Ring of a telephone...

What do you think when the telephone rings? Do you feel happy because you think it is a friend calling? Frustration because it might be another telemarketer? Fear because it might be the school calling to tell you to come get your 8th grader as something has happened.

For me today it was option C. Nic's middle school had a student do something stupid today. Someone allegedly brought in some chemicals in a bottle and it exploded.

Sometimes this world is a crazy place, and I am thanking God that the injuries were few.

So FHE tonight is about choices. Our choices and how our choices affect us and others. And how some choices have life long altering results... I think that talk will go well with some chocolate chip ice cream - and now I'm blowing our healthy eating tonight. Oh well, sometimes certain conversations just need to be occompanied by ice cream!

Update:
We also talked about the phrase :" But for the grace of God go I."
I really wanted to help him understand that he can be upset and mad but it is not his job to be judge and jury. That he should feel sorry for this child and sad for the kids that were hurt. And thank god that he has parents that notice what goes on and that he can talk to and tell stuff too and a life that is relatively easy. Some children crave that and do things in hopes of getting that.

It's Monday...

The start of another week and...

Justin and I have a goal of cooking only healthy food this week.

Ask my sister Kerri about the lecture Justin gave her while she was helping him get breakfast. It started with him listing EVERYTHING she asked him if he wanted in 2 categories:
All the time food
Some times food
Ahhh, the joys of a 4 year old who thinks he's like 45.

Anyway...since vacation we have kinda strayed a bit from healthy eating and with Alex's new job we have actually had $ to buy pizza and occasional fast food. This week we are back to eating only what we can cook. We need a nest egg to get the backyard planted with fruit trees, garden, grass, and some extra cement for a bigger patio.

Menu for this week:
Homemade pizza
spagetti - sauce homemade
Chicken fajitas in the crockpot
Chili in crockpot
Smoked turkey in the smoker - this will leave extra for lunch meat for sandwiches.
Pork Chops and mashed pots
breakfast - quiche

Making the above food, I can control the fat content, salt content, sneak veggies in the fajitas, spag. sauce and on the pizza. Salad or veggies will be served and apples or oranges will be dessert.

Happy Anniversary to...

Us and Brent and Stacey too!
One year ago today we were baptised!
What a special day for all of us!

I look back one year ago at my baptism and see someone who was in a euphoria bubble that believed that nothing bad could happen - I had Heavenly Father's love... geesh, my sins had all been washed away, everything was perfect!

And POP! before you knew it my euphoria was gone and I was left with this questioning, puzzled, madness - sometimes anger.

Wasn't life suppose to be perfect now, I was "doing everything right".

But here's the thing... life is not mean't to be easy, life is about learning and with easy what do we learn? With every trial a lesson is learned and a silver lining is shown - a blessing - even if the blessing is a newfound appreciation for the little things, the basic things - those little things are usually the MOST IMPORTANT THINGS!

So here I sit a year later a stronger woman, a more peaceful woman and hopefully a woman who shows more grace during trials than before.

I can't wait to sit here next year and look back at this next year's journey!

Connecticut

The boys and I had a wonderful time in CT! We got to see aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and of course grandparents.

I got to sneak away and have a nice lunch with my sister and some friends. Don't you just love those friends that have known you forever and even if you haven't seen them in almost 4 years it's like you were just there yesterday talking to them. Kristine's daughter Kayla is the splitting image, like mirror image of her! It was like seeing Kristine again in elementary school - she has got some strong genes!

My sister's spent all their time that they weren't at work at my parent's with us. Sisters are the best aren't they - and my kids would tell you their aunts are the best also cause they spoil them to pieces!

We took 1 trip to Vermont to a Sugar Farm to watch them make maple sugar. The kids loved that and sampling warm syrup and maple sugar candies - way sweet!

Justin loved playing with his cousin Abby and was so excited that Shawn and Jen (my cousin and his wife) invited us over for dinner and to play. We also got to meet Abby's new sister Grace (18 months) - she is too cute and so... mischevous! They were so not kidding about having to put chairs on top of tables! Nic loved catching up with his cousin Tyler - they are the same age and his cousin Sabastian and neighbors Garrett and Emma.

My parent's puppies were a HUGE hit with the kids, although the kids were NOT a huge hit with the dogs. The dogs are very possessive of my dad. Justin decided to be possessive of Grandpa. NOT A GOOD MIX! There was some definite growling going on over who would rule and claim Grandpa's lap - dogs or child. I think the dogs kinda won!

In Winsted (at Alex's parent's) we were a big surprise for Grandpa! The day we flew in Grandpa came home from the hospital after several months spent there. We gave them a couple days to get settled and then borrowed my parents car and drove up the curvy steep roads - scary! We called Grandma from outside the house to let her know Grandpa's surprises were there,she let us in and Grandpa was surprised to tears! It was a really touching moment! Hopefully Granpa will be well enough to fly back out here to AZ soon. We also spent time with cousins and aunts and uncles on Alex's side while we were at his parent's.

We headed home on Monday, 12 hours in airports with the layover - ug! and I still made Nic go to school Tuesday morning :). Alex missed us a TON he said, he was so bored he didn't know what to do without us! ~ darn I should of left that list instead of told him to just relax!

Oops forgot to mention the snow. Justin was only 9 months when we moved out here so... my mom was very insistant the poor boy got to play in snow. (And yes I told her that it does snow in Northern AZ but... well, my mom tuned that out). So... at her house there wasn't a lot so she was positive that we would find it in Vermont. So she borrowed snow boots from my cousins and we had winter coats and gloves borrowed from Kristine's kids and all the way up and back she demanded my father stop - she even wanted to stop in a cemetery as the snow looked clean - my sister and I threatened dire consequences if my father stopped the car. So she finally settled on dirty snow that Justin threw on her in Wendy's parking lot (hehe) and cleaner truck stop snow that was kinda icey. Kerri took pics and emailed them to my other sister who was at work to tell her that HER mother was really crazy as we had both disowned her at that point!

I'm Home!

Yay, we're back in Sunny AZ!
We had a wonderful visit with both mine and Alex's Family's. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow because...
I've spent all day cleaning and doing laundry and am about to drop - the 12 hours of flying and layovers yesterday have done me in!
But, I am going to add 1 blog today after I post this and it is a MUST read!

We're Off!

So, Miss spontinatity I am not. But... I got to thinking it would be better to go to CT now (Nic's on Spring Break from friday afternoon until the 23rd) then this summer... ALex may have vacation time in the summer and maybe we could go on a short trip with the kids or maybe with this new company they will pay for invetro and we may be in the middle of that process...

So, yesterday I started looking for airfare... way expensive so Alex told me to look this am as the day before maybe I would find discounts...
And I DID!!!!

So thanks to my parents who are footing the bill for airfare, the boys and I are headed to CT - to 40 degree weather and snow still on the ground. We leave tomorrow morning, we head to DC first and have to switch planes to get to CT. I planned a long enough layover for the plane switching so wish me goodluck that there are no delays... and that Justin doesn't get too stir crazy!

Boys

Here's one of the pics I took of the boys last weekend. Aren't they handsome! This isn't the best picture, but everytime I move the pics I took the long way into the wide way it spreads the boys wide too... Ahhh, I'll figure it out - but not today!

New Outlook

We can't stop all the bad things happening in the world.
We can simply try to enjoy the good.


I am focusing on the good. When I stop to think there is SO MUCH GOOD!

The garage door opening - knowing my husband is home from work.
A snuggle with my husband.
An I love you mom on the way to bed.
A tiny little voice buried in his arms saying prayer at dinner.
A voice saying, dinner was good tonight, hun.
The sound of 2 brothers playing nicely together.
The littlest brother hugging the big brother and saying I love you, and the older brother saying it back.
The sunset I see nightly out my windows.
Surprising my boys with a surprise attack of nerf darts.
A roof over our head and food to eat.
The soft fur of a dog cuddled next to you.
Laying in a soft bed with tons of pillows after a long day.
Knowing Heavenly Father Loves Me.

THere is so... much more to add!

The Doctor's

We are home from the Doctor. Lots of Bronchitus and Pneumonia going around but she thinks Justin just has a cold. He is running a low grade fever, has a little fluid in his ears and is badly congested but she thinks it is still a cold. He is suppose to start taking Mucinex right away to brake down the guk so he doesn't get bronchitis and as long as he starts to get better and the fever doesn't sky rocket we are good. YAY!

Did you know my doctor told me I was smart? I was so proud of myself. When I told her he threw up after only having cough meds in his tummy for about 30 mins. she asked if I had given him another dose. I said no I was too scared he had absorbed some so I made him hot herbal tea with a TON of honey. SHE SAID I WAS SO SMART!! She said that yes he had absorbed some meds in that amount of time and redosing would have overdosed him - scary! BUT she was also impressed that I gave him HONEY. She said there have been some studies done recently that suggests that honey stops coughing just about as good as cough syrup! YEA ME! (sometimes as a mom you really need to hear that you've done good!)

Our House

Our House is starting to feel more homey.

Alex without being asked is hanging up all the stuff I couldn't when he was working so much. I have lights over my kitchen table, ceiling fans went up in the family room, Nic's room, our room and the Grandma and Grandpa room. He even fixed a towel rack for me.

I like this new man who is emerging! He even called me his Princess - love that! Every wife should be a princess to their husband! He is just so much happier! He really loves his new job! They offered OT on Thursday and Friday and he took it and can't wait for more! AND, now don't fall off your chairs people HE GOT PAID FOR THE OVER TIME - AND NOT JUST PAID HE GOT TIME AND A HALF! What I said? What? He never did before! YEA NEW JOB! He feels appreciated and valued and really enjoys the other employees! What a difference that makes in your spirit and happiness.

I hope he keeps loving this job, cause I'm loving this happier husband of mine!

Coughing...

So my little J is sick. He got a cough the day after the crop duster was out - I know just a coincidence, I'm sure he got it from a grocery cart or something wierd... but, it is getting worse.

He is just so congested. You know the congested that stays even when you cough it out. I gave him some delsum and a hot steamy bath before bed thinking it would help him sleep. And of course his nightly pear and apple - the boy refuses to go to sleep without eating a pear or an apple, sometimes both, in bed before he goes to sleep.

Not 15 mins after getting him to bed, this horendous hacking - nonstop - scary and then the throwing up from coughing so hard. My poor baby, back into the bath tub. And now I have no idea how much of the meds he threw back up so we went with some herbal tea drowned in a ton of honey. So far it is working... but I think I see a Dr's visit in my future tomorrow.