The Big Chicken

She was so proud and so darling. Made me a little teary-eyed. She didn't realize that the blue ribbon meant first place until we told her. She was beyond excited. So cute. She was selected to represent her grade for Frank. Just having her name on the school intercom was a huge deal to her, but this was so great. Sydnee often gets overlooked in our family and it was so nice for her to receive some individual attention. Hannah G got to represent 3rd grade and also got a blue ribbon, so we got to go to the exhibit with our best friends. What a neat experience! :) Proud Momma

A rare blog entry :)

Hello people!
Well, we had a super productive weekend.  We finished setting up my office and master bedroom. It is just so nice to walk into the office and my bedroom.  There are still some things we need to add/adjust in the bedroom- but its so nice to have a little sanctuary! And the office just makes me feel good inside!Tomorrow I teach preschool and I have a little area in my office that will double as my preschool teaching area/ homework area for the girls.  I'm not ashamed to say that I LOVE IT!

Today we have been to Wal-Mart where the girls went down the toy aisle and told me some things that they would like for their birthdays.  Poor Sydnee.  It must be hard to be the ONLY one not born in the month of Feb!  Hopefully this little one will help by coming in March and spread us out a TINY bit.  Of course, I would have liked for all of them to be spread out a bit but apparently I'm not the boss here. This little girl inside of me is almost here!  Today I am hoping to do some laundry and work on the baby's room.  I need to get out the bedding and go through the clothes.  And do some basic organizing. I think once that is finished, then my mind can settle a little bit about all the things that need to get finished in the house.  I have to remind myself constantly that we will be here a while and its not necessary to just get it all done NOW.

We too had a good Sunday.  Its nice to have early church (9am).  We get all our stuff ready the night before and then just spend the morning getting ready and go.  It was Ward Conference and sacrament went over by 30 minutes.  That threw Primary into a bit of a scramble and despite my friend's efforts to keep her lesson short- I only had about 6 minutes in Senior Primary (I normally have 20).  Oh well! :)  I had 15 in Junior, which is too bad because they were CRAZY rowdy in there!  I would have been happier with 6 minutes. :) Maybe I need to pull out my net again "caught ya being good".  Anyhow, I'm doing this neat thing.  I have asked parents (Moms, really) to send me pictures of their family/kids and I am adding them to a flip chart for the song "I Am A Child of God".  I just showed them the first verse yesterday and wow- I am going to have to keep it together!  Its so touching and sweet to think of these children as children of God and to see their faces light up when their picture pops up.  I hope it drives the concept home for them.  I sure love my calling.

Last night we decided to eat dinner outside.  It was a little chilly, but the girls had been itching to go outside all day, and so we gave in.  They were bouncing on the trampoline while Todd was cleaning up dinner, and I had some "alone" time while everyone was focused on their activity. It was nice, I don't get them often.  I sat there and reflected on my blessings.   I remember not knowing how long we could survive, and what the Lord had in store for us.  I remember feeling a little sore about it all- hadn't we served faithfully?  Hadn't we given up our hearts and souls and countless hours to the Lord?  Surely He hadn't abandoned us now in our time of need.  We really never lost hope, though- just moments where we doubted the plan.  We knew that the Lord had better things in store, if we could just keep the faith.  And although the process was so ugly at times- it really seems like a short period of time now.  And I am so grateful that the Lord knew that  we would have to go through this rough time in order to get us where we are now.  So I sat there.  Drinking in my blessings.  Three little girls happily jumping on a trampoline in the cool winter night.  A loving husband who loves his job now, who puts his family first, and is always trying to find ways to serve me and our little people.  He is so self-less. I need to follow his example a little but more! Anyways, I sat there- healthy, happy, with a baby in my belly who is also healthy and apparently an excellent soccer player- reflecting.  It was a good moment, where I felt truly loved and grateful for the trials.  There are plenty of times that I have questioned "why" but at the end of the day- if the road had been any different, then I wouldn't be here.  Finding joy in the journey.  Its hard to do, but when you have those gratitude moments- the tender mercies of the Lord become more apparent and you realize- you were never really alone.  The plan wasn't meant to be easy- but it will always be worth it.  I often worry that challenges of such magnitude will come again- but then I think, He believed in us then.  He loved us and supported us then.  He has proven himself trustworthy (a line in my patriarchal blessing).  So, I guess the take-home message here is, just keep swimming!  The life guard is on watch.

Love to you all!
Happy MLK day!
xoxo