the Library

I really like the library here. They always have fun things for the kids! Well I took the kids to the downtown library on Saturday to drop their books off & then we were going to go for a walk. We got to the Human Rights area & sat & ate our lunch. Then this lady comes over to me & she says, "Hey they are going to have an orchestral band play at the library at 2. My husband is in it. You should go." I thought ok it's 1:45...so we went. The kids have such a hard time sitting still so by the time the thing was over we were sitting on the floor in the back playing with puzzles. But the kids liked it. I got a little teary eyed when they played a sort of circus song. do di do di do di do di do do do di do do do do di do do di do do do di di di di di di do do Anyway I don't expect you to get the tune with my typing LOL. The reason why I got teary eyed was because Benjamin LOVED that song when he was a baby. He would always cry after his bath & when I would dress him & he had this toy train that when he would push the button (he knew how at 4 months...) that song would play. I knew it by heart haha! Anyway so I thought that was pretty cool & Benjamin seemed to perk up when he heard it. They also played The Pink Panther theme & Benjamin LOVES the Pink Panther! They had a slide show of animals & they played the instruments to give an idea on the sounds the animals made...very cute. Anyway here are the pictures from it ;o)

Amelia being a good girl for the music time.
Benjamin was "playing" his instrument haha
Amelia is copying her brother & "playing" her instrument.
Benjamin was being good for the music time.

Benjamin Sayings...

We were at McDonald's last month & Benjamin hugged the Ronald & he says, "This is my daddy..." LOL I laughed so much at that!!
"Daddy I want to marry mommy..." which was a surprise to me because he has also told me he hates me. :o( But I guess all kids tell their mommies that...??

Tonight we saw a taxi that had spinner hub caps and Chris commented how that wasn't a good idea & I said, "It caught your attention right? It's a good idea...it made you look at the car..." On our way home we went by the same area we had seen the cab & Benjamin says, "You remember that car that had the tires that were moving, but the car wasn't?" We were like, "Yeah..." Ben said, "It was magic!!" LOL So cute!

I found out a way to get Benjamin to do chores...Sunday afternoon Benjamin said he was Handy Manny & to call him when I needed help. Well he decides to call me from his "shop" (the couch) & he says,

"Hi this is Handy Manny do you need any help today?"

Me,
"Well there are some cups that need to be picked up off the floor & put on the counter..."

Ben,
"Ok I will be right over!!"
**knock on the computer chair**

"Hi Handy Manny...right over there & there & there..."
**pointing out the cups**

"Thanks for your help!"

"No problem!"

**Ben goes back to his "shop" (the couch).**

He calls me again,
"Hi this is Handy Manny do you need any help today?"

"hmmm there are some clothes on the floor that need to be put in the laundry basket..."

"Ok I will be right over!"

**knock on the computer chair**

"Hi ok there & there & there..."

"Thanks for you help!"

"No problem!"

**He heads back to his "shop"**

**Call comes in to momma**

"Hi this is Handy Manny...I have some clothes in my shop that need put away..."

Me, "LOL! Ok I will be right over..."

I go to his "shop" and get the folded laundry & put it away in his room LOL It made me laugh so much because there I was getting him to do chores & he caught on QUICK. He got me to do chores too haha! So now anytime we want him to do something all we have to call him is Handy Manny & he turns into the nice & friendly Handy Manny LOL. YAY! ;o) THANKS HANDY MANNY!! ;o)

Pictures of the Orbs in the House I Grew Up In...

I went to visit the home that I grew up in & to take pictures so I will remember it always. Who knows if my parents will ever consider tearing the house down or not? They are renting the basement for now & remodeling the upstairs. Ok so I will give a brief background of the house:

My mother who was born in 1942 grew up in the same house I did, but her's was an underground home at the time...It was a basement house until the 1970's. My grandfather built the upper half then. Basement homes are underground & the only thing you see on the surface is a box with a door & a little top. When you open the door it goes downstairs. In the basement home there were 2 bedrooms, livingroom (the parent's room), and the kitchen. There was 1 bathroom. VERY small underground home. My grandparent's had 5 kids. My mom's mom died when my mom was 3 years old. She died from heart disease. Then my grandfather remarried & his new wife brought 4 kids into the home. SO 9 KIDS TO 1 BATHROOM! A few years after my mom's mom died my mom's sister died at age 11 to a ruptured appendix. She was a true angel on earth & people have said that she complained of nothing. People say I looked like her.

My grandfather's 2nd wife died (not sure how...) and he was left with 8 kids to raise on his own. So he remarried again & his current wife is still alive. My grandfather died in 2000, around the age of 98, and before he died he said, "I love you Melissa..." That was his 1st wife's name. Brings tears to my eyes.

Ok so there has been loss in this home & so I think maybe those spirits are there. When I was growing up I always felt like someone was watching me...and it wasn't always a good feeling...I felt creepy in this home...always scared of the dark...here are the pictures I took May 2009 in the home. Never believed in orbs until now:

My bedroom...

Here is an inverted picture to show the depth...

My sister's room and I am pointing at my niece who's aura is glowing in this one...I thought that was very cool...She is a sweet heart.

Orb in the upper left corner...

Orb in the bathroom

The living room...

Little one in the right corner...

There is one right by my boy's head. Of course he is picking his nose in this one...haha My momma sitting by him. This was in my old room...

Outside right by my sister on the right...

The garage showed the most activity. The entrance to the house from the garage was right by my room...and I used to play on the chalkboard right there on the stairs. '

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and if you can't see them in detail maybe looking at a bigger picture will help. This confirms how I felt as a child. Spirits are in this home...

Here Are Pics From The House I Grew Up In

The pictures below are of the house that I grew up in. It starts off in the cellar of the garage & yes there is OLD food down there...we dated the carrots at 1978. There is canned peanut butter (see 1st pic) and other majorly old things down there. We even found an old dehydrater. This is what your food storage COULD look like if you don't recycle it...I'm just sayin' haha. Another thing the cellar was built as a storm shelter as well. There have been tornadoes come through MT. My sister pointed something out about the cellar that there is a tunnel that her & her brother's dug out...it goes all the way to the other side of the garage! Pretty cool. Ok so I don't want to spend the time describing each pic (I did that on Facebook already...so if you want to know cross reference there ;o).) I will be going through someday & updating the blog because I will eventually put it into book form. But for now I wanted to get these up. In the pictures with my nieces & nephew playing around there are Orbs. I think in one of the pics the orbs reflection is in the window...so I know it isn't just a dust particle & it isn't in EVERY picture, but some. The garage facing the garage door from the stairs there are about 4 orbs & then I think the 2 smaller ones are reflecting in the car....YES there is a car in the garage! haha ;o) It used to be so full we couldn't fit anything in there. There is also a picture out in the back yard with an orb clear as day.

The story with this house is my mom was raised here. It used to be an underground house with 2 bedrooms 1 bathroom a living room that ended up being the parent's bedroom, and a kitchen. There were I think 10 kids? My mom's mom died when she was 3 years old from heart disease & her dad married Ina Fromm. She had 5 of her own & my grandfather had 5 of his own. They all lived in the tiny house underground. (We couldn't get pics of the downstairs because there is a renter :o( So Maybe next time.)

My mom's sister Joyce was 11 years old when she died. She had a ruptured appendix & she was one that didn't complain about anything. A for real angel on earth. She died a couple of years after her mom died. My grandfather's wife, Ina, died as well. I am not sure how she died and when. So there has been some loss in this family...in this house.

My grandfather built the upper half in the 70's & then sold it to my parents. My parent's had the 1st 3 kids in CA & then moved them to MT where they went all the way through high school in this house. I was raised in this house until I was 12. Now to tell you I always felt a spirit in that house & it wasn't always a good feeling. I always felt creeped out. Like someone was watching me. So I really do believe that there are spirits in this home & I am sure they aren't bad, but just there. Not sure who they are or if it is Joyce & my grandmother? Who knows. The house has been special to our family & will always remain so. It's still on well water haha! The city has tried forever to get my family to switch, but because the house is so old they can't make us. I can't remember though if my dad finally made the switch? I have such a bad memory LOL. The house is surrounded by lilac bushes... I LOVE LILACS! The bushes were my favorite thing with that house! I will add more later, but it is SO SUPER LATE that I must retire! NIGHT!

The Knock Knock Jokes Have Begun!!

Ben says to me in the car yesterday....

"KNOCK KNOCK!"

Momma, "Who's there?"

Ben, "BOOTS!"

Momma, "Boots who?"

Ben, "THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKIN'!"

LOL!!!!!

"I Want To Be A Firefighter!"

Yesterday I asked the kids what they wanted to be and Benjamin said,

"I want to be a Firefighter!"

and Amelia said,

"I want to be a Firefighter too!"

Ben said,

"No you can't be a Firefighter you can be the hospital lady!"

Amelia said,

"Ok."


I love that they are planning on working in fields that help people ;o)!

I got to sing at church today!!

Check out this link to listen to Sharon singing the song that I sang in church today:

http://www.sharonhopkinsmusic.com/iwillpray.html

She wrote the words & the music. The bishop's wife said she really liked it and asked who it was by & I told her Sharon Hopkins and the bishop's wife said she knew it wasn't Janice Kapp Perry, but was close to it. Had a great time singing even if I heard about it last night LOL! I had a soprano version of the song & then I called Sharon & asked why the website was lower than the version I got & so she sent the song to me in the low version & a bonus one ;o)!! I LOVE Sharon's music! I am one of her biggest fans!!

Here are the words so you can follow along! I LOVE the message of this song!

Every thought, my Father, every simple cry Every place I wander, Every hope of mine, In my darkest hour, In my dreams so dear, You have always been here. In the whirlwind of my life, in my family, and when I can't see through it all and when my friends leave me, when I'm all alone and my faith is fighting fear, You have always been here. When the danger comes and I start to lose my path, when the anger grows and I can't see coming back, there is one way, one simple way: I will pray. Every thought I'll turn to you Every cry of fear, and even when I'm happiest I won't forget your near, Every doubt and question with every fallen tear, You have always been here. When the darkness fills my world with endless night, When my family's done and I can't give up the fight there is one way one simple way: I will pray.

I will get pics up from MT

I PROMISE! Just hard when it's only 5 at a time!!

Some Funny Things Kids Say On Road Trips

I had a 5 day weekend!! We went to MT with my sister. Here are some of the things the kids said that were funny while we were driving:

Ben,

"Daddy why do you always drive?

Daddy,

"Because I like to drive."

Ben,

"Oh."

Ben said:

"I have to pee! Look I can pee on that tree!"

Daddy,
"Ben that's someone's house! I'll find you a bathroom!"

Ben,

"Ok..."

Ben,

"Daddy roll down the window...I have to cough!"

Daddy (rolls down window)

Ben,

"Thank you!" **Cough**

Ben,
"I want to turn the car off!"

Mommy,
"Just let daddy know so he won't do it."

Ben,
"I get to turn the car off cause it's not daddy's birthday anymore! So I can do it ALL DAY LONG!"

Mommy,
"LOL ok!"


Ben,
"Someday I want to be a somebody...I want to be a daddy!"

Mommy,
"awww!"

Ben (5 seconds after going potty at a gas station),
"I have to go potty!"

Daddy,
"You JUST went potty!"

Ben,
"I know just kidding!"

Ben,
"I have to go potty!"

Daddy,
"You went potty 10 minutes ago..."

Ben,
"I know I am just bored."

Ben (after peeing on a little tree & super excited to do so...),
"Mommy I peed on the tree to help it grow!"

Mommy,
"LOL! That's so nice!"

Amelia (after Chris drove on the shoulder & made the grate sound...),
"DADDY! You woke me up!" (cause mommy said that 5 min before that LOL).

Amelia (after Moriah drove on the grate on the shoulder),
"DADDY TOOTED MOMMY!!"

Ben,
"No the car tooted!"

Maybe I Should Think About Hitting The Gym Again....

Ben said to me today, "Mommy you have a big belly!" yeahhhhhh I am thinking the gym membership will be used again soon LOL!

The Results of The Karaoke Contest

So I didn't make it :o( But at the same time I am so glad! If I made it past this round I would have had to come back next weekend (Friday) at night...and I had planned on driving to MT that day with my sister. So I am relieved that we can leave earlier now on Friday YAY! More time to spend with friends & family in MT! For sure I will be karaokin' it up when I get there and I can't wait! My best friend from 4th grade on & I LOVE to go to karaoke!

So a few of my friends couldn't make it to the contest with me...I was kind of in a panick! I didn't want to go alone! :'o( Then I asked Shelby Bay (she is new at Impact) and she said that she had planned on going! YAY! So we arranged to drive together. When I got off work I picked the kids up at Brandi's. It was the day we pay Brandi for the babysitting. She charged us over time. We need to talk to her about it because she told me today that anything over 40 hours is over time. It doesn't leave me any travel time...so I didn't argue because I really do appreciate her & I am thankful that even with over time she isn't expensive. In the thing we signed I thought we agreed that I would drop the kids off at 8:30 & then pick them up by 6. And anything outside of those hours would be overtime. We need to talk to her about that again. I took the kids right to Chris' parent's house. They were so nice to help out & allow the kids to spend the night! I am really thankful for their willingness to watch the kids for us! Then I drove home & got ready. Shelby came over & we drove to 20th Century Lanes together. I got me a Mountain Dew & she got a hot tea. She is so nice! I am really glad she came so that we could get to know each other! I realized I talked her ear off though LOL. I asked her what she went into at college & she said communication. I asked her what kind of jobs come with that & she said it helps with anything. Helps her to be a good listener & HR is a common job for that field. She is really mellow & doesn't let anything show if something bothers her. Very great communicator! She said that Anthony, a co-worker, had threatened her on her 1st day of work. She said she asked Dick about it & he was like, "Oh that's just Anthony..." LOL! Anthony is like a big Italian/Mexican looking guy...he is the distribution manager & handles the warehouse stuff. Anyway he sits back in the accounting/HR area and the threat was...he was holding a box knife & clicked it up & told Shelby, "You better have my paycheck to me before the end of the day!" LOL She thought he was serious! He is NEVER serious. At least I haven't seen him ever be serious. I had a good laugh with her about it. Then sometime in our convo (I can't remember what brought it up) she said something about how she would go to church if her husband would go & I asked her what church she belonged to & she said she didn't. Then I asked her what church she would go to if she did go to church & she said, "LDS." My jaw dropped! She knows I am LDS from a convo we had at work one day with some people in our area...and I had told her I assumed she was a member because she looked like she was. And one of my co-workers said, "how rude to say that!" She didn't say it mean, but made me think hmmm maybe I shouldn't have said that. Well so I asked her if she was offended when I told her I thought she looked LDS & she said, "No, but I thought it was weird you would think that. Didn't understand why." I told her it was because she was clean cut & modest always. She doesn't drink or smoke... To me she has the appearance of a member of our church. She said her husband was raised with no religion at all, agnostic. I let her know I was singing in church soon & that she should come. So maybe she will go with me. She said she might come with her daughter. I let her know to invite her husband & that music always brings that spirit. YAY! Man this bar & karaoke experience has really brought some great missionary experiences ;o).

Ok so the competition started & I sat through 2 GREAT performances & then it was my turn & I felt I did ok. But when I listened to all of the singers I thought...ok I am out LOL! And there was only 6 of us & they picked 3. I felt the 3 that won were SO deserving! AMAZING singers! And I had instant relief because of the road trip. YAY MT! I need a road trip so bad! I got to sing open karaoke & had a lot of fun. I will always be extremely grateful to Shelby for coming with me! I am SO glad she has come to work at Impact! I am happy we are friends! Oh and the co-worker that said what I said was rude we have planned to go on a family friendly campout with her family, Shelby's family, & mine. I haven't told Chris yet, but if he doesn't want to go I will take the kids by myself. I am SO excited. And I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression of the co-worker that said I was rude...she is the nicest girl ever! I like her friendship too! Her name is Jen by-the-way.

Today has been brutal for me! The pollen count is up & the roof of my mouth has been itchy & I have been sneezing ALL DAY LONG! Runny nose again!!! :o( I HATE having a runny nose! I LOVE trees, but not the pollen! But I guess it is necessary to have trees :o(. haha!

We had a good day today...went shopping with the kids & bought them some new hats! I wanted baseball type hats for them & it was SO hard to find them! We also bought this little sailor type hat for Amelia from Old Navy for $0.47! She looks SO cute in it! We finally got Ben a booster seat. He loves it & looks so big boy in it! The kids & I had a 2 hour nap & Amelia & I woke up at 7 & Ben woke up at 8! Kids still went to bed about 9:15. Church tomorrow! The Choir is supposed to sing Sharon's song, "If You Could Hie To Kolob..." And I hope I can sing tomorrow with my stuffies!! UGH!

Something Funny That Ben Said At Church Today...

Today at church we sat by a couple that has a little girl that they don't leave in the nursery, but they have hung out in nursery & Chris told me the guy has held Amelia in nursery before...and so today in sacrament this guy was holding Amelia & she was all snuggled up to him and Ben said, "Why do they want to keep HER?" LOL Then Ben says, "He has a big head like you do daddy, but you have a lot more hair!" LOL! The guy is balding...Chris & I exchanged glances & had a nice silent giggle & smile ;o) I love kids!

What I Got At Church Today For Mother's Day

You know the usual candy bar or the flower plant that most people get on Mother's Day...well since I have been married it seems like they try & give other gifts. Last year we got a booklet about mothers. This year they gave us tomato plants. For those of you that know me & my husband...we don't like tomatoes LOL! So instead of saying, "No thank you..." to the nice young men & young women handing them out I took one. Then after class I gave my plant to someone that I admire. I let her know she could have mine haha ;o).

Then I went to pick up the kids & Ben gave me a pot with rice in it that had these tongue depressors with cut out flowers on them that said: Go to bed on time, empty the dishwasher, hugs & kisses, etc. Amelia gave me a picture with her hand print & I thought...oh it's like the one I did when I was little with the fingerprints on the walls...nope it was different & I am glad it was because it caught me off guard and made me tear up a bit (I have become such a sap LOL) Here is that picture:

Do We Look Alike?

I was always told I looked like my Aunt Joyce, but it wasn't until I noticed my 4th grade picture that I really saw a resemblance...you decide:



Joyce died when she was 11 years old from a ruptured appendix. Her dad & step mom didn't know she was sick until too late. I guess Joyce never complained about anything. She was always a sweet spirit and was taken home to Heavenly Father.

My grandfather didn't like visiting & I think it's because my mom looks like her mom (who died at age 33) and I looked like his daughter (who died at age 11). I could be wrong, but who knows...

I think it's cool how we can look like our relatives! ;o)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!

I was asked to write something about my mom for the Relief Society news letter and I shared it with my mom last week...but I wanted to share it here:

My mom always made sure her kids knew that she loved them. Her mother died when she was 3 years old and after reading her story about how she missed her mother so much made me realize I take my mother for granted too much. She was always my shoulder to cry on and as I became older I was her shoulder to cry on. As she ages it scares me to think of ever losing her. My mother's testimony of the gospel and her strength in prayer has helped her children and husband return back into the church when they have strayed. Her 5 children and husband are now fully active and are teaching their children what she has taught us. "The church isn't about the people...it's about the gospel." I struggled when I was a young woman and those words helped me to remain strong in the gospel. THANK YOU MOM!

The pics below are my mom's mom & then my mom & then me when I was little then me as a mom...

My Kids Have Been With A Babysitter For 1 Week Now

My kids LOVE their new babysitter! Her name is Brandi & she has 3 kids of her own. She is only $400 a month TOTAL for both kids! She said she looked around at how ridiculous babysitting costs and she picked that price. She has a nice home. Benjamin says, "Are we going to Brownie's house?" LOL! He hasn't caught on that her name is Brandi LOL. Amelia just loves it there too & is so excited to be going to the babysitter's house! Amelia says, "Babysitter NICE!" Awww so cute! Benjamin also loves that they have a trampoline! I like that he can have things that we can't provide for him...it's nice. Our babysitter has a worksheet she gives us on each kid and what they ate that day or if they said they weren't hungry etc. She also writes what projects & things they learned that day on the sheet, and we get pictures they colored etc. Today Amelia stayed home because she had a rough night last night. I am not sure if she got sick from not having a coat on yesterday or if it's from something else...but her nose was running & she had a cough. So I kept her home with Chris. I didn't want to risk getting Brandi's baby sick (newborn) When I got home from work I came to get Amelia so that we could go get Benjamin. She kept going on & on about going to the babysitter's house. I explained to her that we were just picking up Benjamin. I was so worried that she would throw a fit when she realized we were gonna be 2 seconds there. She did good. She was so excited that she still got to see them & she was just so happy. I am so happy that Chris found Brandi! I was so worried we would have to pay $1250 a month! We talked about when we have good months (if that happens...) that we would do a bonus for Brandi (just random) because she is so cheap. Oh & there was an incident on their 1st day there...Benjamin told me that Brandi's boy hit him & Ben said, "I don't know why he hits me." And I asked Benjamin what his mommy did & he said, "She put him in time out." I knew then that she was good. I explained to Benjamin that when people hit it's because they don't have control over their emotions & they may have people being mean to them & so they take it out on others...he seemed to understand. I am glad that we had that chance to talk about it. I actually like our chats in the car on the way home everyday. It's fun to hear about their day!

We saw Damon Wayans Jr & Vincent Oshana Last Night!!

We have a new comedy club here in town! Hijinx-www.hijinxcomedyclub.com. The radio station had Vincent Oshana & Damon Wayans Jr on the morning show. They were cracking me up on the way to work. I thought...man I want to go to that show so bad! I talked Chris into going & it was so funny! I have to share some of the jokes...of course you would have to see them to really get the jist, but here is a couple of the things they joked about.

Vincent Oshana~

He said that he was stationed in Great Falls, MT. Chris mentioned that we don't offer information to comics cause yeah you will be a part of the joke...so we didn't clap or raise our hand that we were from there... Anyway he said his boss took him hunting for the 1st time. He said that he didn't consider hunting a sport because usually when a sport is being played both teams know they are playing. He said hunting is like someone tackling into him on the sidewalk and him asking them why they tackled him & them saying, "We were playing football!" haha He said that he felt like a pervert when he had to do the mating calls for the deer. LOL! I laughed so hard! He would make an elk call & then he would say what it meant in human language LOL! It was really funny! Then he said that 3 elk come into the field looking for this female expecting to get some & then BOOM! The biggest one gets shot & he couldn't believe the look on the elk's face...complete shock that he was shot! Then he makes it like the other 2 leave (and he acts out the jump & run) and he says they go back to the group & say that the other one got shot by a tree with sneakers (cause he looked like a tree with sneakers on LOL). Then he put it like if that were to happen to a human male. The guy watching tv & getting a phone call with some girl saying some things to him & then him making it like he just has to check something outside. Going outside to peek & see if the girl is there & then BOOM! He is shot...looking confused around he sees a fence with hooves shot him & it ends up being the deer getting him back for his friend. Oh man you just have to see it to get the whole idea, but I was cracking up!
Then he said that he went to Toys R Us with his sister & her daughter. He said that he bought his niece $100 worth of stuff...then as they were leaving his niece begged to get the Hannah Montana's whole outfit & stuff & his sister told her no & that she should be grateful for getting the $100 in stuff. Then he said his niece got adult & said, "I am not leaving Toys R Us until you buy that for me!" And he said his sister said, "Oh ok you are gonna stay here?" Then she told him to come with her & go & he was like, "really?" And she said, "yeah just watch this..." He said they got in her truck & she drove to the end of the parking lot. Then he said that his niece came out 2 minutes later & had this look of shock that she couldn't find her mom. Then he said she went to the actual spot that they had parked & saw they were gone & he said it was like Platoon when the guy realized his troop left him & she threw her arms up & was crying... then he said all the white people came out of the woodwork, some repelled off the building, some parachuted in...and he said this one lady was hugging her. He said a Mexican was walking by with his 3 kids & the kids were all shy and they asked their dad what was wrong & he said, "That's what happens when you ask for stuff!" Then he said a black man comes in his truck & sees all these people in a great parking space & asks them to move so he can have the spot & they all tell him to have some compassion that she doesn't know where her daddy is & the black guy says, "Neither do I so move it!" LOL He said they pulled around in the truck & his sister was already crying & she rushes to her daughter & thanks everyone for finding her...and then when they get into the car & out of the parking lot his sister turns around & yells while pointing, "DON'T YOU EVER ASK FOR STUFF AGAIN ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU ARE ALREADY GETTING $100 WORTH OF STUFF!" I laughed so hard cause that is so how it is LOL! When Ben doesn't want to go somewhere & he just stands there I say, "Fine we will go without you!" We have gone as far as the car & he comes running out like he thinks we will leave him. I would NEVER leave him, but that threat always seems to work LOL. Sad but true. Vincent was mentioning that parents can't hit their kids so they have to work with the kids minds mentally. Then that is when he shared the Toys R Us story haha!

Damon Wayans Jr.~

He joked about how his daughter has this extremely deep voice. It was so funny! And he shared a few things with her voice.

The joke I loved the best was he said that there are gangs in CA & the members still go to Disneyland. He said that they are even mad at Disneyland. He can't believe that anyone can be angry at Disneyland, but they are. He said that there was this one guy that kept moving his lips and saying, "I am going to GET you!" And doing the sign for cutting his head off...then he said the guy confronted him & was all, "Why is your daughter wearing RED?" And he said, "It's just a Minnie Mouse dress...Minnie Mouse wears red...it's not a gang symbol!" And then he said his daughter said, "(deep voice)daddydaddy daddy why is he mad at us? huh? daddydaddy?" And he said the guy was like, "Whoa your daughter talks like that? Why does she talk like that??" And he told him that's just her voice & he said they left. Well he said that he saw this guy all over the park that day...they couldn't get away from him. He said they even saw him on the teacups LOL! He moved his body like he was on the tea cups ride & I laughed my head off! He said the guy was on the ride in another cup & his daughter was like, "(deep voice)daddydaddy that man is still watching us! What are we going to do? daddydaddy?"

He also talked about how his dad is really famous & rich, but that he doesn't give him any money. He said he makes him work for it. He said that they will go to the club & his dad won't let him call him dad. He said this girl wanted to meet his dad & he comes over & introduces him as dad & his dad pulls him aside & says, "Why are you hatin'?" And he says, "I'm not hatin' what are you talking about?" And he said his dad says, "Don't call me dad!" He says, "What do you want me to call you?" his dad says, "Call me D!" he says, "ok D.......like people can't see the white hairs in your beard D!" LOL

There was dirty comedy, but for the most part a lot of fun. I am glad we went. I haven't laughed like that in a long time! There was another guy that performed, but I can't remember his name or what he said LOL. I know sad! I know he said the F bomb a lot. They all swear so that sucks. There was no smoking either! THAT was nice!

DISCLAIMER...

So I was thinking about my last post & thought of certain people that may read it. So if you are related or know the people in the story you may think I have shared too much. No one has said anything, but I am getting a prompting to post a disclaimer of why I shared too much. Reading in the scriptures not everything is perfect. It talks of war, greed, lusting, loss, faith, strength in prayer, weak things becoming strong things, etc. This blog is my journal, like the scriptures were to the people of old. Not saying I am a prophet writing scriptures, but I look at the scriptures like journals of people...who experienced things like we do. So in my story I have shared my thoughts and and how I felt at that time. I want to say that when I die people will know I wasn't perfect or a complete sinner. They will know I experienced repentance & they will know that I am just like them. I guess that is why I share it. I share it so that if someone else has struggled with what I have they will know they are not alone. I always think of the hymn, "Lord I Will Follow Thee" 2nd verse: Who am I to judge another when I walk imperfectly? In the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye can't see. Who am I to judge another? Lord, I would follow thee. Also I have talked to Scott on Facebook. He added me last week & I asked him why he broke up with me. I always wondered. He disappeared on me like Edward left Bella in the 2nd Twilight book-New Moon. He tried to warn me that he didn't want to get married yet, but I didn't listen. I was so desparate to get married that I just didn't want to hear that it was over. After we talked about it all I realized that I was adding onto his pain. He said it was the hardest thing breaking up with me, and he said that he did it mainly because he saw his life spiraling down & didn't want to take me with him. I respect him for that & appreciate him being honest with me. I appreciate him putting up with me asking him why & what happened to him. He dropped off the face of the earth. I actually thanked him for breaking up with me! It brought me closer to God & I made my life better & I knew when I met Chris that if I had chosen Scott it wouldn't have been the right choice. Chris is completely my eternal companion & I am so thankful for him! My patriarchal blessing told me to be prayerful in my choice of a companion and at the time that I dated Scott I never prayed about it. With Chris I prayed for God to send him to me & He did. Anyway I just wanted to share this & let people know that that was my past & my history. I am not afraid of what people think of me, but I want them to understand so that they know not to judge. And also if they haven't read the story yet, you may not want to. haha ;o) Now I bet they really want to read it LOL ;o). Anyway thanks for reading my blog & also added it to let people know the difference in Scott & Chris. Chris had respect for me in more ways than one. Anyway I am going to leave this disclaimer at that ;o).

What I Learned From The Lesson at Church Today...

Today in Relief Society the Relief Society President, Sister Spjute, spoke about personal revelation.

A sister shared how before her daughter's baby blessing she struggled with if she should have another child. Her daughter had colic & it was a struggle. She said as her baby was blessed she got this huge prompting & heard a voice in her head as clear as day that said, "You need to have more children."

It made me think of when we blessed Amelia, when she was a baby, & how when Chris was in the middle of her blessing he paused for what felt like a minute and he said, "Avoid the temptations of Satan." I felt this surge flow through me that made me think...what are we going to have to deal with with this child? We need to teach her the right. It was the most incredible strong feeling that I have had at a baby blessing. When Chris sat back down he asked me, "You know how I paused & then said "Avoid the temptations of Satan?" I said, "Yeah." He said, "I had the strongest feeling when I said that." I let him know that I felt the same way! It makes me want to cry it was so amazing!! I made sure and wrote down all of the blessing (I actually make a scrapbook pages for my baby's so they can remember how they were blessed.) I shared that experience on the back of Amelia's recorded blessing so that she knows what we felt & how we love her so much.

In the lesson Sister Spjute mentioned that we need to record our inspirations from God. That when we get a prompting to record it. I always am willing to share the experiences I have felt, but now that she mentioned it I haven't done that!! When I die those that didn't know me will never know of those special experiences. So that is why I am here today. To share the most special promptings that I have had & have recognized that the feelings that I have felt were not my own but from God. Also something I thought that was interesting that Sister Spjute mentioned was that the spirits in Heaven are the ones that whisper to us...God uses them as a tool to talk to us...they are help to the Holy Ghost (at least that is what I think she was saying & I can see that.). She shared about how she asked once & her sister that she had never met, that died when she was a baby, said it was her. Sister Spjute wrote it down & when she wants to feel closer to her sister she reads that experience.

I am not sure if I have put on here how I met my husband & how I knew he was Heaven sent, so I am going to copy from another website the experience that I shared there:

How I met my husband (married August 25, 2001):

I am going to start with the year 2000 to show how I was truly blessed for the decisions I made and how I know that my husband was truly heaven sent! :o):

February 2000 (now I am guessing it was Feb LOL I know it was around this time...I was over 21 years old...girls can go on missions when they are 21.): My friend was preparing to go on a mission for our church & she was having an open house...I went & saw a lot of people I hadn't seen in a long time...they all were like, "When are you going to go on a mission & or get married etc...blah blah blah. I was like I just bought my dream car & I have a 5 year loan to pay it off. They were like, "sell your car..." I was like, "heck no!" I was upset that they would want me get rid of a car that I had dreamed of owning since my parents brought the same kind of vehicle home when I turned 16 (Silver Mitsubishi Galant). No way! I told them also, "If I paid off my car I would go on a mission."

March 2000: I get a phone call from my mother telling me to stay home because I was to receive something in the mail that I needed to sign for. Then she told me that it was money from my grandfather (who had passed away & I didn't know him well...only met him once in my life...he owned a house in San Francisco & an Vineyard in Napa Valley...so he was well off...he was a painter.). My mom told me that it was going to be a lot of money! So as I was waiting at home for this I was thinking...how much could it be?? I imagined maybe $1000 cause my mom told me it would be a lot of money & to me that was a lot of money LOL. The doorbell rings & I answer it & it is the mail man. I accept the letter & sign for it.

I open it up & right in front of my eyes is a check for...$20,000!!! Yeah talk about winning the lottery! I mean that was my yearly salary! My dad tried to pressure all of his 5 kids to put the money in stocks & I didn't feel good about that. I sat on the money for a month trying to contemplate what to do with it. Then there was a lesson at church one Sunday that REALLY spoke to me! Someone had brought up in the lesson about money management & then someone started saying that if it doesn't feel right & if you don't know much about something (like stock..and that was used as an example...no one knew I was going through this mind you...)don't do it. There was my sign...don't do it! Then there was a question in my mind as to if I should pay tithing on this money...tithing is 10% ($2,000). It was a gift right? Then I went to a friends house (and I hadn't been to this friends house in a long time!) Her father was a Bishop & I respected his opinions...so I pulled him aside & I asked him, "Do I pay tithing on a gift or inheritance given to me?" His reply was, "Any increase on your income." And that was it! I paid my tithing. I trusted that it was in my best interest to do so.
After I paid my tithing I got out of debt (my car & a small credit card bill.) I owned everything that I had & it was such a blessing! I was truly at peace! All that (tithing, car, credit card) took $10,000 of my money which left me with $10,000 (enough to go on a mission).
So I prepared to go on a mission...the rest of the summer seemed to go as planned...I was reading my scriptures daily, praying morning & night, attending church regularly, going to church classes (institute), etc. I was living as I should...I even received answers to my prayers almost instantly & even received that intuition when things weren't right...that leads me into the next part of my story...

August 2000 (and events leading up to August :o)): My friend Scott went on a mission in Jan (he had a crush on me forever & I was not attracted to red heads...he knew that. He asked my roommate & I before he went on his mission if someone didn't go on a mission if we would marry them...I replied...Yes I would, but I wouldn't marry you. Yes that sounds like a witchy thing to say, but I just didn't care for him like that. I wanted him to understand that.) Well he went on his mission & by August he had been out 8 months...(I wrote to him & sent cookies all the time). On Father's Day 2000 I went to his parents house when he called & he asked me to marry him (he may have been joking??). I said yes! Can you believe that? By writing to him weekly & him going to France (that is another story LOL) I fell in love with him and it no longer mattered his hair color.
August came & I got a phone call from his mother telling me that I could come to the airport cause Scott was coming home early! Guys are to stay on their missions for 2 years. My mind started racing & I thought....WAS IT ME? Oh nooooo! When he got off the plane I went to shake his hand (I didn't know what to do)...Well my birthday came & my friends & I (along with him) went to dinner & had a great time...we were pretty much engaged by then. (I bought the ring...I was a stupid desperate girl wanting to get married right away! My advice NEVER do that!) His cousin & I were great friends too. I asked his cousin why he was home from his mission. His cousin was getting annoyed with me asking him every 5 min & so he said to me, "It has to do with his family...and maybe future family." Something like that. I had that going through my mind for a whole day! I worked at Pitney Bowes call center & while I was at work I kept thinking about it...then it hit me! I had the answer to why he was home. (Also I prayed to Heavenly Father to tell me why he was home I had to know!) So I called Scott after I got off work & I told him that I knew why he was home & who it was concerning...Here is what I said,"You got a girl pregnant & (I forget her name now) this is her name...and so yeah." Then he says, "Who told you??" Amazing right? How God told me everything? Scott or anyone else didn't have to tell me a thing other than family. The reason why I knew who the girl was is because he dated her a while back & she was a little hoocy girl. So yes she had a baby & he was waiting for the paternity test to come back to know for sure. :o( I was sad for him. But I told him that I still wanted to marry him. Well while we were dating we got pretty physical (not totally sex, but close)...We went to the Bishop about it & we started the repentance process. It went well...then we slipped up again & went through the process again...and that was the last time...he broke it off with me probably for more than one reason, but yeah. I was broken hearted & hated guys! One of the reasons I believe (he never said) was I kept bad mouthing the girl that had his baby (yes the results came back & she had his baby). I didn't like her...she had 3 children with 3 different dads...I just felt she did that because she wanted to not work again & live off child support. I hated her....I think he didn't want his future wife to hate his daughters mother that much & so he broke it off.

(I was stuck with this wedding ring I bought & I still have it & would like to sell it...) Having kids now I understand his reason! I wouldn't want a step mother to my children (not that they would have one ever!) hate their mother.
then he moved to Alaska in January 2001 & I lost a friend.

May 2001: My friend Matt (not Matt C LOL) was coming home from his mission at the beginning of the month. He was Scott's best friend. So I thought ohhh I might get to see Scott (I still cared for him.) Yeah I saw Scott at the airport...he didn't talk to me or acknowledge me at all...I was hurt BIG TIME! Then the group went back to Matt's house (Scott told him he would see him later & didn't come...again I was hurt). Matt started to tell us about his mission & about the things he brought home. He pulled out this picture of this half naked girl ... then he told us how everyone in Jamaica watches porn (he sounded proud)...how they would walk in the house & the people would have porn on & how they would have to tell them to turn it off etc. I was really disappointed in guys in general that night. I mean I knew Matt could be a perv (I actually liked that before he went on his mission, but it just was different now...I had found my spiritual self...& she didn't like it :os).
A week later I went to a CES Broadcast (something our church has to watch that is educational...) & I was gonna be in this CES Broadcast in the choir. I was in Moscow, ID & so I stayed at my friends house that night in Endicott, WA (1/2 hour away). That night I was in my own room & I started writing this poem...now I can't remember the poem, but I do remember that I wrote that all guys were gay! I was bitter & angry! (oh & I forgot to mention because of the thing with Scott I had to wait until January 2002 to go on a mission now...).

Then I broke down & cried! I cried very hard & so sad! And the thought came to me to pray...(like my back surgery experience which I will also post later....). So I prayed & I told my Father in Heaven that I didn't want to feel that way about guys! I didn't want to feel this pain anymore! I wanted someone to love me & want to be with me ALL the time (Scott would rather play basketball with buddies & take naps then be with me)! I wanted someone who would treat me like a princess....I felt better when I got done praying & I fell asleep with my eyes & pillow wet with tears. I felt that burden of caring for Scott gone. I didn't hate guys really anymore...

A week later I went to Holly's house (a friend at the time) & we were practicing for a play we were in (with some of the other people in the cast). And she shows us all a picture of her brother & says, "My brother is coming home from school this week..." And I said, "Hook a sister up! LOL" Then she said, "Well we are gonna hook him up with Jenny." I was like ok whatever... Didn't think anything of it! Then that same week I get this prompting that I wasn't going to go on a mission. Immediately I thought what? Yes I was back working on going on a mission....so I went right to my room & I knelt down & I prayed & said very directly to Heavenly Father, "If you don't want me to go on a mission you better send me my husband NOW!"

Friday 5-18-01 comes & I was an activity coordinator for the singles ward in my church so I was at the Spokane Falls Community College Game Night that we plan every year. I was bowling with Jenny & having a good time. I had curled my hair in ringlets (it takes me 2 hours, but everyone tells me they love it!)and I felt confident that night in myself. Then this hot guy sits across from me & I loved his smile...he knew Jenny & she introduced us. It was Holly's brother, Chris. We talked like we knew each other forever. Then I invited him to come to the dance after in Rathdrum, ID. I LOVE their dances because they play a lot of hip hop & I like it :o). He said yeah that he would go with me. Then I offered to drive...because I loved to drive. I also gave a ride to some other guys too. My car was full...this guy, Patrick, that I didn't really like sat in front (and I wanted Chris to). Anyway I told Patrick that Chris was Holly's brother...Patrick dated Holly. Then Patrick starts going on & on about how much he loved Holly etc etc & I could tell that Chris was gagging in the back LOL! So I changed the subject & I could see relief come over him :o). We get to the dance & he asked me to slow dance & so we did. Then I got this strong prompting to ask him to the parade tomorrow...and I told that voice in my head...I am NOT going to THAT parade tomorrow NO WAY! The whole night that prompting was strong & came to me a lot! Then we danced again & I felt that surge to ask him...didn't do it. Then by the end of the dance I felt the prompting so strong that I said to myself...fine I will ask him! I couldn't find him anywhere! I was like where is he??? Nuts! Then he found me & asked me to dance the last half of the last slow song of the night...I was about ready to ask him to go with me to the parade (and I mean I was about to open my mouth) when he says to me, "Do you want to go to the parade with me tomorrow?" I said, "YES!" Right there I knew that God wasn't going to wait for me to ask him LOL! I was old fashioned & I wanted the guy to ask me! I hated always having to ask guys out!

Parade Day 5-19-01: I was anxious & so I went & helped clean the church & then I went to a friends house to play the piano cause I didn't want to have to wait for Chris to call me...I didn't want to sit & wait around for a phone call! When I got home from my friends house I had a message...it was Chris! YAY! I called him back & he told me when he would come pick me up & all. (He later told me that he thought I was ditching him when I wasn't home to answer the call LOL...I guess he didn't date much which REALLY shocked me cause he is HAWT :o)).
He got to my house & I chose to wear a hat that night (another look people told me was hot on me LOL). (He later told me he thought it was hot :o)). We park by my work & we walked downtown by the river walk. We got downtown & it was crazy busy! We walked for what seemed like forever & then we found a spot right in front of a postal box (so we had a back it was nice...) I had this thought to hold his hand, but I didn't know how to go about it. Then I acted cold & he took the blanket he brought & started to wrap it around us & I put my hand close to where I thought he would put his hand when he put it back down...I did it! I held his hand the rest of the night :o). When it was over we walked around looking for a place to eat & no one was open! So we walked back along the river walk & we stopped at a look out at the river & just stood there. Then he leaned in & kissed me (just a peck on the lips & he didn't feel me up like I was used to LOL yeah I was a bit knotty LOL)! Then I said, "It was about time!" Then I giggled :o) Then we got to the car & decided to get a pizza & snacks & then go back to his parents house to watch a movie (this is the longest date I had ever had :o)). I found out that I was his 1st kiss awwwww! Yeah I wanted to make out with this guy & teach him some things LOL (not like I was an expert, but I had at least kissed 5 guys LOL) His parents were gone for the weekend...:o) The whole time we were watching the movie I thought...when should I jump on him LOL! When the movie was over he kissed me again & yes we made out :o) He pretty much ate my face & I wasn't too into how he kissed, but I liked that he liked me :o). He was a beginner & I was ok with that :o). I kept trying to get him to feel me up & he wouldn't. He told me he wanted to respect me & that it wasn't something he was comfortable with doing. The date was the best date I had ever been on in my life! (sorry if that is TMI LOL)

Sunday 5-20-01: He came to my ward & then came over after church. We hung out & I started to get cramps & I told him my tummy hurt & so he let me lay my head in his lap & he held my stomach & I felt instant relief. I like to call his hands healing hands!

Monday 5-21-01: His birthday...I bought him the new Enya CD (we had so much in common it was amazing! I LOVE Enya!) and he was surprised that I would buy him a gift. His parents & sister got home from their trip & he told them about me. He had told me that his sister told him that they were gonna hook him up with Jenny & that he turned that down (mainly cause his sister told him to date her) & then she told him that if he didn't like Jenny that she was going to suggest me. LOL I was grateful that I met him before she told him that...he didn't want her advice LOL!

After 2 weeks of him & I being inseparable he asked me to marry him. He took me to the Japanese Gardens in town & asked me there. Of course I said yes! And this time I didn't buy the ring LOL! We were married August 25, 2001 (3 months after meeting LOL!) in the Spokane LDS Temple! Chris respected me & we didn't mess up & we were able to be married in the temple to be sealed for eternity! One thing I remember from the ceremony was hold hands always...Since we have had kids we haven't held hands as much because we have a kid in one arm & a bag or keys in the other. But when we go on dates without the kids we still hold hands & Chris opens the door for me. He always wanted to be with me all the time...he treated me like a princess...and he was truly what I prayed for in a man! He puts up with me when I am a total brat!

September 11, 2001: The Twin Towers get hit & the Stock Market crashes & my father loses over $40,000 in stock (I think it was closer to $100,000!) :o( I am grateful that I never put my money in the stock market...I had the bad feeling about it & later my father apologized & said that I was smart to not listen to him. I still had my $10,000 in the bank! I was great at saving :o). Well until I got married :os. But ya know we needed the money to move & live off of for a few months while we didn't have jobs in UT. We have been married 6 years on August 25, 2007 & I am still madly in love with him! He gets the occasional butt pinch LOL! He puts up with a lot & he is my soul mate no doubt! He is an awesome father & he amazes me so much!

God knew I needed someone to love me! And He guided me right to him & helped me overcome so much that I could be with him for eternity! I know that by my choices to pay my tithing & by praying & trying to do my best I was truly blessed! I don't know how else to end this, but by saying that :o)

Another experience I had with feeling the spirit was when I had back surgery when I was 14 years old. Here is that experience:

1st off I want to say how thankful I am to Shriner's Hospital for all that they have done for me in giving me a chance to continue in this life & to be able to live past my 15th birthday..... My family didn't have to pay a penny for my surgery or the services they provided me from 11-21 years old! If there was any charity I would give to it would be Shriners as well as the Ronald McDonald House!

I want to say to those that need assistance if your child is disabled and needs help I would recommend Shriner's completely! Check out these links & donate if you can!

Donate Now to Shriner's Hospital And Donate Now to Ronald McDonald House

Volunteer Now at Shriner's near you...

Need Referral For Disabled Child And Contact Information For Shriner's Hospital

Just a background...I had to wear a back brace from age 11-15...I had a stupid kid in Jr High that said I stuffed my bra & stupid stuff, but he was in the younger grade at my school...the people in my grade always were really nice to me & I found that amazing & great! I LOVE Spokane, WA for the wonderful people that live there! I also had really great church & non church friends that helped me pull through it all! So here is my experience...

January 16, 1992. Shriners hospital decided when I was 14 that it was time I had surgery on my back. My scoliosis came to a 72 degree curve which if it would have gotten any worse it could have collapsed my lungs. They didn't want to wait for me to reach my full growth due to the severity of the curve. I could have died if I didn't live in a day & age where there was something that could have been done to help. Here is my story:

The night before I went into surgery I was desperately waiting for this cute boy, that I really liked, to call! I was nervous, but then he called & I was so excited. It really cheered me up to know he cared! He even sent me flowers while I was in the hospital. Anyway the next morning I went to the knock out room (where they put you under) & mom and dad thought I was being really silly after I had, had the drugs. I thought this stuff is not going to work it won't put me under! I was fighting it. I wanted to be tough. (I am glad I went under :o)) Anyway I told the doctor that he had 2 heads & some other silly things. The doctor had me count down from 10 & I was out. The next thing I remember was I woke up all dreary & things were fuzzy. I didn't really hurt, but I was weak. I don't remember when the problem I had happened, but I am going to go into that part of the story now. I had fallen asleep & then I woke up at night & I remember pushing the morphine button every time it beeped (Even though I didn't hurt that bad, & even though the doctor warned me to not do it unless I needed it). The next time I woke up mom & dad were sitting by my bed all nervous & that kind of freaked me out & I asked what was going on. I also noticed that there was air blowing into my nose & so I started pulling at the cord that was blowing the air & I was trying to rip it out of my nose! I was frustrated. The next thing that I remember is people running around my room. They started to hold my hands down & rushed me onto a gurney! I thought what is going on?? They were rushing me down the hall towards the Deaconess hospital (they were connected by a sky walk (which I later found was major lucky!) Shriners Hospital used to be 5-10 miles away from the main downtown hospitals. When I had surgery they had their new hospital built & I was one of the 1st surgeries!) I was looking at the ceiling & I saw one of those safety mirrors that places have so you don't run into people walking down the hall. I saw my face & I was bloated! I thought whoa! They got me to the baby area of the Deaconess, & they put a tube into my nose through my throat & into my lungs to get the fluids out. It was gross & hard to let someone stick a thing like that into my nose & through my throat. It made me gag! Anyway I found out later that the morphine closed my throat up & I stopped breathing. I almost died & if I had my surgery at the old hospital I could have died on the way to the Deaconess. I was so thankful for the people who responded to me so quickly. Well so there I was in THE BABY SECTION of the hospital. I capitalize that part because I was upset & felt like they thought I was a baby! I was 14 for goodness sakes :o)! They also tried Demerol for pain killing & it made me throw up, so I was frustrated! So one night in THE BABY SECTION, I was lonely & I heard babies crying. I also heard some nurses talking & I needed someone to talk to. I started quietly saying help, Help, HELP. The nurses were not as friendly as the ones at Shriners. They just ignored me & maybe they didn't hear me. After this next experience I was grateful they didn't talk to me, because what I experienced was so precious. I had a prompting to pray to my father in heaven. I thought but I am a bad kid I am not worthy to ask for his help (I used to swear a lot LOL)! Then I started praying. I said Heavenly Father I know I am a bad kid, but I need your help. (of course I was crying big time!) I said I want you to make me like Joseph Smith where he didn't need any drugs while he had his surgery. I need comfort! I don't want to depend on the drugs to help me. I need someone to help me! & I can't remember all of my prayer, but that was the main part. After I was done praying I felt like someone wrapped a warm blanket around me, was holding me & rocking me to sleep. I felt the comfort I had asked for. After a week I went back to Shriners & I was so happy. I remember a nurse coming in with some drugs for me to take & I said, "I don't want those!" She didn't make me take them. I didn't need them I felt good! Also the nurses were secretly sitting me up & letting me stand up. The doctor wanted me to be in the bed for another 2 weeks. The doctors were amazed how quickly I healed & how strong I was. I am thankful for those nurses and God! Anyway I got out of the hospital & I came home without any medication & I felt great! I had even grown 2 inches because they straightened my back that much! It was weird to go into surgery short & coming out a little taller :o)(I am still really short LOL)! Now that it has been years after surgery I feel like a normal person; even though I have rods in my back keeping it straight. My back still has a 30 degree curve, but it isn't too bad. I just have to get everything I wear altered. I have a slight humped back. So it throws off things I wear & they don't fit right. But I live with it & it doesn't really bother me. I don't get everything altered, but business jackets always bunch in the back.

Well to end I want to share what this experience taught me! This experience has let me know that my Heavenly Father loves me & he will always be there for anyone no matter how bad they are! I feel a closer bond with Him because of it too. Even though I know I am not perfect in any way! Well I love you all & I hope this experience will help you to remember He loves us!!

Comments from my family about this piece of my history:

My Sister:

wow sis, i never knew what you went through. that was an amazing experience!! you are truly a very spiritual person!! thank you for sharing that experience!!

My Mom:

Dear Birdeena, Thank you for sharing your story with us all. I too am thankful for Shriners and what they did for you. I am also thankful for our Heavenly Father. I know he hears and answers prayers. I am thankful that you were comforted at that time.

One of my brothers (the one 2 years older than I am):

I knew bits and pieces of this story back when it was all happening...But only the things about the cute boy coming to visit...It has been indeed very inspiring to the hear the depths of the story...Thank you

**Oh & an update the boy I thought was cute is now gay...awww nuts! (I am married btw haha) :o) No wonder he was so sweet! :o)**

Another experience I had was when I was 8 months pregnant with Amelia and we lived in Logan, UT. Chris took Benjamin to Boise, ID and I was unpacking our apartment, so we had a ton of boxes. I got tired of the boxes so I figured with no kids or hubby that I would clean up. Nesting I think people call it ;o). Anyway I was getting ready to go outside to take some boxes down to our Pathfinder & I got this prompting to take my keys. I thought for a minute & then figured I was being silly & I set the keys down & thought...it's too bulky & I will just be outside & back upstairs. I swear I left the door a little open, but when I got upstairs the door was shut TIGHT! I all of a sudden felt fear & shame! I realized I hadn't listened to the spirit! I forgot to mention it was midnight. I tried knocking on my neighbor's doors & they wouldn't answer (they all spoke Spanish). So I went to some members house that lived by us & they didn't answer. I felt alone! I had this rush of anger with myself! And I felt relieved that Benjamin wasn't home! He would have been sleeping & I was outside helpless. I then decided to just walk down the street & see if anyone had lights on. So I stopped at a house that looked nice & the lights were on...an Asian lady answered & she barely spoke English. She didn't understand why a pregnant girl in my condition was out & about at midnight! I asked her if I could use her phone and she kept looking at me weird. I tried a locksmith & they didn't answer. I had to go to work the next day too... Taking the boxes to the car was the last thing on my list that night & then bed. Well I was up until 2 AM that night. When I got the phone I couldn't think of who to call! All of a sudden I thought of this couple that I remembered from the 1st ward that we lived in. (we had moved 5 times since this moment so 5 or 6 wards we had been in & I remembered them). Anyway they came to my rescue & they took me to a gas station to call a locksmith. I finally got a hold of one & so I made arrangements for them to come open the door. (oh this couple tried to open it before I called the locksmith). We sat in their car for an hour. I felt so bad that I asked them, but at the same time I felt this feeling of...they are being blessed for helping you. The locksmith came & it took him 5 seconds to get the door open. I felt like an idiot...paid him $50 and he gave me a coupon for 2 free keys LOL. Had I listened to the spirit I wouldn't have been in that situation & out $50!

Just Friday night I woke up from my sleep & I had this prompting that we should start leaving a house key in our bedroom. It was strange that I thought of that, because why? It seems silly. I put more thought into it & I think maybe it's because our water heater & furnace separate us from our kids. Their bedroom is on one side & ours is on the other. We have a door in our room & my thought was we would have a key & can run around the house & unlock the front door should there be an emergency. Plus we always leave our keys by the front door & I know I would feel helpless if we couldn't kick the door down or the kids window...we would have a key. My husband thought I was silly, but humored me to put his keys on the nightstand. I don't know why I had that prompting & I really hope nothing bad happens!

I have had many times of feeling the spirit & fighting with Him that as I write this stuff down I need to pay attention. I need to follow what He says & do those things. You NEVER know! To top the meeting at church off Danicia Christensen picked the Hymn, "Let the Holy Spirit Guide." I sang it firm through the 1st verse and even towards the middle of the 2nd verse & then the spirit hit me! So strong that I burst into tears...and I noticed at the same exact time Danicia broke into tears too! I am tearing up writing this!! I felt the spirit so strong!! Here are the words to the Hymn:

Let the Holy Spirit guide; Let him teach us what is true. He will testify of Christ, Light our minds with heaven's view.

Let the Holy Spirit guard; Let his whisper govern choice. He will lead us safely home If we listen to his voice. (I broke into tears as well as Danicia)

Let the spirit heal our hearts Thru this queit, gentle pow'r. May we purify our lives To recieve him hour by hour.

I know that my thoughts on the 2nd verse were...this would be a beautiful funeral song. And then the spirit hit WHAM!

Please share your personal revelations if you want. I understand the very personal ones and that is ok...but feel free to share what you have experienced.

Have You Ever Thought of Losing Your Spouse?

I wrote this post back in December, but I just watched Extreme Home Makeover The Girard Family & cried my eyes out! The 1st born son & his dad were so close so it made me think of Chris & Ben...But yeah they lost their home to fire & then 2 days later the dad took his kids swimming at a local swimming hole & he had his little girl (I think she was 6) on his shoulders & he drowned...the youngest boy yelled for his big brother & his brother dove in & saved his sister & went to save his dad & never came up...and the mom said that she was sure God knew they had to go together...and what made me cry the most was the little girl that was on her dad's shoulders thought it was her fault that her dad died...you could see the sadness in her eyes! Made me bawl!!! So here is the original post below & I added pics from over the years of Chris with the kids...:

I just got done watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition & it really hit home :o(. I cried through the whole thing! It was the Nickless family. Watching how much the boys loved their dad & all the cool things that they did together made me think about my kids & how they love Chris so much! Anytime we go out they have to have daddy get them. They want daddy to hold their hand. They "want daddy to do it...?" Makes me feel unloved sometimes, but on the nights where Chris isn't home & he is at work the kids are great for me. When he is home they walk all over him. "Daddy I need to go potty" (every 2 min), "Daddy I want a drink of water..." (every min), "Daddy I want the door open..." They don't pull that with me, but they do with Daddy! They love him so much & he is so good with them. Patient & kind. He really adores the kids! On occasion as he goes off to work nights & deliver pizza to people I worry. I mean what if he gets into an accident or someone pulls a gun to steal the pizza? I don't like to think like that, but sometimes I do and I don't even know what I would tell my children if it did happen. :o( It makes me cry to imagine their loss! My loss. So after watching Extreme Home I thought I would write this & put the question out there. What would you do? I also wanted to post this & put the pictures I have gotten of Chris with the kids. You can see the love! I LOVE YOU CHRIS!

EVERY YEAR IT'S A TRADITION THAT DADDY HOLDS BEN UP TO PUT THE STAR ON THE CHRISTMAS TREE...

PUMPKIN PATCH TRADITION







THIS WAS & STILL IS MY FAVORITE PICTURE OF BEN WITH CHRIS HAHA!

CHRIS WITH BEN

CHRIS WITH AMELIA




AWWWW DADDY LOVES!

"Why Do They Dig?"

Benjamin & I were looking up pictures today on Google. We looked up Lightning, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Dinosaurs, and Archeology. I was telling Benjamin that Archeologist dig up dinosaur bones & places. And Benjamin got this confused look and said, "Why do they dig??" It made me laugh!!

He just said, "Kissy kissy kissy!" then gave me a kiss LOL! Then he says, "Do you like that? Kissy Kissy Kissy (in a deep voice)" LOL He's so cute! Amelia is sleeping in today!

Oh & today Ben was sitting on my lap & I kept making toot noises with my mouth & jumped him on my leg...then I said, "Hey tootie kid!" And all of a sudden he gets a smile on his face and actually toots on my leg! haha! I said, "ewwww now my leg is gonna be stinky!!" Benjamin liked that haha!

WHAT SONG SHOULD I DO FOR THE KARAOKE CONTEST FRIDAY???

Last Friday I went to Mary McGraham's house with Tina (we brought our kids...) and Mary gave me some great tips on what I could do for the karaoke contest. I gave her my cd I made of karaoke songs (it was expensive, but worth it! I LOVE karaoke & now I can take it every time and not have to look through the books for my favorites...) anyway I was leaning towards doing Nancy Sinatra's These Boots Are Made For Walkin' song and so Mary gave me some pointers of what I can do on stage. She is so cool! When it was Tina's turn she had to record something so I took the kids to her car & we took turns telling each other stories. The most popular of stories was about bears & also firefighters saving kittens. The kids REALLY liked the story I told of 2 friends both with the same name, Benjamin. And how they always got to play and even go camping. (that's where the bears came in LOL). It was a good time.

Saturday I did a little research on Nancy Sinatra's song and found some videos on Youtube...you can visit them here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRkovnss7sg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5qx3fuTUHM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B5_lneZSts&feature=related


Then I checked the Coldplay video of Fix You:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBEYyHGbwto

I LOVE this song!! The line about, "If you never try you'll never know just what your worth." is my favorite!! I am REALLY leaning towards singing this song! I have it as one of my songs on my CD. I want to explain to the audience why I would be singing this slow song as opposed to singing an upbeat sassy song...it isn't me. I want to sing something that I can "feel". Something that's "me". So there is a karaoke website that I have free membership for & here is me singing that song: .
Tell me what you think. I am thinking about saying why this song means a lot to me and thanking my friends & hubby for coming and supporting me during the instrumental part. I did a new recording of the song & another member of the site said that it isn't a good contest song. I appreciated his honesty. Let me know honestly what song you think I would do good with ;o).

Caryn suggested I sing Killing Me Softly by the Fugees because I was very comfortable with that song & it shows range.

I am so not sure what I am going to do yet!! HELP! The competition is Friday. I am going to work on these 3 songs for sure ;o). Check out my other songs: http://online.thekaraokechannel.com/#tag=246phw6omqx&page=profile

Karaoke Star ;o)

My sister came to stay with me for 2 nights! YAY! I missed her so much & it really made me feel special to have her come see me! The 1st night we didn't have much time to hang out...we tried to watch 7 Lbs, but we fell asleep (mainly because it took Chris until 11:45 to get the blu-ray disc to work). The next day she came with Cambrie & Laniah to my work. I showed them the 3 desks that I have sat at...haha! Then they went to the mall. I met up with them after work and we went to Albertson's for needed supplies for dinner. Then Chris called Moriah, because my phone doesn't ring...and asked her if I was going to be home soon because he had to be at work! I TOTALLY FORGOT! ugh! So Cambrie went with me home and Chris went to work. Then I went back to the store and finished shopping with Moriah. I finally got my Easter candy for the kids! This holiday has snuck up on me! By the time we got home it was too late to make what I was going to make and so I whipped up some Texano Burritos (like Beto's makes...but mine were drier ;o)). Baked potato chunks, cooked chicken, sour cream, butter, and some seasoning. Wrapped it up in a flour tortilla and it turned out really good. Then Moriah & I tried to get the kids into bed by 9 & we did! We were going to go to 20th Century Bowling and sing karaoke! My friend found the website and it said there was a karaoke contest going on!! The 1st place winner gets $5000, recording in studio, and gets to be an opening act for a big show in Vegas! 2nd place gets $2000 and 3rd place gets $1000. Anyone of those places I would be happy with haha! So I invited some friends for a ladies night...my sister, Caryn Neff, and Tina were the ones that went with me.

Tina & I got into the contest and Tina went early for me to get our names in by 9. I barely got there before 9:30 and the guy at the bar told me that if I was 2 minutes later I wouldn't have been able to participate. Ok so get this....there were a total of maybe 20 people when we showed up. This place was TINY! AND Tina & I were the only contestants haha. There was a guy there that had already qualified to be in it and he was really good, but yeah it was head to head with me & Tina haha. And the winner is.......Both of us are now qualified for the big competition ;o). So I have to return on the 24th of April to sing again! I am super excited!! I sang The Beatles Yesterday as a warm up song and then I sang Sarah McGlaughlin as my actual song. I had so much fun! AND I got my sister to get up & sing!!! 3 TIMES! She said she has never done that before ever. She was such a natural and I was actually glad we weren't in the competition together cause she knows how to work the crowd! haha I have NO clue how to do that. Ok so as we were doing open karaoke the rest of the night we were cheesin' it up cause it was pretty much just us girls and the people sitting at the bar.

Maybe 10 people all together? So we got pretty comfortable to sing to each other haha! The one I really broke out on was the I will Remember You by Sarah McGlaughlin. I would hold out my hands to them and sing, "I will remember you..." haha it was so fun! I needed that because I usually just stand there & sing. I need to learn and sing out to people. Walk around. Here is a list of the songs I sang:

Yesterday-Beatles
Angel-Sarah McGlaughlin
I Will Remember You-Sarah McGlaughlin
Finally-C C Peniston
Save the Best For Last - the karaoke guy said he liked this one and that it would be a good one for the competition...-Vanessa Williams
Killing Me Softly - not the Fugee version because that one broke and so I tried to make the other version the Fugee one haha
Like a Surgeon haha!-Weird Al
I think there were more, but those were the main ones I had fun with!

My sister sang Love Can Build A Bridge and I went up at the chorus cause I thought it was a 2 part & it had prerecorded back up...so I sat back down. Then this girl from the bar (the girlfriend of the other finalist) got up & put her arm around my sister & sang with her! I was really impressed with my sister! She is such a likable person! People like her! We made friends with the other finalist guy and her. When Karaoke was done we talked to them and he had said, "Those Mormons Inbreed" And it was my sister, Caryn, and me there. And we all said, "Uh no we don't!" haha. Then it was a missionary experience waiting to happen! Caryn actually had her scriptures in the car! YAY CARYN! And my sister was the one that was the missionary & I was just a witness. haha I just sat there & nodded my head the whole time. I have no idea why I just sat out. When he addressed me I told him what things meant to me, but it wasn't often. He asked if we were all married & we said yes. Then he asked if they were all members and 2 out 3 were not. Not really. And he also said Mormons can't go to bars...and we were like, "Here we are...and we had a ton of fun without drinking." It's the only place to karaoke and I LOVE to sing and it's the only place that I have been able to. His girlfriend's family are members and she is struggling if she wants to stay with him because he is Southern Baptist and so against Mormons. He feels Mormon's are so tight with each other and that is why he gets paid less at his company. I am just glad that we were there to be able to let him know that Mormon's can be cool and nice. We aren't inbreeders and we can have fun without strong drink. He brought up how Jesus made water into wine & why can't we drink it. And Moriah read from D&C how it says stay away from strong drink. It didn't get heated and my sister is such a people person that she was pretty much in his face, but in a loving way...she was not afraid and she taught with such spirit & love! I was so glad that I was there to witness her testimony and spirit! My family is seriously the coolest! His girlfriend had left to the bathroom and when she came back she told him to stop and we said our goodbyes and left. Moriah gave the girl her email. I will get to see them again on the 24th! I am actually glad that I know them now because it will be nice to know someone in the competition. Tina's pageant is on the 25th & so she isn't going to be able to go to the 24th competition. Caryn didn't want to go home yet and so she came over to hang out for a bit. Again my sister was a helper to Caryn I think. I won't go into detail of that convo because I know Caryn reads my blog, "hi Caryn!" ;o) And I don't want to divulge the secrets that have been given to me this weekend by all ;o). But my sister was a helper I think. Again I just was a witness and didn't talk. I think the spirit just told me to shut up that whole night because I couldn't open my mouth. It was like something said to just sit back & let your sister do her thing... I really hope my sister & I can go on the road trip to MT in May! I wish the best for my sister & I know that she is doing good things right now & she will be rewarded for it! I shared a scripture with my sister and Caryn last night and I also shared it with Cambrie today...Jacob 3:1! LOVE it! If you are reading this look it up...RIGHT NOW! haha Pretty much says as long as you are good in heart God will plead your cause and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction. That scripture has helped me through SO much in my life! Today I woke up about 9:30 and made cinnamon rolls (out of the can kind) and fed everyone. Then I thought I would run to Cash & Carry and get my sister Peach Italian Soda syrup and then the thought came to me to invite her to go....she said she would like to go so she packed everyone up (cause she had to leave today :o( SAD) and I took my kids too. She followed me to the store. We got there and she bought like 5 flavors and I got 2. Then we said our goodbyes. I will miss them! Her girls are so beautiful! Such pretty girls! Laniah was just so fun to see crawl around and it was cute to see Amelia playing with her. I got pictures, but again my USB is really lame! :o( I didn't want to take the kids home yet so we had Moriah follow us to the freeway & even the Eagle Ext that she needed...and I went to turn around and Ben said he had to go potty. So we stopped at RC Wiley and a sign said it was their Anniversary (77th!). So we went in to go potty and then after we walked around a bit and I saw a radio station was there. So I asked the workers what they were up to and the pointed to an Easter Bunny & they were taking FREE pictures with the Easter bunny! YAY Amelia hated the idea so I had to sit in on the picture LOL. I was not prepared for that & wished I did my hair & make up LOL. But the picture turned out really cute I think.

They also had free hot dogs there and soda so we had lunch there. YAY for RC Wiley's today! haha. Then we drove to the library and I paid for a book we CANNOT find! The Berenstein Bears & the Trouble With Chores...so I told them I wanted to buy it and I paid my late fee for it. We got a Bob the Builder movie and left. My sister left her Cheesecake Factory cheesecake here & so she had to do a drive by LOL. I went to lay on my couch before she got here & I noticed some headphones and an MP3 player! CAMBRIE'S! ahhh I was so glad I was led to it because she would have been so lost without it I'm sure. The rest of the day we rested and Amelia kept taking her diaper off in her bed & she peed in it once! I don't know what to do with her!! I really want to put her in a toddler bed, but Chris doesn't. Kind of a struggle for us right now! Well I better go so I can post this...I will have to edit it & that ALWAYS takes me forever haha!