Now which way is up?

I am currently feeling a little upside down and backwards. We have had a major change in the last couple of days and I am feeling like I am grasping at air and been turned on my head. Steve on the other hand seems to be very calm. I, however, am having a hard time remembering who is in ultimate control of my life and this universe. I always run at full speed trying to take care of everything and everyone. I don't deal well with situations that are out of my control. I have a hard time letting others, including the Lord be in control, especially when it is my life involved.

On Thursday I was sitting on my bed folding laundry and watching a movie. Sidnee and Jaxon were home. I heard the garage door open which was really odd because I thought the kids were playing on the computer. My first thought was that Jaxon got mad at Sidnee so he was running away. (He runs away more often then I care to admit) I peeked out to see what was going on and Steve was home. Strange to say the least. I went out to see what was up and he pointed to his eyes because he was talking on his phone. He quickly got off and informed me that he had been laid off! I thought he was joking. He had been to the eye doctor and had his eyes dilated. I was thinking that they had sent him home because he couldn't see to read. When I saw all the stuff from his desk in some boxes in his car I was pretty sure that he was not joking now! My world came crumbling down on the top of my head! How were we going to pay for our home, let alone food, and all the necessities that you need to sustain life as you know it? So many things ran through my brain in a short matter of time. We really didn't get much time to talk as his phone kept ringing off the hook. Apparently the decision was made outside of Utah by someone who was just looking at numbers. His company made 7 layoffs that day across their offices in the country, so it was not like someone had it out for Steve. He got laid off, not fired, so they gave him a severance package that should last us through the end of June. What amazes me the most is how calm and sure Steve is about the whole thing. He is very positive where I am the one usually reassuring him. He is sure that there is a better job out there that he would not have found if he was still at E-Trade. I on the other hand am a bundle of stress. I am wondering what is going to happen if he doesn't find a job in this market before we run out of money. There are so many people losing jobs right now that I am really struggling with this. I know that I need to stop climbing the walls and just do what I can about the things that I can. I can clean my house. I can paint the walls. I can get ready to plant my garden. I can put more food in our food storage in case it takes longer than June to get a job. I can continue fulfilling my calling and being a part of my community. Hopefully I can figure out in the mean time, and I will emphasize the word MEAN, how to turn myself right side up!

Fantastic!

I love the little moments that you get once in a while with your children that just make your day. I got one tonight when everyone was complaining about dinner. Jaxon was the only one who was not complaining. Our conversation went like this.
Jaxon: "Mom this chicken is fantastic! That means really good, right?"
Me: " Yes Jaxon, fantastic means really good."
Jaxon: "Well I think this chicken is fantastic and they are all wrong. It is so fantastic that I would like some more please."
Me: "I am glad that you think it is fantastic and I would love to give you more."
Jaxon: "Thanks for the fantastic chicken Mom! I really like it because I am a hungry boy!"

Don't you just love it when they make your day like that. Of course by this time the other kids were giggling and decided to eat the "Fantastic Chicken" which is what I think we will call this dish from now on!

Falling down or apart?

this picture is similar to what I had to have done to me yesterday. I almost fell out of a tree in September. I caught myself with my right arm and had to hang there in order to not crush Jaxon who was playing beneath me. Needless to say, it caused some damage to my right arm. I have been having pins and needles ever since. There has also been some numbness. I let it go because I thought that it would eventually get better. When I saw some blood on my hand about a month ago and discovered that I had smashed my finger but not felt it because my hand was numb. So after a month of visiting a variety of doctors, the final verdict is that I have 2 bulging disks in my neck that are pressing down on nerves and causing the pain. Yesterday I had a cervical nerve root block done. They insert a needle through your neck to the nerve root in your spine and put a steroid in it. This is similar to a cortisone shot, but a little more of a process. They have to use an xray machine to guide a needle to the right spot. A little scary especially when they told me to hold still so that they didn't hit the main artery that is right there. The procedure wasn't as bad as I expected, but once the numbing wore off I was miserable. Today I feel like someone has jumped up and down on my neck and head. I am told that it will get better, but today I think I would rather have the pins and needles. The bad news? I have one more disk that the doctor wants to do this to.

Never, never, never land!

I got to go away for a weekend with my friend. It was just us girls. After going the back way to get to our destination, we finally arrived in Never, never, never land. My first question was, " do you hear that?" I was referring to the silence. We brought movies and games, but spent 2 days watching tv as neither of us have ours hooked up to satellite or cable. We rearranged the furniture and then spread the table with all the spread so that we wouldn't have to get up except to use the facilities.

Our rearrangement of furniture.

some of the goodies we brought.

Our version of heaven. The reason for the title, we NEVER heard anyone say MOMMY!, NEVER had to tell anyone to be quiet, and NEVER had to do anything that we didn't want to except pack up and leave. We really appreciated the husbands who made this nice little get away possible. Next time we will take them with us so that they can enjoy NEVER, NEVER, NEVER land too!

Fruits of my labors!

It is definitely the harvest season. We have been busy at our house bottling and freezing and eating whatever fresh foods we can get our hands on. In this picture are the foods we have done in the last 2 days with the exception of the peaches in the back which were done a week ago. From left to right the contenders are: back row - applesauce, strawberry jam, chicken and sliced peaches. Front row - peach jam, salsa and bread. The good news is that it all tastes very good and we haven't gotten tired of it yet. We have pears, green peppers and more tomatoes and jalapenos in our garden that we need to do. We forgot to put the tomato sauce that we made last week up here. We have also shredded a bunch of zucchini and frozen it, plus used it as filler in our taco meat. Kids had no clue it was even in there. I am wondering if I could cube it like hashbrowns and use it that way. Think the kids would ever figure it out? If anyone has any fruits or veggies that they don't have time or energy to put up, let me know and we will gladly take them off your hands.

All tuckered out!

This was what the little man looked like 10 minutes after he got home from preschool. He loves it, but I guess stretching his brain muscles makes him extra tired because he asked me if he could lay down on my bed and take a nap.

I am Freddy Freeloader!

Some of my girlfriends, well okay, most of my girlfriends are trying to eat healthier and are working out. I am into the eating healthier, just not the working out so much. Give me a volleyball, basketball, softball or futsol (yes, Amy, I do like it) game any day. That is my kind of workout. I just have so much going on that I get tired just looking at my running shoes. I do wear them to play the above mentioned games. My girlfriends are getting together for lunch to support each other in their endeavor of this healthier eating habit, but they don't do sugar! I have started reading labels and everything that I like has sugar in it, even sour cream! I am all about eating more fruits and veggies plus having smaller portions, but I like my chocolate zucchini cookies and my corn tortillas. I have been invited to join them in this new challenge, but honestly I am having commitment issues. My biggest challenge is that I am a substitute teacher and never know when I might be working which would throw everybody off, plus I am going to eat a cookie if I want or a piece of pie. I don't over do the desserts, I never have. I just don't crave desserts like most people do. I am quite happy with a nice piece of ripe fruit. I don't crave chocolate and I have always eaten pretty healthy unless you stick a cream puff in front of me, then I crumble. So needless to say I have been enjoying lunch with my girlies but haven't hosted and I am starting to feel like a freeloader. Maybe I should give in and host a lunch. Taco soup anyone or are beans off limits too?