Nothing to blog about until.....

Hannah opens her sweet mouth! Yesterday, for FHE, we helped the kids make tithing banks and a bank for a "rainy day fund." We taught a little lesson & thought it went really well. Today, I took Emily to the store to spend the money she had left after she put away her tithing & rainy day money. Emily showed Hannah her new treasures. Hannah said, "Oh man! I can't wait for it to rain." I asked her why, because I completely forgot about our lesson last night. With a look of complete despair, she said, "because I put all my money in my rainy day bank!"
uh, I think we have a bit more teaching to do.... that is, if I ever stop laughing!

New Water Heater

Well, I told you all how crazy Monday was, I really expected the week to slow down. After all, golf season ended last week, so I thought that would free up some time. Yeah, right!
Stephen had a huge nursing test this week. Nothing unusual about that except that since we spent two hours talking to Kaitlyn's teacher, had a long discussion with Kait afterwards, then ate & had Family Home Evening, he had no time to study on Monday. So, he took Tuesday off work. I was exhausted, & I did go back to bed after the kids went to school.... and slept soundly until noon! It was such a blessing Stephen was home because around 10am, he heard water leaking in the laundry room. He went in to see what it was, and noticed it was the water heater. Within a few seconds the leak became a steady stream of water. We knew it was going out, it was just a question of when. So, he shut it off, called Home Depot, & by the time I woke up, a new water heater was on it's way. I am so thankful he was here. Had he not been, I would have woken up to a broken water heater & a flooded basement.

Goodbye Garden!

Stephen studied hard for his test all day on Tuesday. The news reported freezing temperatures this weekend, so we knew we had to harvest the garden this week. Since Stephen was so busy, a lot of the work fell on Jonathan. He said it "stunk" to be the oldest & a boy who is able to do hard labor when dad can't. I tried to reassure him by saying Dad only has 7 more months of nursing school left. He said it felt like forever. Neither Steve or I could argue... it really does. So Jonathan, Emily, Hannah & I went & picked all the veggies left in the garden. Jonathan ripped the plants out & hauled the bags of veggies & the pumpkins to the van. Our garden is on a neighbor's farm. Since Jonathan worked so hard, I let him drive the van on the farm. You would have thought I handed him a million dollars! It was a such a relief to get that project completed!

Honesty Pays!

A few weeks ago, Emily was given a brag note by the school librarian for goof behavior in library. The school gives the kids brag notes when they are "caught" doing something good at school. The child takes the brag note to the office to enter it into a drawing. On her way to the office, she found $48 dollars lying in the hallway & she turned it into the office. She was given another brag note by the secretary. This week was the drawing, & Emily won first prize, $5!!!

New Gynastics Program!

Yesterday was her first day & it was fantastic! The class has 6 girls in it. It was very structured. The girls were assigned a number & they were told to follow the teacher in line to each apparatus. They sat on a taped line while waiting their turn. The teacher focused on each girl when it was her turn. She documents their skill level on each event. If they struggle, she demonstrates proper technique, each girl was given the same amount of time. And best of all, it is only costing us $3 more dollars a month! Emily said it was the best time she has ever had!

Tag, I'm it!

Terri tagged me, so here are 5 things about me:

1. Stephen is the only man I've ever kissed, but I didn't plan it that way. I almost kissed a guy in high school, but I am so glad I didn't because he later married a good friend of mine & they actually stayed with Stephen & I for a few weeks after they were married & looking for a place to live. It would have been weird!

2. Stephen & I faked our engagement. Our ward kept asking us when we were going to get married & it was driving us both nuts. After all, we were just friends & nothing else. So we borrowed his sister's ring & announced at ward prayer that we were engaged. The room erupted with cheers & applause. Our bishop yelled, "FINALLY'. Then we said we were just kidding. Again the room erupted. This time with boo's. But the joke was really on us. We both went home depressed that it was only a joke, but neither of us understood why. duh.....

3. I went water skiing for the first time when I was 2 months pregnant with Jonathan.

4. I've been rapelling, white water rafting, & snow skiing, all with Stephen.

5. I once broke my toe by going "bridge jumping" in college. Long story......

Groceries & Teachers

It has been a long, grueling day. I don't know how else to describe it. I went grocery shopping for the month today. In June, when Stephen's pay went up, we talked about keeping expenses down, so we could actually see an increase. After going over our budget, we decided food would be where we would tighten up the most. So I made a monthly menu, a monthly shopping list & we decided we would only shop once a month (except for milk & bread). In August, Steve & I went shopping. It took us two hours to shop & put everything away. We didn't go over budget & I loved having everything on hand for the month. In September, Steve was busy, so I had Jonathan go with me. It took us 3 hours & he was very grumpy by the time we got home, but we stayed on budget & it was great to only have to shop once for the entire month. Since conference was this weekend, we didn't go shopping on Saturday. Stephen is pretty much booked with homework & tests until December. And I think a root canal than taking Jonathan (he really does not like shopping). So I decided to do it on my own today. First, I bought all the canned goods, non perishables and then paid for them. I treated myself to lunch, then went back into the store & bought all the dairy & frozen stuff. I finished putting the last bag away just as the girls walked in the door. It wore me out, but it is done for another month, & we are on budget.
As soon as Stephen came home, we took off to a parent teacher conference with Kaitlyn's teacher. I won't go into it, but Kaitlyn has been having problems with the teacher, & we haven't had any communication from the teacher. So we went in to get a better idea of what was going on. I thought it would take 15 minutes.... it ended up being a 2 hour meeting. All I can say is, most of the time we hear what is lacking in public education. But I was deeply impressed at how much Mrs. Mead cared & how she gave of her time to work on the problem until it was resolved. I am so thankful for a caring teacher. Emily has been having trouble in Math & Spelling. Her teacher emailed me last week about the problem & told me what I can do to help her. My kids are so blessed. This year, I am really going to put sincere effort into teacher appreciation day, they so deserve it!!!
So, it has been a long grueling day. I am really tempted to indulge myself & lie in bed for a few hours after I get the kids off to school tomorrow!

Calling Home

Yesterday, I was in the laundry room/ storage room organizing cupboards. The washer & dryer was going, plus I had the TV on in the family room, turned up pretty high so I could listen while I was working. Well, I was in there about 45 minutes before taking a break. As I was walking out, I heard my cell phone ringing. I missed the call. When I looked to see who had called, I saw 6 missed called. I knew it had to be one of the kids or Steve calling, since it was on my cell. So I checked the log, & noticed that it was Stephen's cell number that had called last & the other 5 were from the girl's school.
I thought, "oh no!, did someone get hurt or something?" I mean 5 calls, it must be serious, right? I am feeling more and more panic as I call Stephen's phone, trying to think where I put my keys, & realizing I am still in a pair of scrubs (my favorite cleaning attire), and my hair is up in a bun, no make-up, bare footed.... finally Stephen answers & I say..... "what's wrong?" He laughs & says, "oh Hannah called & said that her class is so noisy that it is giving her a HUGE headache. And then she just wanted to chat." Steve told her to go drink some water & go back to class.
A few weeks ago, we taught Hannah our cell phone numbers in case she ever needed to get ahold of us. Well, she thinks calling us in the coolest thing. one time I was in the kitchen, making dinner & she brought my cell phone to me & ran downstairs. A few minutes later, my cell rings & when I answer, Hannah says HI MOM!!!! (giggle, giggle)
On Monday, I gave my cell to Jonathan to call me after golf practice. I ususlly call him around 5:30 if he hasn't called me to see what hole he is on so I can start dinner before going to get him. When I called him, he answered by saying, "Hello? What now?" I was obviously shocked until he explained that Hannah had already called 4 times just to say hi!
Never a dull moment!

A Beautiful Day!

On Saturday, we took Kaitlyn to the temple for the first time!


















After the temple, Stephen took us to red lobster to celebrate our birthdays (mine was Thursday, Kaitlyn's a few weeks ago). Then we went birthday shopping..... and Stephen bought me an ice cream maker! I am so excited, I have wanted one for years! Kaitlyn said it was the best day of her life. I agree, it was a great day for all of us!

16 years ago....

Stephen & I went out on our first date! It is hard to believe it's been that long, it seems like it was a few years ago! So for those that don't know the story, here it is:
Stephen & I met at Ricks College in Sept. 1992. He had just returned from his mission a week earlier. It was my first semester at Ricks. When he came home from his mission, that very night, he prayed that he would know when he found the person he was suppose to marry. When he got off his knees, he assumed he would meet "her" in a few years, and that he would concentrate on getting back to real life, and set a goal to go on a date within a month.
I said a prayer of my own, ironically around that same time. I had been on a handful of dates & even dated one guy somewhat steadily my senior year of high school. But, I hadn't had a boyfriend. I wanted to date someone more seriously. Now, marriage at that point, hadn't entered my mind. So yes, I prayed to meet someone to date seriously.
So, this brings us to the day we met. It was the first Sunday of the month, a fast & testimony meeting. Before I left for college, my Bishop counseled me to bear my testimony often. He promised that if I did, I would make many friends that would last a lifetime. So, I bore my testimony. As I was bearing my testimony, Stephen felt the Spirit & heard, "She is the one" It scared him to death! He really thought he would be dating for a few years before he found "her." He rationalized that he felt the Spirit because of the truthfulness of my testimony and the "She is
the one" part meant he needed to invite me to a RAAP (an outdoor sports club for disabled student-- Steve was an able- bodied assistant) activity.
I remember Stephen bearing his testimony too. I was immediately attracted to him. Not only was he good looking, but he had an amazing testimony. But, there were several good looking guys that caught my attention as well! So, I hadn't really "noticed him" yet. Later that day, he came to collect fast offerings. I spoke to him & looked directly in his eyes.... I could see how good he was.... and I was a goner. I fell fast and hard.
Over the next week, we seemed to bump into each other everywhere we went. Each time I saw him, I thought about him more, which annoyed me. I was very stressed over school, & didn't need the distraction. I would be studying, and my thoughts would go to him. I assumed I was infatuated, and I tried extra hard to not think about him. An advisor told me about RAAP, and since I loved outdoor sports, I went to the first meeting. I was shocked to see Stephen sitting there when I walked in. He was even more surprised to see me... he hadn't told me about RAAP yet. He said he barely heard what went on during the meeting. He kept going over the "She is the one" thought he had Sunday at church. If it didn't mean ivite me to RAAP, what did it mean? He rationlized it couldn't mean marriage, so maybe it meant asking me on a date. So after RAAP, he asked me to the Ricks Homecoming dance.
I was so excited, I could barely believe. It was the first time a guy I really wanted to date had asked me out. I stopped trying not to think about him, but considering I saw him most every day, it would have been tough anyway. We worked together on the homecoming float for RAAP & went horseback riding for a RAAP activity. The more time we spent together, the more we found in common.
The day of Homecoming arrived & we went on a huge group date with a bunch of his friends from High School (Stephen lived in Rexburg during his Senior year of high school). We went hiking up in the Tetons during the day. Now, it was a long, winding, drive up & I get horribly carsick. I was so sick on the way up, & I just prayed I wouldn't barf. I made it up, & the hike was great! On the way down, I wasn't so lucky. I had to ask to pull over & I puked my guts out. I hoped Stephen would stay in the car... no such luck. He got out & stood by me, with everyone else on the car pretending not to see. I was mortified. I thought he would never ask me out again & I felt so humilated, I wasn't sure I wanted him too.
But, when we arrived at my apartment, he assured me it was no big deal & he would pick me up in an hour for dinner & the dance. I told my roomates & a good friend, Miquel, what happened & they thought it was hilarious. They had me laughing too. Miquel said, "Hey Mel, look on the bright side, when you are throwing up when you are pregnant, he'll be used to it." I rolled my eyes & said, "yeah right Miquel, it's just one date, it's not like we will get married."
Stephen picked me up and we ate dinner with the group we went hiking with & had a blast. We all laughed about my carsickness. It really was no big deal. Later, we went to the dance at Ricks, and we got seperated from the group. Stephen & I danced, talked, & laughed. After the dance, we were supposed to go to Scott's house for dessert & games. We went, but no one showed up. For two hours, we sat in Steve's truck & talked. It wasn't until I was home, that I realized that we were in a truck alone, on a dark, deserted road, & I felt completely comfortable & safe with him. Without a doubt, it was the night we fell in love.... it would just take us both 2 years to realize it.... or at least admit it!

P.S. Miquel was right..... right after we found out that I was pregnant with Jonathan, we were driving around Lewiston, trying to figure out where everything was... we had just moved there... and I got carsick & threw up on the side of the road. Stephen knelt down beside me, & said, "hey, this reminds me of our first date." We laughed & laughed & laughed!

Hey Terri!

I've tried to read your blog, but can't access it now that it's set to private. Will you email me an invite? My email is MelodyScraps@gmail.com This is the only way I know how to get ahold of you, hopefully you will see this!

Fall is here!

Can you all believe it's the first day of fall? For that matter, I am shocked to realize September is almost over! Time is moving fast. It has been a busy few weeks. Here are the highlights:

Stephen is back into the full swing of full time school, work, & Young Men's. He is having a blast with the Young Men & looks forward to mutual every week. He really gets into the activities, and plays like he is 14 or 15, but then spends the week remembering he is 37! In the past few weeks, they've played football (for 3 hours without a break) and gone rock climbing. Young Men's is the highlight of his week, and probably preserves his sanity. Remember a few posts back where I said we were both feeling less pressure than last year? Well, all I can say is, that was 2 weeks into the semester, and now we are in the 6th week & it is very intense. He has a test that he has to pass at a 100% to remain in the program. He has 4 times to pass. He took it last week & scored 80%. That is really good for the first try, & I have no doubt he'll pass. But it is stressful. On top of that he has 2 papers due this week, a test in another class, and a 12 hour clinical on Friday. I get tired just thinking about all he has to do, & just pray for him alot.


But we took a break this weekend to just hang out together and we had so much fun! On Saturday, we took Hannah & Daisy to a pet fair. Hannah loved petting all the animals. We entered Daisy in a puppy race & she won 2 put of 3 races. Here are the pictures:




I kept asking her if her Mama was a Llama. She thought my corny joke was hilarious.




















This pony was smaller than Daisy & Hannah fell in love instantly!
























Our champ, Daisy. She won the bandanna, which the girls ohhh & awwww over for hours!







Jonathan is turned into a sports fanatic, which we are very pleased with. It seems the more physical activity he gets, the better his moods are. He is playing Golf twice a week & football 2-3 times a week. He is also doing much better in school this year, turning homework in on time. On Saturday, he worked the BYU scout booth & was able to watch a bit of the game. He said it was awesome.

Kaitlyn is adjusting to all the changes in her life. Young Women's went much better last week. She loves One Voice Chior.Her first performance in October 12th at UVU. She is stressed, trying to learn the songs in time, but really excited. For the past month, she has come home from school complaining of her teacher being overly harsh. I've had a bad feeling from the start, but I know Kaitlyn can be a little stubborn too, so mostly I have tried to help her by identifying what she can change about herself. Over the last week, I've talked to several moms that have kids in her class, & they are reporting similar troubles with the teacher. So, it looks like a parent teacher conference is needed to get to the bottom of this. Ugh, can I just say this is the part of parenting I dislike most? But, it is important, so I've got to deal with it. I was hoping to wait until Stephen had this big test behind him so he could help. He is so much less emotional (not an overprotective Mama Bear I tend to turn into) and diplomatic in these situations. So, I am preparing myself & praying that I can resolve the situation before it's gets any worse.

On Saturday, we are taking Kaitlyn to the temple for the first time on Saturday. It is a very special event & we have been looking forward since the moment we first held her in our arms. Our tradition is to take each child to the temple when they turn 12, and then out to a special dinner at a sit down restuarant of their choice. Jonathan chose Red Lobster & has raved about it for 2 years, so that is where Kaitlyn wants to go. Kaitlyn is really excited, but has no idea that Stephen is going to "pop the question" right before we go into the temple.

He is going to ask her to committ to preparing herself to be worthy to be sealed in the temple someday, and to promise him that she will never settle for anything less than a proposal from a worthy, righteous priesthood holder, who wants to marry her in the temple. Then he will give her the CTR ring he bought for her & remind her that CTR means "Choose The Right", "Current Temple Reccommend", and spelled backwards, "Return to Christ." I'll have my Camera and tissues on hand for this moment. Here is a picture of the ring he bought her:

























Emily is doing well, liking school & loving Gymnastics. She is struggling in Spelling & I need to go talk to her teacher to see how I can help her more. She is becoming a little social butterfly, making friends at last. She has been our only shy, quiet child. It is fun to watch her blossom.

This month, my "me time" has been focused on improving my scrapbook technique. I entered a competition on a website. We are given a tutorial on a technique, then we have to scrapbook a layout & submit for the judges to critique. Then we redo the layout, & submit it for final submission. The first week, I was one of 10 who submitted a perfect layout the first time. The second week, I had to make minor changes & submit is a second time. We will find out who won last week's round tomorrow. This week I submitted a layout that emphasized white space & building a layout around an element they provided. To be honest, I don't like the layout. But I just recieved my critique back, & other than having to resize the picture, the judges liked it. It has been fun & I have learned so much. Here are my entries:

The first two are of my Niece.

A Hannah-ism

Hannah comes home from school yesterday, & says in a really serious voice, "Mom, Daniel calls me Hannah Banana ALL THE TIME. I told him if he would stop calling me THAT, I would stop picking on him."

I asked her if he stopped, she said nope. I asked her how she was picking on him. She gets this sweet grin on her face & says, "I call him Daniel Ba-naniel"

Hmmm, I wonder why he calls her Hannah Banana!

Kaitlyn's Birthday Picture!

Church Stuff

My new calling is Nursrey Leader and I love it! It is one of my favorite callings for many reasons: the kids are sweet & love you no matter what, the lessons are simple to prepare, & it is a Sunday only calling. After being in the Primary Presidency, Young Women's Presidency, & Activity Day Leader (one right after the other), it is nice to have a calling that doesn't involve meetings during the week. It will be a nice break.
This Sunday, our lesson is on being a good example. I am bringing a picture of Jesus & saying, "This is Jesus, he loves you very much. He wants you to be like him. Will you follow Jesus?" Then we are going to play Follow The Leader & sing Do As I'm Doing. So simple!
Kaitlyn started Young Women's last week. It is going to be an adjustment. But, to be fair to her, she started on a really hard week. Her first experience was mutual, & it was combined volleyball. The older boys intimidated her, although she said everyone was nice. On Sunday, it was combined Young Women's & they sat & listened to a lesson for the whole time. She said she liked the lesson, but it was just so different from Primary. Plus, she is the oldest of her group of friends & so she felt alone. She came into sacrament meeting, sat down, put her head on my shoulder, & burst into tears & said, "I don't like Young Women's & I am never going back!" Before I could respond, the meeting started. She cried through most of the meeting. I felt really bad for her & didn't know how I was going to handle it. I knew if I told her she has to go, no exception, it would just make her more set on not going. & I knew if I told her she didn't have to go, I would be setting her up for a lifetime of making excuses when it was hard to go to church.

So, as I was sitting there debating back & forth on what to do, the speaker began to tell of her missionary son who was hurt in a car accident. He hurt his back & thought he would have to come home. Their family prayed & fasted for him & 4 days later, he emailed to say the pain was totally gone. They hadn't told him they were praying for him. So, it gave me an idea: I prayed for Kaitlyn, that she would keep her mind & heart open to this new experience in Young Women's and listen to the Spirit. When the meeting was over, the first thing she said was, "It was just a bad day, I need to give it another try." We talked about some more here & there, but I haven't told her what to do, other than saying, if you decide not to go now, you'll be making a habit of not going when it's hard, and that could lead to inactivity. She said she didn't want that.

Then yesterday before school, she told me she prayed about it on Sunday night, & felt like if she didn't go, it would set a bad example to those that look up to her. One of her friends only goes to church when she does. So, Kaitlyn said she decided she would go to Young Women's whether she enjoyed it or not.

Yesterday, after school, the beehive class president called & invited Kaitlyn to go with her to take a treat to their leader who was sick. Kaitlyn came back happy & excited to be in Young Women's. Tonight, they are having a class activity & she is really excited.

I wonder sometimes if our kids are really developing testimonies of their own or not. This experience has shown me she is!

The Call

Stephen called the executive secretary today to schedule a reccommend interview for Kaitlyn tomorrow. The secretary said, "Oh she can come in right after your wife's appointment with the Bishop, I left a message on your machine, did you get it?" Well, we are terrible about checking our voice mail, so we hadn't got it yet. I am pretty sure it's a release from Activity Days, I have been the leader for 2 years. But what I don't know is what is coming next. I am trying to prepare myself so that whatever it is, I'll accept whole heartedly.......