Waiting for Spring!

It seems like winter has been dragging it's feet on leaving this valley that I live in. I have been so anxious and now that we have had a few days of spring, I am not so anxious anymore.

My allergies have flared and I now remember what sinus headaches feel like. Not fun. I wish that the kenelog shot for allergies lasted longer than 3 months. If they did, I would go get one tomorrow. My problem is that my allergies are the worst between June and September. Yet here we are in the beginning of April. I get to wait 2 months before I can go get a shot! Anyone know any good home remedies? My nose is raw after only 12 hours of wiping!

I am anxiously awaiting any and all home remedies that could alleviate this problem for 2 months!

Team mates, friends, sisters!

On hearing that my ward may no longer have a sports program after we are done with basketball, I decided that rather than throwing a fit I would do something constructive for myself and share what I have learned about the women that I have come to know over the past year since we were made a ward.

Even though this picture does not do these beautiful women justice, I wanted to share to share my feelings about these wonderful ladies. I consider them not only my team mates, but my friends and sisters as well.

Dani Cousin: She has a wonderful laugh and has a great ability to see the positive in anyone. She is always building you up.

Melissa Hoffman: Always striving to be her best no matter how tired she is. She never gives less than 110%.

Sarah Cooper: Wonderful cook, shares my passion for cooking, will do whatever it takes to get the job done.

Kim Laursen: Always positive with a capital P. Never quits trying her best.

Jamie Hokanson: Doesn't let life get her down. Stands up for herself.

Jaclyn Wiest: Loves life, the gospel and has a passion for literature.

Tami Hansen: A peacemaker. Looks for the silver lining in things.

Jen Bay: Passionate about all that she does. Doesn't shrink from opposition.

Nikki Kelley: World class teacher. Never makes you feel stupid when she teaches you something new. Very compassionate.

Amy Pratt: (not pictured) Builder of people, always cheers for everyone, even if they are on the other team.

JoAnne McArthur: (not pictured) Great ability to do the right thing, doesn't yield to peer pressure, can always make me laugh.

Abby Isaacson: (not pictured) indomitable spirit, concerned about those around her, awesome cake decorator!

There is so much more that I could say about each of these wonderful women, but it would never sufficiently express what they have come to mean to me. It never fails that when I am having a bad day at least 2 or 3 of them call me, or drop by with out me even asking for help. I look forward to the time that I can spend with them as they always lighten my load in one way or another. They inspire me to be a better person, mother and wife. They truly are amazing women and I feel so grateful to have been able to cross paths with each of them. I want them to know that no matter how this whole thing with the sports teams pans out, they will always be more than my team mates. I feel honored to call them friends and sisters!

Surprise doesn't say enough!

Yesterday as a family we deep cleaned our entire house because we were going to have a date night with our friends and play games at our house. When we finished at 3 with the cleaning we hurried off to do some errands in Orem. We were about 15 minutes from home when my friend Tami Hansen called me and asked if we would stop by her house before we went home because our daughters had an altercation and we needed to talk it out. She knew that we were in a hurry to get home so I figured that it must have been serious and we needed to go help the girls work things out. I had so many things run through my mind as to what the girls possibly had fought about. I knew that Raven's day had started off bad and she has been having problems with a girl at school, so I was thinking that it might have something to do with that or just be hormones for two preteen girls. I walked up to the door while Steve got the boys out of the car. The door opened with a bunch of red clothed people yelling surprise. I was indeed surprised. I had no clue whatsoever that there was a party waiting for me. Steve with the help of my friends had arranged a surprise birthday party for me. He had teased a while back about having a funeral for me when I turned 40. Being the smart mouth that I am, I told him that I wanted a red party. I wanted red food, red drinks, red decorations and I even wanted my friends to wear red. The closer that my birthday got, the more sure I was that it wasn't going to happen. Steve asked me just last week what I wanted to do to celebrate. I told him that I wanted a party like I had already told him and that he could talk to my friends about it. I really thought that he was going to do nothing and I was going to put him in the dog house. After all I was only going to turn 40 once. The party was even better than I had imagined.

These 2 lovely young ladies that I thought had been in a huge fight made the poster below.

This poster made by Raven and Mikah was by the front door when I walked in. Steve said that it was my funeral poster.

The lovely red decorations.

More red decorations and friends dressed in red. Gotta love it!

Notice that they took sympathy on me by only putting on one big candle.

The lovely candle that was on my birthday cake. I had a lot of fun, felt very loved and couldn't have been more surprised! Thanks to everyone for helping and coming. Thanks to all those who have extended birthday wishes. It has been great, but don't forget I really don't turn 40 until Tuesday!

Our van has.....

Our van that we have driven for 4 years decided to commit suicide on Sunday. Without any warning it decided to bleed out spontaneously through the transmission. In an effort to keep us from resurrecting it, the van managed to place the leak in a position that would require much work and money to fix. Our friend took a look at it and declared it dead. It has 208K miles on it and has served us well, but with having to replace the transmission, the radiator and the rear suspension to make it live for maybe just one more year we have decided that would be about 3 to 4 thousand dollars that would be better spent on a newer vehicle. It is an inconvenient time for us and sad to say good bye to the Grape Ape, but now we get to find something newer with less miles. We are just keeping our fingers crossed and knees bent that we get a good tax refund so that we can pay cash for it. I really don't want to have to take out a loan in today's economy. So wish us happy hunting and if you know of any really good deals, then let us know. I keep telling Steve that what I really want is a.....

After all, it would make a great 4oth birthday present, don't you think?

Reclaiming sanity!

This picture is titled "Crazy Lady". That is definitely how I have been feeling lately. You can see all the things going on in her hair. My schedule has been so hectic that my kids are telling me that they never see me. They are probably right when you take into consideration the things on my list. Let me give you a view of what this week has in store.
Monday - run kids to school, email coaches and parents about basketball tournament this next Saturday, email players parents to remind them of the schedule, pick Mason up from school, grocery shopping (had the luxury of leaving the boys at home since Steve was there sick), put groceries away, pick kids up from school, basketball practice ( I cancelled it because the players have 2 games and a tournament this week), more grocery shopping to finish the list with the girls whining the whole time that I wasn't letting them get anything, put the groceries away, let the kids open a box of cereal for dinner because I am too tired to make it, re-attach the wires to the light in the girls' bedroom so that they can see, fold a load of laundry, loudly beckon my children to put it away, fold another load, watch 24 while doing the laundry, get kids ready for bed, chase the kids to my room for prayers, then chase them to bed, go to their rooms twice to threaten them for being loud and not sleeping, send sick Steve to the boys room 2 more times, finally let Jaxon come "nuggle" me where he jumps around then decides it is Steve that he likes, finally send Jaxon to his own bed at 10:20ish so that I can relax and drift off to sleep. Are you tired yet?
Tuesday - Take kids to school, go fold more laundry (maybe I can finish watching "Fiddler on the Roof"), pick up Mason, try to find more help for the tournament on Saturday, check facebook of course, make a Costco run, pick up the kids from school, feed the kids and take them to karate, ref a basketball game, coach a basketball game, make dinner (maybe I will put something in the crockpot in the morning), help kids with homework, send kids to bed, fold another load of laundry, somewhere in there I have to go order trophies for the tournament.
Wednesday - same as Monday, just replace grocery shopping with hosting a potluck lunch with friends and add vacuuming and mopping. Hopefully I can make it to my own basketball practice at 9 pm.
Thursday - exactly like Tuesday except the costco run. Add finalizing tournament details and my own basketball game at 8 pm after picking up girls from karate.
Friday - bulldoze the kids rooms after school. It is early out day for them so they are my slaves for 3 hours. make dinner, attend the Elders quorum party after dropping Raven off to babysit, come home put the kids to bed, try to sleep while I think of all the things that need to be done at the tournament the next day.
Saturday - set up for the tournament, host the tournament, probably ref a couple of games myself, clean up, then go home and crash. Gotta rest so that I can do it all again next week.

Anyone tired yet? Don't forget to add, ward calling and stake calling to that, plus helping kids with homework, reffing the little battles that go on every day and all the other mom stuff that has to be done.

So I am sorry if I haven't been answering my phone or emails, life is just a little crazy and I have not had time to breath. Thank heavens that I will be done with coaching the beginning of March just in time to catch my breath and help with the musical that Raven is in. I haven't subbed at the school because it takes time from everything else and I haven't been as social as normal. It is a good thing that my kids can do dishes and help wash the laundry. They think that I am not fun anymore so I told the school that I will be the Athletic Director or the basketball coach next year, but not both. I didn't want to coach this year, but the coach backed out 2 days before tryouts and I couldn't find anyone to do it. I didn't think that it was fair to the girls to not have a team so I stepped up. I am still trying to find someone to take over, any takers? So now that I am exhausted just thinking about my week, I better get going because the kids have got to go to school.

Fresh from Heaven!

Yesterday morning I had the privilege of seeing my nephew be born via c-section. It wasn't as gruesome as I thought it would be. It was actually a very peaceful, almost spiritual experience seeing that little boy enter the world. I got to hold him about an hour later and I still love that fresh from heaven smell that all new babies have. This is the first time that I have been at the birth of a baby that wasn't my own baby. It gives me a whole new respect for motherhood seeing it from the outside looking in. It also makes me grateful for all of the women and men who help Steve and I with our brood in so many different ways. I think that President Bush did a good thing when he made this past Sunday "Sanctity of Human Life Day" (www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09011601.html). I think every day should be that way and I think most people would agree if they could witness what I was able to yesterday. I would post a picture of the cute little man, but I will leave that for his parents.

Discoveries

In our quest to eat better, we have had some successes and failures. I keep reminding myself that this is a work in progress and that my family will have to be kept in the dark sometimes as to exactly what they are eating.

Tofu was not a success. Steve wouldn't even try it because he knew it was tofu. Mason ate it but didn't like the texture. I didn't care for the texture myself. The girls were sick and didn't try it. I will try tofu again, but this time I won't tell anyone what it is.

Yogurt with granola and berries has been a huge hit with all of us. We have even used ground turkey in some of our meals without people saying "GROSS". We are continuing our quest so if anyone has a recipe that they want to pass on, I will gladly take it.