I took Ethan trick or treating in my parents neighborhood tonight. They had a trunk or treat at the church and then we went to a few houses around the neighborhood before it started to rain. Ethan had such a great time! He was a little nervous at first, but once he realized he could get candy just for saying trick or treat, he was all over it. He had so much fun that he fell asleep, I mean dead asleep, on the way home. What a fun night!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Happy Halloween!
Ethan and I did his pumpkin today. We got a pirate Mr. Potato Head set. He really likes it, but he's sad that the pumpkin has to live outside. Here is a video of him playing with it and some pictures of us having fun with it.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Our Corner Of The World
The world may be in an "economic crisis" but we're still fine here in our corner of the world. I think it's warranted that a lot of people are panicking about the current financial state of the world. I mean, if you live on credit for so long, as everyone was doing...even the banks, eventually the bubble will burst. If you live something that is not totally truth, the truth will eventually rear it's head, usually at the most inopportune times.
In these hard times I hear of people losing their jobs, losing their homes, not being able to afford food, and other such things. These things are horrible. Sometimes they're happening to people through no fault of their own either, like my niece. She and her husband faithfully paid their rent on a house in Bountiful earlier this year. They found out that even though they had been faithfully paying their rent, their landlord hadn't been so faithful with the mortgage. Off they went in a frantic push to find a home for rent for their family.
One thing I've been thinking a lot about lately is the "cycles of pride" in the Book of Mormon. The people would be humble, converted, and turn to God. God, in turn, would bless them. The people would be prosperous, then greedy, then prideful, then fall. They would then be humbled and turn to God again. If you don't hear something when the Spirit whispers it to you, it will be spoken louder and louder, until finally you're forced to deal with it. I think regardless of technology or the century we live in we, as people of this world, are a lot like those in the Book of Mormon at times. Sometimes catastrophic things happen to allow people to realize what is really important and to turn to God. God doesn't cause bad things to happen, but he allows things to happen to us so we can learn what is really important. I hope in these times that people will take advantage of this opportunity.
As for us personally, we're doing fine. We have sufficient for our needs. I'm really realizing the depth of that statement. I don't really need a lot of the things I used to think that I needed. I hope that we all start to realize through this crisis that we're going to be okay. I also think that it's an important time to be humble and remember those around us. Whatever you have that is extra may be just the thing that someone in need is praying for.
In these hard times I hear of people losing their jobs, losing their homes, not being able to afford food, and other such things. These things are horrible. Sometimes they're happening to people through no fault of their own either, like my niece. She and her husband faithfully paid their rent on a house in Bountiful earlier this year. They found out that even though they had been faithfully paying their rent, their landlord hadn't been so faithful with the mortgage. Off they went in a frantic push to find a home for rent for their family.
One thing I've been thinking a lot about lately is the "cycles of pride" in the Book of Mormon. The people would be humble, converted, and turn to God. God, in turn, would bless them. The people would be prosperous, then greedy, then prideful, then fall. They would then be humbled and turn to God again. If you don't hear something when the Spirit whispers it to you, it will be spoken louder and louder, until finally you're forced to deal with it. I think regardless of technology or the century we live in we, as people of this world, are a lot like those in the Book of Mormon at times. Sometimes catastrophic things happen to allow people to realize what is really important and to turn to God. God doesn't cause bad things to happen, but he allows things to happen to us so we can learn what is really important. I hope in these times that people will take advantage of this opportunity.
As for us personally, we're doing fine. We have sufficient for our needs. I'm really realizing the depth of that statement. I don't really need a lot of the things I used to think that I needed. I hope that we all start to realize through this crisis that we're going to be okay. I also think that it's an important time to be humble and remember those around us. Whatever you have that is extra may be just the thing that someone in need is praying for.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Halloween Came Early This Year...
My husband decided to go as the Elephant Man with a doll hand.
Really he was helping his dad out with winterizing his bee hives and there was a hole in the suit. He didn't even realize that until a bee was in his ear! So, obviously, he didn't want to alarm the patients on the cardiac unit and cause someone to have a heart attack, so he called in sick to work today. We know he got stung at least three times. At one point last night his head was so swollen his ear started to close up. Luckily he's doing better. He still looks a bit deformed, but the doll hand is less now. I just think it's funny how big his hand is, it's all chubby like a doll hand, but it has man hair on it. What a freaky doll that would be!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Hunting Trip
We had a really great weekend! We went up to the cabin up at Bear Lake for our annual family hunting trip. I, of course, don't hunt. It's more of a camping out up at the cabin trip for me. Dan didn't get a tag this year for deer so he was there to help Kylea and Mike get their deer. Linda's nephew Ryan was also there for his first deer. All of the tags got filled. It was a really good hunt. We were grateful for that. Kylea got her first deer and Ryan got his first deer. Mike also got a deer. Mike's family is going to end up with a lot of meat since both he and Kylea got deer. We still have meat from ours from last year! Oh well, it's good meat and we're using everything. Thank goodness it freezes.
Ethan had a great time. Ben brought his whole family up and the kids played the entire weekend. Ethan loves to play with Gideon. It was really a fun time. Keith and Linda also brought their four wheelers so we got to take the kids on rides and stuff. On Monday, just before we came home, I took Ethan for one last ride. I asked him if he wanted to go fast and he said, "Faster! Faster!" so we went faster. He was laughing and screaming. He said to me, "Is it fun Mommy?" I said, "Yeah, are you having fun?" He said "Yeah, fun." It was cute. He's funny, he doesn't quite have the first person talking thing down yet. When he wants something he always starts with "You want ..." because that's how I ask him if he wants something.
I love going up to the cabin. It's so relaxing. We watched movies, ate lots of yummy food, played together, and I got to read my book. We even went shooting the guns on Sunday night after Kylea and Mike had both gotten their deer. I got to shoot Dan's 12 gage shotgun, which is a first for me. We also took turns shooting all the other guns. We set up targets. It was really fun.
In case you're wondering, the little goats in the picture are Mike and Chris's. Their goat, Puca, had her kids just before the trip and was not taking a shine to them, so they brought them up the day after they were born because she wasn't taking care of them. They're so cute! The kids loved the kids. They're bottle fed, but hopefully they'll be on grass soon! Mariah and Mikayla slept on the floor of the garage on foam matresses to feed them every two to four hours, just like real babies!
Times like this, making memories, are why I'm grateful for my family.
Ethan had a great time. Ben brought his whole family up and the kids played the entire weekend. Ethan loves to play with Gideon. It was really a fun time. Keith and Linda also brought their four wheelers so we got to take the kids on rides and stuff. On Monday, just before we came home, I took Ethan for one last ride. I asked him if he wanted to go fast and he said, "Faster! Faster!" so we went faster. He was laughing and screaming. He said to me, "Is it fun Mommy?" I said, "Yeah, are you having fun?" He said "Yeah, fun." It was cute. He's funny, he doesn't quite have the first person talking thing down yet. When he wants something he always starts with "You want ..." because that's how I ask him if he wants something.
I love going up to the cabin. It's so relaxing. We watched movies, ate lots of yummy food, played together, and I got to read my book. We even went shooting the guns on Sunday night after Kylea and Mike had both gotten their deer. I got to shoot Dan's 12 gage shotgun, which is a first for me. We also took turns shooting all the other guns. We set up targets. It was really fun.
In case you're wondering, the little goats in the picture are Mike and Chris's. Their goat, Puca, had her kids just before the trip and was not taking a shine to them, so they brought them up the day after they were born because she wasn't taking care of them. They're so cute! The kids loved the kids. They're bottle fed, but hopefully they'll be on grass soon! Mariah and Mikayla slept on the floor of the garage on foam matresses to feed them every two to four hours, just like real babies!
Times like this, making memories, are why I'm grateful for my family.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The Haunted Canyon
So Jenny won another contest. She's always winning things, but no complaints here, I get to reap the benefits. She won tickets to the Haunted Canyon train on the Heber Valley Railroad and invited Ethan and I to go. Moby didn't go because the BYU game was on and Dan didn't go because he was picking up a shift at the hospital so Jenny and I piled the kids in the car and headed out. After Jenny's NASCAR like skill driving us down to Heber and up the canyon where the train would leave from, we finally got there. Ethan was so excited that he could barely contain himself. He was jumping up and down and couldn't hold still. He was so excited!
We got on the train, which was all decked out with spiderwebs and spooky lights. They had scary music going as well. We found our seats and the kids, Jenny, and I settled in for the ride. They had a storyteller who told scary ghost stories with sound effects and music over the intercom system. They had little ghosts outside the train and some inside the train too. Ethan got a little scared a couple of times, but all in all he had a really good time. We all had a lot of fun.
I'm so grateful I'm so close to Jenny. She's more like my sister than my friend and I can tell her anything. This has been so great for us to have our kids be friends. They truly love each other. On the way home, Ethan was tickling Julia by nuzzling her with his head. Such a silly boy. We stopped at Wendy's on the way home and got some food and ended a really good time. Jenny, thanks for the great time. We love you guys so much! I don't know what I'd do without you!
Getting My House In Order
I think the economic crisis has its benefits. All of this talk of money, people losing their homes, people losing jobs, etc. makes me grateful for what I have. One of the things I have realized is that things are not all that important. People are important. We only need what is sufficient for our needs. Everything else is just extra. How many people can say they have extra just laying around? Most Americans probably. Yesterday and today I went through my closet. I sold some things at the second hand store and the rest went to DI. I'm so grateful for what I have. What if that sweater that I never wear anymore or that perfectly good pair of jeans that haven't been worn in months can do somebody some good? It won't do anybody any good sitting in a closet I can tell you that!
I've been thinking a lot about "getting my house in order" and simplifying my life. I feel so much better knowing that the shoes I don't need anymore could be worn by someone that really needs them instead of taking up room in a box that hasn't been opened in months. This also solved another laundry problem! I actually have hangers again! If I need something, thank goodness I have the means to go out and get it, but at least I don't have all of this extra stuff hanging around when it could be out there doing some good.
I guess I'm learning and growing when I don't even know it.
I've been thinking a lot about "getting my house in order" and simplifying my life. I feel so much better knowing that the shoes I don't need anymore could be worn by someone that really needs them instead of taking up room in a box that hasn't been opened in months. This also solved another laundry problem! I actually have hangers again! If I need something, thank goodness I have the means to go out and get it, but at least I don't have all of this extra stuff hanging around when it could be out there doing some good.
I guess I'm learning and growing when I don't even know it.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Tagged by Elisa...8 Things
8 TV Shows I Love To Watch
1. The Office
2. Heroes
3. Bones
4. House
5. Fringe
6. Lost
7. American Idol
8. Chuck
8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Olive Garden
2. Ruby River
3. Cafe Rio
4. El Burrito
5. El Matador
6. Chili's
7. Applebee's
8. The Original Pancake House
8 Things That Happened Yesterday
1. We went to church.
2. I got set apart as a substitute primary teacher.
3. Dan went to work.
4. Ethan and I went over to Mom & Dad's to hang out with everyone.
5. I took a nap.
6. We had dinner.
7. I did laundry.
8. I watched TV.
8 Things I am Looking Forward To
1. Getting my car fixed.
2. Trip to the cabin for the weekend.
3. No more Clomid.
4. No more diapers.
5. Jenny getting back from Phoenix.
6. Hitting the hay for tonight.
7. Fixing up our house.
8. Paying off debt.
8 Things I Love About Fall
1. It's colder.
2. Better clothes to wear.
3. The beautiful colors.
4. Halloween
5. Thanksgiving
6. Pumpkin Pie
7. Family time.
8. Driving up in the mountains to see the leaves.
8 Things On My Wish List
1. Pay off debt.
2. Fix up the house.
3. Sell the house at some point.
4. Get Ethan potty trained.
5. Get pregnant.
6. To not be so stressed all the time.
7. Lose more weight if the pregancy thing takes a while longer.
8. Be more spiritual.
Okay, I'm tagging....Kerri, Liz, Jenn, Jenny, Christen, John, Scott, and Melisa. :)
1. The Office
2. Heroes
3. Bones
4. House
5. Fringe
6. Lost
7. American Idol
8. Chuck
8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Olive Garden
2. Ruby River
3. Cafe Rio
4. El Burrito
5. El Matador
6. Chili's
7. Applebee's
8. The Original Pancake House
8 Things That Happened Yesterday
1. We went to church.
2. I got set apart as a substitute primary teacher.
3. Dan went to work.
4. Ethan and I went over to Mom & Dad's to hang out with everyone.
5. I took a nap.
6. We had dinner.
7. I did laundry.
8. I watched TV.
8 Things I am Looking Forward To
1. Getting my car fixed.
2. Trip to the cabin for the weekend.
3. No more Clomid.
4. No more diapers.
5. Jenny getting back from Phoenix.
6. Hitting the hay for tonight.
7. Fixing up our house.
8. Paying off debt.
8 Things I Love About Fall
1. It's colder.
2. Better clothes to wear.
3. The beautiful colors.
4. Halloween
5. Thanksgiving
6. Pumpkin Pie
7. Family time.
8. Driving up in the mountains to see the leaves.
8 Things On My Wish List
1. Pay off debt.
2. Fix up the house.
3. Sell the house at some point.
4. Get Ethan potty trained.
5. Get pregnant.
6. To not be so stressed all the time.
7. Lose more weight if the pregancy thing takes a while longer.
8. Be more spiritual.
Okay, I'm tagging....Kerri, Liz, Jenn, Jenny, Christen, John, Scott, and Melisa. :)
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Something's Rotten...But I Don't Know Where
For months I've been wondering about a smell coming from my pantry. It was really bad at one point, but then I cleaned it and it seemed to go away, or at least lessen significantly, but it was kind of always there. I just assumed it was the dust/dirt of the pantry...you know things like potatoes, etc. They're dirty and dusty...I didn't think much of it.
I was making dinner when all of the sudden, Ethan slipped on the kitchen floor and fell. I walked over to him and stepped on something gooey in the middle of the kitchen floor. He had been playing with a peach cup that still had a bit of syrup in it from lunch and I figured it was just that. I wiped it up and got back to making dinner. I walked across the kitchen again a few minutes later to get something and the goo was back. Where was it coming from? I opened the pantry and low and behold...we had one of those HUGE bottles of bubbles...I'm talking like the ones that are almost a gallon of bubble solution. It has been in our pantry waiting to be used for the last little while because Ethan hasn't gone through all of his other bubbles yet...and somehow it had a hole in it. How it got the hole, I don't know, but what I do know is that bubble solution was EVERYWHERE! It was all over the floor of my pantry, all over the bottom shelf...all over the various things stacked in all of those places.
Shortly after I discovered this, I began to try and clean it up the best I could, all while making dinner. Dan walked in the door and I told him what happened and said that I needed help so that things wouldn't get ruined and that dinner wouldn't burn. He cleaned out everything from the bottom of the pantry...luckily nothing was ruined. Here's the funny part though...you remember that smell? It was some potatoes that had fallen in back of some of the stuff in the pantry. They had gone completely rancid and rotten. That was what had been smelling! If the bubbles hadn't leaked everywhere...still can't figure out how it happened, it's not as if I store knives in my pantry or anything...we would've gone who knows how long without knowing those gross potatoes were there.
I guess my point is this. Crappy things happen sometimes, but sometimes you are better for it. I think Heavenly Father uses this principal with us sometimes. We have our happy little lives that we live in. We, as humans, like to ignore the things about ourselves that we need to fix sometimes. It is only when the "bubble bursts" so to speak that we are forced to look at the reality of the situation...the stinking potatoes...and fix the problem.
Something to think about...
I was making dinner when all of the sudden, Ethan slipped on the kitchen floor and fell. I walked over to him and stepped on something gooey in the middle of the kitchen floor. He had been playing with a peach cup that still had a bit of syrup in it from lunch and I figured it was just that. I wiped it up and got back to making dinner. I walked across the kitchen again a few minutes later to get something and the goo was back. Where was it coming from? I opened the pantry and low and behold...we had one of those HUGE bottles of bubbles...I'm talking like the ones that are almost a gallon of bubble solution. It has been in our pantry waiting to be used for the last little while because Ethan hasn't gone through all of his other bubbles yet...and somehow it had a hole in it. How it got the hole, I don't know, but what I do know is that bubble solution was EVERYWHERE! It was all over the floor of my pantry, all over the bottom shelf...all over the various things stacked in all of those places.
Shortly after I discovered this, I began to try and clean it up the best I could, all while making dinner. Dan walked in the door and I told him what happened and said that I needed help so that things wouldn't get ruined and that dinner wouldn't burn. He cleaned out everything from the bottom of the pantry...luckily nothing was ruined. Here's the funny part though...you remember that smell? It was some potatoes that had fallen in back of some of the stuff in the pantry. They had gone completely rancid and rotten. That was what had been smelling! If the bubbles hadn't leaked everywhere...still can't figure out how it happened, it's not as if I store knives in my pantry or anything...we would've gone who knows how long without knowing those gross potatoes were there.
I guess my point is this. Crappy things happen sometimes, but sometimes you are better for it. I think Heavenly Father uses this principal with us sometimes. We have our happy little lives that we live in. We, as humans, like to ignore the things about ourselves that we need to fix sometimes. It is only when the "bubble bursts" so to speak that we are forced to look at the reality of the situation...the stinking potatoes...and fix the problem.
Something to think about...
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Soul Searching
I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I've been thinking about where I am in my life, where I want to be in my life, my faith, my family, and Heavenly Father's plan for me. I know that God only gives us what we can handle. I know I'll get pregnant eventually, but I'm content right now knowing that I'm following the plan God has for me. It's just not time yet. Sounds simple, but it took a lot of work internally to come to that realization. It's funny, I was just asking, "Why me?" a few days ago, and now I guess I got my answer.
I know in my heart that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church on this Earth. I know that God loves me personally and knows me personally. He knows me better than I even know myself. I know that, when the time is right, we'll bring another little one into our family. The time is just not right, right now. That's not to say that we're stopping trying or anything. I want to give Him every opportunity to allow me to become a mother for a second time. The road of infertility can be frustrating and taxing on the spirit. We get frustrated because we don't know everything right now and because we can't have everything fixed right now. That's human nature I guess....at least it is for me. I'll continue on with my plans to get whatever it is that is not happening with my body to happen, but I've decided I'm not going to stress out about it anymore. It's too much work! Stress takes a real toll on me. Besides, I've got other things to do. I've decided I'm too busy for stressing out over this anymore. I know that I'm a Daughter of God. He loves me for who I am now and who I will be in the future. He knows my impatient spirit and I'm sure he gets a good chuckle out of it sometimes. If that's one thing I'm supposed to learn in this life, it's patience. It's not one of my strong suits.
Anyway, if this sounds rambling, I'm sorry. It's 12:40 a.m. and I should be in bed, but obviously I'm not...I'm typing. I was just thinking this and sometimes things seem so clear in a quiet house with my boys asleep in bed. I wanted to write it down before I forgot it, which is likely given my sleep deprived state. I had a clearing of my mind tonight. I don't believe that was coincidence...it was an answer to prayers. I finally know the why...however simple it is.
I know in my heart that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church on this Earth. I know that God loves me personally and knows me personally. He knows me better than I even know myself. I know that, when the time is right, we'll bring another little one into our family. The time is just not right, right now. That's not to say that we're stopping trying or anything. I want to give Him every opportunity to allow me to become a mother for a second time. The road of infertility can be frustrating and taxing on the spirit. We get frustrated because we don't know everything right now and because we can't have everything fixed right now. That's human nature I guess....at least it is for me. I'll continue on with my plans to get whatever it is that is not happening with my body to happen, but I've decided I'm not going to stress out about it anymore. It's too much work! Stress takes a real toll on me. Besides, I've got other things to do. I've decided I'm too busy for stressing out over this anymore. I know that I'm a Daughter of God. He loves me for who I am now and who I will be in the future. He knows my impatient spirit and I'm sure he gets a good chuckle out of it sometimes. If that's one thing I'm supposed to learn in this life, it's patience. It's not one of my strong suits.
Anyway, if this sounds rambling, I'm sorry. It's 12:40 a.m. and I should be in bed, but obviously I'm not...I'm typing. I was just thinking this and sometimes things seem so clear in a quiet house with my boys asleep in bed. I wanted to write it down before I forgot it, which is likely given my sleep deprived state. I had a clearing of my mind tonight. I don't believe that was coincidence...it was an answer to prayers. I finally know the why...however simple it is.
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