Christmas Parties!

Last weekend we went to Brownsville to the Christmas party they had for the sisters. It was a very enjoyable weekend. We had previously drew names and exchanged gifts at the party. I had Sis. Trish's name, and Sis. Kim Mc Manus had my name. She bought me a lot of nice stuff. I got a sign that I just love it says family and hold pictures in between each letter with clothes pins. It is really cute! I also got some new dish towels, a silicone type hot pad, candle, some warm fuzzy socks and some other stuff.

On Friday evening we attended another party for the brethren here at Bro. Dennis and Sis. Trina's house. All the kids brought a small gift to exchange, and the adults brought a gift also, and we all played a game of dirty Santa. It was an evening full of laughs, as we stold gifts from one another. I was glad we were all able to get together for an enjoyable evening. Thanks Trina for hosting another great party.
Here are some pictures of the parties.


Here are the pictures from the party at Bro. Dennis & Sis. Trina's House

New Camera

My new camera arrived a couple days ago, so I have been having fun taking pictures of the kids. Here are a few I thought I would share with you all.

Our Birthday

Today is our birthday, Adrianna's and mine. Adrianna is turning 6 and I am turning....well thats not important. Since we share a birthay it is hard to be selfish, and make the whole day about me, so I think I tend to play down the day, and we never have a big festive party. This year is no different.

Yesterday Sean and I took a few hours in the evening and spent some time together for my birthday. We went out to dinner, and did a little bit of window shopping at the mall and Costco. Now Sean is not a shopping kind of guy, he really dosen't like it at all, so for him to spend a few hours browsing at the mall was a real treat....and I got to show him all the stuff I would love to have for Christmas.

This evening we went into Portland to the speedway to see the Christmas light display they have, to help celebrate Adriannas birthday. The kids really enjoyed it. Hayden ooed and awed and pointed as we drove past...it was really cute. Then we came home and Adrianna opened her presents, and we had cupcakes and ice cream.

All in all it was a pretty good day, a day I felt loved and remembered by many friends and family members.

Here is Adrianna in her new birthday dress

Present time!!!



This is a picture of my new purse I got. My friend Michelle hand made this for me, and sent it from Colorado. I think it's really pretty...she is so talented. I also had a nice surprise wating on my door step when I got home this evening. Trina had came by and left me a starbucks gift card, and some chocolates *Yumm* Thanks Trina! I also have started watching QVC & HSN after seeing all of the nice stuff Cherie got, and I found a new digital camera I just couldn't live without, he he he. So I should be getting that in a few days. I am very excited! Now I will have beautiful pictures to put on my blog. I can't wait.

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving seemed kind of sad and lonely to me. When we moved to Colorado one of the things I was looking forward to was finally getting to spend the holidays with family. We had it all planned out, everyone would come over to my house, and all the kids would play and the adults would visit and play games just like in the old days(when we lived there 10 years ago) So this years thanksgiving just seemed so boring, and I really didn't have the desire to go all out and fix an over the top meal. I kept it very basic, and we really just sat around and did nothing, as I shed a few tears of sadness. LOL
Well with Thanksgiving behind me, I awoke early this morning, but not to early (I need my beauty sleep. he he he) to hit the stores for all the good sales. The first store I went to, the parking lot was so terribly crowded I didn't even attempt to enter the store. The second store was so crowded and the lines were so long I figured it was not worth wading through all those people and waiting in line for hours just to purchase a couple items, so I headed to the mall. The mall on the other hand was not to bad in comparison to the first two stores. As the day went on the crowds seemed to lessen. By the end of the day I had made some great purchases and now I have almost all of my Christmas shopping done. *Yeah* Only 32 day until Christmas! Christmas is bound to be more fun than Thanksgiving was right?....How could it not be with presents involved? :)

BABY PICTURES!

My sister sent me some pictures today...yeah! And I must say, that baby looks super sweet!

My New Niece!

This morning my sister gave birth to a healthy baby girl. She named her Katelin Lynette (after me & my mom) she weighed 6lbs. 4oz. and is 19in. long. We are all excited about the new addition, and are thankful for Gods mercy and a quick and safe delivery. I wish I could run over there and hold her. She will probably be full grown by the time I get to see her :( That's the problem with living so far away. I will try and post some pictures in a few days, when she sends me some.

How am I seen?

I enjoy people watching. I find it fascinating just to sit back and watch people pass by, observe how they are dressed, how they deal with there children, and listen to the conversations you overhear as they are talking on there cell phones. I sometimes begin to form opinions about what there life may be like and what kind of person they are. I think at times I may even judge them based on what I see. This leads me to think that maybe other people do the same thing with me and the way I portray myself. I often wonder what do people see when they look at me? How do they view me?

I would like to think that every ones opinion and first impression of me would be a good one, however I am not so sure that is always the case. I remember one time Sean and I were driving home from the coast and Sean was falling asleep and we stopped at this Restaurant/Bar. The restaurant part wasn't open so I went into the bar to see if I could get Sean a drink. (Pepsi) Anyway I walk into the bar and ask if the restaurant part is open, and the lady says to me "Why do you have a bunch of little kids that are hungry, and need to get something to eat?" Now mind you, I did have a few little kids at the time, however they were not hungry, and they did not go into the bar with me. I then wondered what about me would make her think I was a mom with a bunch of kids? Did I look like a lady who had a bunch of kids? Kids that were hungry nonetheless? Maybe I took here comment a little too offensive. I guess it could have been worse, she could have thought I was there for a beer...right?

Sometimes it would be nice to get into the mind of another human being and see how they view you. I of course would like to pick a human being who had a high opinion of me. He He He. But maybe even seeing myself through a person who did not would help me to see my flaws. I would like to know what flaws they see and how to improve on those things. I have been pondering on outward appearance as well as inward. How does the world see me? Do I appear to be Godly? Do I look like a person who has good morals, who knows how to instruct her children? How do the brethren see me? Do they view me as the Sister who wants to live the faith, and does a good job at it? But most importantly how does God see me? I want to be pleasing to the Lord, and to be aware of my appearance before him. I want him to see me as pleasing and good to look upon. I want his impression of me to be a good and lasting one. As much as I hope my appearance to the world and the brethren is a good one, I find that my appearance to the Lord is the one that matters the most.

A little Halloween Party

Today after the girls got home from school they got dressed up in their Halloween costumes and we headed over to Trina's house for a little Halloween party. When we got there all the kids were very excited to be there and all the festive decorations made it even more fun for them. We had a little snack of apples and caramel dip, and then the kids voted for the best costume.

Garrison won 1ST Place Levi 2ND and Adrianna 3RD

After the costume judging each of the kids worked on a little craft project that Trina had picked out for them to do. It was fun to see all the creativity. Now you might think craft projects with that many kids might be a little crazy, but it wasn't at all. It was just really laid back and fun. Than we judged the jack-o-lanterns, and Tisha handed out some little gift bags she had made for each of the kids, filled with stickers, tattoos, glow bracelets, and other fun stuff. Then each of the kids grabbed a cupcake and we headed home.

It was a fun little party and the kids had a great time. I'm glad we got to see everyone elses costumes and spend a little time together just visiting and getting the kids together. Thanks Trina for hosting the party it was a great success!


Hayden "My Puppy"

Pumpkin Carving

My kids have been bugging me and bugging me ever since we got home last weekend from the pumpkin patch to carve their pumpkins. Well I put them off as long as I thought possible, and we finally got it done yesterday. Kayla and Adrianna woke up early yesterday morning (as if it were Christmas) knocking on our door asking if they could wake up the other girls so they could carve pumpkins. Finally when everyone was up and we had ate breakfast we dug into the pumpkins.

Now we have carved pumpkins before so it should have been no surprise that it would be an ooey gooey mess, but nonetheless some of them acted like it was the grosses thing ever! Shelbi in particular was the worst. She really could not stand to reach in there and grab out that gook. And the other girls who were not grossed out by it (Alyssa and Maria) did not help the situation either as they tried to gross her out even more by calling it intestines. Kayla and Adrianna thought it was gross, but I think they were playing it up for the camera. In fact Kayla's exact words were "It's gross, but fun!"

Well after two hours of cleaning out and carving pumpkins we had a huge mess! We used some stencils that came with a pumpkin carving kit, and lets just say time consuming! And not only was it time consuming, but Maria's pumpkin broke :( I was really disappointed! Anyway Shelbi's pumpkin turned out ok, ans Alyssa still has yet to complete hers....I'm glad we only have to do this once a year!

A Fun Fall Day!

Today was a pretty fun filled day. Sean had to work today, so he didn't get to join in on the fun, but we still had a pretty good day. We all have been sick the last few days, and today everyone was feeling well again, so we headed out and did a little shopping, went out to lunch, and then went to the pumpkin patch. The weather was just beautiful today, which made our day even nicer.

The pumpkin patch we went to was actually at an apple orchard. They had hayrides with a little tour of the orchard and information about the property and how they pick and pack the apples. It was kind of interesting. They also had a big bump and jump type thing that was shaped like an apple for the kids to jump in, and a guy who was doing face painting. This guy was the most talented face painter I have ever seen! He did a sort of airbrushing on the face, kind of as a foundation, and then pained designs on top of that. The girls waned to get theirs gone so I agreed, and we got in line. Well after waiting for an hour, I decided I was being a patient mom, and as the baby (who had not had a nap all day) became grouchier and grouchier, and another hour passed I became less and less patient. So after waiting there for TWO HOURS we decided that face painting probably wasn't all that important. So we walked around for at least another 35 to 45 min. picking out our pumpkins, buying fresh apples, corn on the cob, and apple cider. When we left I looked at the face painting line again to see how much it had moved, and at least 10 people would have still been ahead of us, so I was glad we had given up and were headed home! So other than the 2 hour wait in line, it was a really fun day.

Books! Woo hoo!

All of our books have finally arived! Actually we have had them all now for almost a week, but I just had not gotten around to posting it. We recieved reading books, math, science, social studies,languge arts, and art. They sent answer keys and planner boork for each subject. They also sent art supplies like paint,paint brushes, clay and colored pencils. I was pretty impressed with all the supplies they sent.
So far we are doing pretty well at getting each days assignments done. Every day we get online, check out what the assignments are for the day. On most subjects there is a teachlet online that expains what the skill is for that day and how to do it. Then they are given an assignment to do out of their book. After they finsh their assignment they take a small quiz online to show if they understand the assignment for that day. It is pretty easy to folow and so far I am pretty happy with it. Some days take longer than I like, but I think after a few weeks we can have it down, and our days pretty well scheduled.
Today the younger girls did not have school. Actually they do not have school for the rest of this week, for parent teacher confrences, but I did not let Alyssa and Shelbi take those days off. We are still going to get up by 7 every morning and start school by 8. They had so much time off waiting for the books to get here, I just can't see taking anymore time off right now. However confrences went well today for the other girls. I am pleased to report that they are all doing well. On track, good students, all at or above grade level. Thats always good news to hear. And so my adventures continue with house work, home school, and pubic school, and the busy life of a mom with six kids.

Weekend in Elma

This weekend we got to take a little trip up to Elma. Sean had some work to do up there for a previous customer, and the girls have been begging to go since we have been back out to Oregon, so we packed up our stuff and hit the road on Friday night.
As we got closer and closer the girls became more and more anxious as they counted down the minutes and the miles to our arrival. At last we approached the sign that said "Elma 20 Miles" The girls began to break out in song! I could see that they were rejoicing to be back around there close friends again. They would sing a song or two and then reminisce about times we had spent there with different ones, and then sing some more. It touched my heart to see the love they had for the brethren, and their children, and how this place held precious memories for them, as well as for me.

When we arrived in Elma we took the three older girls over to Sis. Linda's house where a bunch of other girls were having a slumber party. I'm sure they had a grand ol' time dressing up and being silly with all there friends.

On Saturday Sean had to work, so I went down to Sis. Gale's and visited for the day. It was so nice to just have the whole day to sit back, sip tea (or coffee) :) and let the kids play. It was a laid back kind of day filled with good conversation, and good food. I have really missed spending time with their family, so a day like Saturday was the prefect remedy, especially when all the kids remembered me. Even the baby Heidi who couldn't even talk when we left now says my name, and would even let me hold her and rock her to sleep....now how special is that???

On Sunday we all went to church. Meeting was really good, and I enjoyed the singing and what went forth. After church was church dinner which was also filled with good conversation and good food. Then it was time to say our goodbyes, and we found it very difficult to round up all the children, as they did not want to leave. Now that we live so much closer I'm sure we will be visiting there quite often, something I am looking forward too. To be in a place where you have friends and know you are loved is such a comfort. I'm thankful for our weekend trip to Elma.

Well It's better than nothing

Since we have moved here I have been waiting to find the perfect pictures, bed spread and decor for my bedroom, so I hadn't decorated it. I have shopped around some, hoping that something would just jump out at me.... Not only something that was beautiful and I loved, but that was also on clearance, or at least a really good sale. He he he. Well so far I have had no such luck! So I figured I might as well just use what I have...it is better than looking at bare walls right?

Well yesterday I was online and I found this used TV cabinet for sale. I went to look at it today, and I just love it! It is what I have been looking for for a long time now. This is a really nice piece of furniture, and was an EXCELLENT price. I am so happy with it!


So I brought it home and rearranged my furniture to make it fit. I put some pictures I already had on the walls. It isn't really how I want my room to be decorated, but it will do for now. And it's better than nothing.

We need books!

This week we have been trying to acompish our assighnments daily and keep up on our schedule. However we have not recieved our books yet, so everything has to be done online. This has been somewhat of a problem, because we only have one computer, and two students. The girls have been taking turns, which make my teacing days quite long. There are also three different subjects that Shelbi has, that can not be accessed online. For the most part I think we are doing well with what we have. I am looking forward to recieving the books. It will make things so much easier. I hope the books get here soon!

School Starts!

Well it looks like we finally have things lined up, and we will be starting school tomorrow. I have been waiting for the school to get all the paperwork processed. It has taken forever, but I talked to them today, and they will be sending out our books now! I will be excited to get them, but for now I will be able to print assignments off the computer. So my plan is to wake up early, get the younger girls off to school and then start in with the older girls. I hope I can find my way in this world of homeschooling. Wish me luck!

Weekend at the beach

With Sean working down by Coos Bay, we decided to take the opportunity to get away for the weekend and spend some time as a family. We left here Friday after the girls got home from school, and traveled through busy rush hour traffic. So after the long 4 hour drive it was nice to just sit back and relax.

I had talked to my Grandpa a week or two ago, and found out he had been here in Beaverton a few weeks ago, but did not know we had moved here. We were disappointed that we had missed each other. As we talked he mentioned that they were still on Oregon, and were going to be in Coos Bay this weekend. So we agreed that we would meet him down there, and spend a day or so with him. It has been close to 4 years since we last saw them, so it was nice to spend a little time together.

Saturday we met Grandpa and Grandma for breakfast. And then went back to their motor home to visit for a while. Then we decided to head on down to the beach! We really aren't familiar with the Coos Bay area, so we had no idea where to go, and it felt like a long drive to the beach as we randomly followed signs. When we finally found a beach we could walk down to, my first thought was, boy was this beach worth the wait. It was a little cove, like lagoon type area. It was just beautiful...like something you would see in the movies. I took a picture, but the picture really doesn't do it justice.


Here is a picture of Shelbi Hayden and Me, with the cove behind us

While we were at the beach the girls thought they needed to go swimming. It really was a nice clear day, but the wind was blowing which made it really cold! Nonetheless they still insisted on going swimming.


Alyssa wading into the water it is as cold as it looks!

After a couple hours at the beach we headed back to the hotel room to try and warm up. I didn't even go swimming, and I was freezing, so I can imagine how cold the girls must have felt. But they are the ones who wanted to go swimming, so I had no pity for them....just me.

We had planned on maybe going to Eugene or Brownsville for church, but as we drove over there on Friday, I realized it was a lot farther than I thought it was. So we ended up missing church today, but I still had a great time at the beach with my grandpa, and my family. Sean will be working over there again this week, so we ate lunch together and then did a little grocery shopping for him. Then we said our goodbyes and headed home. And that about sums up my little weekend! Here are a few more pictures for your viewing pleasure! HE HE HE.


All of us at the restaraunt


Adrianna Hayden & Me at the restaraunt


Hayden Driving the motor home


Kayla flying the kite

I Am Blessed!

As I woke up very early this morning to see my honey of to work, I just couldn't go back to sleep, and I began to think about how truly blessed I am. I was thinking about all the recent sorrow with the deaths of so many, and I began to think of how each one must feel at this time, and how I would feel if I were in the same situation.

Just last week Sean was working over on the coast at his new job. He was working on some wiring down on the ground, when he heard a loud noise above him. He looked up and stepped back only to see this large piece of machinery falling towards him. He was able to get out of the way, but it landed exactly where he had been standing. I know that is was just through God's great protection that he is still alive today.

I am so thankful for my husband, and the life we have together. It is just so nice to have someone to help you get through things and to be there for you day in and day out. At times I wonder how can they do it? How can others face the death of their companion? The person who has been there for them all these years, and who has helped them through all the hard times. How can they get through it when they are no longer there to help them through what would seem to be the hardest time of all. I guess it is just through the mercy of God, and through prayer.

I feel blessed to have the companion I have. For God's great mercy, and kindness to me. That his life was spared, not only last week but in many times past. I know things could be a lot different. I just don't want to take things for granted. God has been so good to me. I have six beautiful children, and a loving husband who has the same desire to serve the Lord. I truly am blessed!

Weekend Post

This weekend was not to bad, it seemed to go by very quickly for me. Saturday I spent most of the day lounging around the house waiting for Sean to get home from his long week of work at the coast. Last week he started working down by Coos Bay. He came home on Saturday evening, so we were all anxious to see him. Sunday morning we got up and started working on replacing the fuel pump on our van. We had that finished by noon, then we made a quick trip to storage, and then came home and got ready for church.

Church this Sunday was over in Estacada. We all met over at Bro. Dennis and Sis. Trina's house and carrivaned over there. Traffic was kind of slow at times, and it took about an hour and a half to get there. We had church there, as opposed to our normal meeting place, because there is an elderly sister who lives in that area who can't make it to church very often. However, she was sick yesterday, so she couldn't make it to the meeting. But we had a very good turn out, and a pretty good meeting. I think the most people we have had so far. Bro. Brian and Sis. Michelle Gray and their family, Bro Dale & Sis. Chantel & Andy,from Readmond. Bro. Rick & Sis. Lynn, Bro. John & Sis. Lori and their boys, Sis. Ester & Sis. Linda Hays from Olympia. Bro. Joel & Sis. Mary and their kids and Sis. Gwen from Missouri were the visiting brothern we had. I think there were about 50 people there! Meeting was pretty good, and after meeting we had a potluck dinner and everyone was able to visit with one another. All in all it was a good day.

The First Day of School!

Okay so I know I'm a little behind on my posts, but I figured oh well better late than never right? Last Tuesday was the First day of school for the girls and Adrianna's first day of Kindergarden. We took the girls on the first day to help them find there classrooms, and meet there new teachers at there new school. Things were going pretty good until we actually got to school, and then the girls begain to get a little nervous. As we walked down the hallway Kayla begain to express her doubts of being ready for 3rd grade. I reassured her and she seemed to be fine, however Maria (my quite one) on the other had begain to cry and said she felt sick and just didn't feel good about the whole situation. She is usually really tough and doesn't cry a whole lot so it kind of suprised me. When I picked her up at the end of the day, she said "It wasen't too bad, it got better and better as the day went on." but the next day when she was getting ready for school the tears started to flow again. Now that we have conqured a few days of school things are going more smoothly, and there are no tears involved. Adrianna seems to love school, and goes everyday with no reservations.

Homeschooling on the other hand really hasn't got into full swing yet. With our recent move, I still haven't recieved any books, so I have been calling every day only to have them tell me wait a few more days, or call back tommorow. I am staring to get worried about being to far behind, I guess we will have to work extra hard on school once the books come. In the meantime Sean decided the girls should do one report a week on a story or person in the Bible. Alyssa's report is going to be on Ester and Shelbi's is on Mordecai, from the book of Ester. It will be fun to see what they comprehend.

Oregon!

Things here have been so busy lately with moving that it seems like so much time has gone by since my last post. Well I finally made it and I have been busy trying to get things settled in our new house. I have the essentials unpacked, but I still have to get all my wall decorations out and add some life to these white walls, but all in good time he he.

This week I am trying to focus on getting things lined up for school, and preparing for the BIG OREGON CAMPOUT! I am looking forward to seeing all the brethren and the fun that goes along with camp.

It is so good to be out here again! The weather here has just been perfect since I have been back, and I have been enjoying some quite times with my husband and the girls. It has been a really nice week. Today we got out and did a little school supply shopping. It is amazing how excited a child can get over purchasing pencils and glue. It cracks me up!

It's almost here!

Well things have been going pretty smooth with our upcoming move. Sean left here about three weeks ago to head out to Oregon and start his new job, and get things lined up as far as a house goes and such. It in some ways has been a long three week, but in other ways has gone by pretty quickly.

We have found a house! It is a little small for our family, however I think it will be bearable, and it is something I can move right into as soon as I get there, so I am happy about that.

This week I have been busy packing all our things, and setting all the packed boxes in the garage, so they can be loaded into a trailer in just a few days! My sister and here husband are supposed to be here on Saturday with a trailer....and I may get to leave a few days earlier than I had planned if everything goes smoothly. I will be so happy to get to Oregon, get settled in my new house, and most of all see my husband again. I have my work cut out for me in the next few days, with packing and cleaning. I am looking forward to it all being behind me, and being on my way to our new home.

Stronger Than I Thought I Was

I was thinking about my physical health, and how I feel so much better, when I eat healthy and excersie regurally. I remember my first outing after I had shed a few pounds. Sean and I went up to Lake Quinalut for a weekend and hiked some trails in the rain forest. I was amazed at how well I felt and how easy it was to keep up. Usually I would have to stop and rest several times, and beg Sean to "please slow down", but this time I could really see a differance. I has so much energy,and at times I was walking ahead of Sean.

I was thinking of my physical strength in comparison to my spiritual stength. A few weeks back I was standing at the bottom of a mountian, and I had what appeared to be a huge hill to climb. I really felt I was not "fit" enough to climb this large hill in front of me.

Well much like the hills I climbed at Lake Quinault...I am amazed at how well I am doing. This hill is not as hard as it appeared to be, and I am much stronger than I thought I was.

I know the Lord gives us the stength we need to endure what comes our way, but I believe he has given me an extra portion. Thank you all for your prayers....they have been of great help!

Tagged

I have been tagged numerous times, so I decided why not let everyone know a few little facts about me.
Rule 1: Post these rules before you give your facts.

Rule 2: Players stat with 8 random fact/habits about themselves.

Rule 3: People who are tagged must write there own blog posts about their 8 things and include these rules.

Rule 4: At the end of your blog you need to choose 8 people to get tagged and list their names.

About me:

#1 I graduated from high school when I was seventeen, and a week and a half later I got married. I know that seems young, but I knew God was in it and it was the right time, and I have been happily married ever since.

#2 When I was in high school I was on the flag team for all four years of high school. In my junior year I became co-captain. I thought I was so awesome! LOL

#3 I was in a beauty pageant once....looking back on it now it seems really weird, and almost embarrassing, because it really is not like me at all. It is funny how things change over time.

#4 I lived in the same house from the time I was in second grade until I got married, and went to the same school K-12. I used to dream about living a variety of places. I hated being stuck in the same place for forever. I told my mom I was going to marry someone who liked to move around....boy did I pick the right person! We are getting ready to move again and this will be our 15Th move within our 14 years of marriage.

#5 I love to find a great deal. I like to shop at yard sales, second hand stores, and clearance racks and get things for a fraction of the cost. It makes me happy!

#6 When I was a teenager I was crowned "Queen Nerd" at a nerds party. I had a slip that was a little to large for me and as I was walking across the parking lot into the party it fell down around my ankles. I think it was that nerdy entrance that won me the title of "Queen Nerd"

#7 I really don't like to read, never have, probably never will...I read the classified, and sometimes the Bible. But that's about it for me.

#8 I don't like it when people say my hair is black, it is not black it is dark brown! and people often think I know how to speak Spanish, but i don't. "No habla espenol"

So there you go. Now you know a few more crazy facts about me. I'm going to be a rule breaker and not tag anyone else. I believe everyone I know has already been tagged, and if you haven't then consider yourself tagged now. You should do it, it's a lot of fun!

Here We Go Again

Well it seems so much has happened since my last post that I don't even know where to begin. Alyssa has made it home, and it is good to have her home once again. All last week my mom was here visiting, so we spent a lot of time getting out and about and keeping busy. We spent some time shopping, and visiting, but I think the most fun we had was when we took a little trip up to Rifle Falls. We packed a picnic lunch, and just spent most of the day hiking around on the trails and in the caves, and then after lunch the girls went swimming. It was really nice to just get out of the house and spend the day together.

Sean left this last weekend to go to Oregon and start his new job out there. I wont be going out there for a few more weeks, because we still have one more month to pay on our lease here....but I am counting down to the day I get to head back to Oregon. I am really looking forward to getting out there and getting settled in our new house. Although I dread the actual "moving process" This will be our 16Th move within our 15 years of marriage....I know what your thinking "That's CRAZY!!".....and your right, it is, but nonetheless here we go again.

Well in reference to my last post, I think I am handling things fairly well. I sometimes have to go back and read that post to remind myself that I can do it, and I just need to take things one day at a time, because when I look at it all in front of me it is still too overwhelming. But I feel I have got it a little more under control, and the things that I have no control over I will just have to let God take care of. On Sunday I went to church, and this time it really did hit home for me! I was put in my place and reminded of my labor for the Lord, and when I am willing to do this labor, with the right heart, I am going to be rewarded. I left feeling very encouraged. I was sitting there thinking about the last time I received a prophecy, and how it has been so long, and I began to think why hasn't God spoken to me in so long....and the I realized he has spoken to me a lot! Maybe not in a prophecy, but through the ministry, testimonies, words spoken by a friend, and just the cool breeze on a hot summers day. He is ever mindful of all my concerns. Just continue to pray for me, because I know I still will need them daily.

Life here has been very busy. Tonight I hosted another family get together. Sean's Grandma was in town, so we had a family dinner at my house, and all of Sean's brothers & sisters and there families came over and visited. It was nice to see Grandma again, it has been quite a few years, so I enjoyed it. But it doesn't look like life will be slowing down much in the next few weeks...I am now in "moving mode" this weekend I will be having a yard sale to once again sell our household items, and get ready for another big move. I am also focusing on finding a house in Oregon, and counting down the days until it happens.....only 23 left to go.....

One Day At A Time

Sometimes trials come our way that just don't seem to be fair. We fight in our mind, saying why is this happening to me, and we begian to dwell in our own pity. This was my frame of mind a few days back. Something had come my way that did not seem fair, and I just did not want to deal with it any longer. I felt like this burden was mine to bear, however I could not bring myself to have the right frame of mind about it. As I sat in church on Sunday and listened to the word go forth, none of it seemed to hit home for me. I came home, and still began to wallow in self pitty. I really didn't want to feel the way I was feeling, but I didn't know how I could change it. My desire is to except the things that come my way. I want to have a good heart, and not compalin about the things that are required of me. I want to be an example to the ones I am around, but I at that moment I really felt I could not be that.

As I laid in my room and cried, I began to ask God for guidance. I needed words of wisdom and comfort. I picked up the phone and called a dear friend and sister that the Lord had put in my mind. She didn't answer the phone, and I began to feel a little more discouraged. But within a few minutes she called me back. I began to unload on her the burdens of my heart. The words she spoke really were just what I needed to hear. I knew what was right, and I knew what I needed to do, but hearing her say it with love and compassion really seemed to touch my heart. I am so thankful for the spirit and how he can comfort us through our brotheren. And through our trials we can build stronger friendships.

I know there will be more rough days ahead, but through prayer and being in subjection to God, I know I can do it.....one day at a time.

My BFF Michelle

On our way home from Arizona we stoped for the night at my long time friend Michelle's house and spent the night. There is something comforting about visiting old friends. It is nice to be able to go into her home and not feel out of place or awkward. To just sit and visit about our childhood, and cares and concerns in our lives today. To wach our children interact with one another and start to build frienships of their own.

I met Michelle when I was in the 5th grade. We instantly became friends and later our parents met. Her mom told my mom of Bro.Terry's accident when he fell, and God's great mery on him. My mom looked at her and said "Someday I'm going to have that kind of faith" Within a year my Dad and Mom were both baptized into our church. I believe God truly sent her to be my friend.

Though the years we have stayed the best of friends. Altough our relationship has chaged some since we have been married, and now have families of our own I still consider her my best friend.

It has been great living here in Colorado a little bit closer to each other, and getting to spend some time shopping, and just having some good visits. I will miss getting to see her as often as we have once we move away, but I have really enjoyed it while it lasted. I guess we will have to go back to the good old fasioned telephone....although it is just not the same :(


I took some pictures of us togeter...Me and my BFF Michelle

ARIZONA

Here are some postcards I picked up while in Arizona....The first one expains the way I felt the first day I got there.