Serendipitous

I like that word. Well, that one, and "serendipity." Because they mean "something wonderful that is unexpected." I discovered around the time Joy was born that unplanned events CAN be wonderful :)

So, I have 2 serendipitous events to share with you:

My inlaws are visiting until Monday, and I found out about their visit the day that they were arriving [finding out the day they arrived is the unexpected part, having them visit is the wonderful part- just to be clear!]. I love having them as guests, and I know Jared certainly deserves some hunting buddy time with his Dad. I also wish that sleeping in the same bed as Jared would let me know the same things he does. At least about schedules, LOL.

And, I got the most gorgeous picture-mail on my phone yesterday! My SIL Amber had a beautiful baby girl, named Halle Kate [name matches baby, BTW], and my brother took a photo of his newborn daughter and sent it to me. So, even though I live about a day's travel away from him, and probably won't see his family until summer, I still got to look at this precious new life- my newest niece. I love cellphones.

Gratitude List:
* a whole day with my husband yesterday.
* in-laws who volunteered to watch my kids all day, then practically chased me out of the house for my day-long date :)
* I can spend all day with Jared and never get tired of listening to him. Or looking at him, either. [He's really good at listening to me, too. He's good enough that I never catch him rolling his eyes at me LOL!]
* my kids are mostly well-behaved.
* good friends who love and support me.
* music on my ipod.
* God, and His Son, my Savior, Jesus Christ.
* that I have felt God's love in so many ways today.
* my brother and sister-in-law have a beautiful healthy baby girl.

Catching up

Okay, so way back in January, Walker had his first ever Pinewood Derby. [Yes, he's 10 and yes, this should be his 3rd one, but we're just grateful that he has a good scout leader NOW. Back to the derby.] Jared and Walker planned out the design of this car, then they cut it out and sanded it, and added the lead to bring it up to weight. Then Walker decided on a paint job, and I donated some of my scrapbooking paint [gasp! such a sacrifice] and he painted his car. Now, we did this back at the beginning of January, since Jared was gone all of January, and the race was the 22nd of January. We will probably never have a pinewood derby car finished that early again! So, Thursday comes around, and we all walk over to the church for the race. First, there is an adult race, with all the leaders competing. The 16-year-old advisor won that one. Then, we move on to the boys' race. There is a lot of weighing, and 4 heats, and after the smoke clears, Walker is the winner!!! Yep, he won this Pinewood Derby, and also got a certificate for "Best Aerodynamic Design." To top it off, he raced against the winner of the adult's race, and beat him as well- with his wicked-fast race car ;). We texted Jared as soon as the results were in, and he called to congratulate Walker. Walker had to give him a play-by-play of the whole event, and I could tell he was enjoying all the attention.

I spent most of last week cleaning things up around the house, and trying to catch up my laundry in anticipation of my weekend trip to Iowa. Wednesday I packed, and decided that I'd better take 2 suitcases so I didn't exceed the weight limit :). Incidentally, did you know that the airlines now charge for EACH piece of luggage that you check?!? Guess their bail-out money hasn't arrived yet...

I made my connections fine, got my luggage, and then had to call for directions to my sister's house because the directions I'd printed were still at home on my computer desk. Rented a nice bright-red Toyota Corolla [speedy little thing], and had a peaceful drive to Cedar Rapids. When I pulled into her driveway, there were two little kids standing at the door and waving to me- so cute!! I have a lot of nieces and nephews, and they are all extremely adorable ;) and I am so glad I got to see 3 of them last week! I got to listen to Luke's stories about Star Wars, and legos, and the Star Wars Lego video game he loves to play [and how cool is it that we can combine the love of legos, Star Wars, and video games all into one package?!?]. I saw with my very own eyes Valerie's superhero jumps. It's amazing what a little cape can do for you. And Owen, well, he is one of the happiest little babies ever. Constant grin on his face, with his two bottom teeth showing, and he scoots everywhere. Oh, and the penguins: I got to read a whole lot of penguin stories, because that is the preschool theme this week, and I found out that Luke is exactly as tall as an Emperor Penguin. I tell you, education is a life-long experience.

I also got to see my cousin Mindy, and her two kids; they stopped by to visit Emily while I was there :). I finally headed back to Des Moines after lunch, and had another beautifully peaceful drive. You know, I don't mind driving at all when I'm alone LOL. I had to make another phone call to Jared, double-checking the address of the hotel, because I'd remembered that it was nearby a mall, but couldn't remember whether it was north, south, east, or west of said mall. He found the address just fine, and I found the hotel just fine :) I got myself checked in, unloaded my clothes, then trundled all my scrapbooking supplies down to the conference room and stayed there [except for the few hours I slept and showered]. LOL, the only time I even left the hotel was Saturday night, to walk across the parking lot and eat in a restaurant. But I had an awesome time :) and was sorry it ended so quickly.

Sunday, I got up about 4:30am Iowa time, and barely made my flight- I thought I had plenty of time, but somewhere I lost almost an hour, giving me 25 minutes to get from check-in through security and onto the plane. Thankfully, both myself and my luggage made it to SLC at the same time ;)

Jared and the kids picked me up at the airport, and we drove home, got our nice clothes on, and headed over to church. *sigh* I caught myself nodding off several times, which was understandable, but it made me nervous, since I was supposed to teach in Relief Society [women's meeting]. Thankfully, God blessed me to stay awake and make sense, and eventually I did get to go to sleep. I do not do well when I'm that tired!

The rest of this week is Jared's hunting time. Today he's tracking those 'red-legged devil birds' [aka chukar] by himself. This job will be much easier with last night's snowfall; instead of guessing where they are, he can follow the little birdie tracks all over the newly fallen snow. The rest of the week he'll have a buddy- his dad- to go with him. I'm not sure if they're hunting chukar or pheasant, but they are definitely looking for birds of some kind or another :).

Gratitude List:
* Airplanes. and cars. and email. and texts. and cellphones. and computers. I really like living here, and now. Oh, and flushing toilets!!!
* my ipod.
* a nice, warm bed at home. The one in the hotel was nice, but I like my own bed.
* Not driving in Iowa snow this trip :)
* going shopping with my niece and nephews to the little Kolona grocery store.
* holding a baby on my hip and pushing a shopping cart- brings back memories ;)
* My husband has NEVER made me feel like I'm skipping out on my mothering responsibilities, even when I abandon my family for a weekend of wild scrapping and pirate partying, and could legitimately be accused of such ;)
* friends- good friends- who welcome my once-a-year visits and put on such a great crop!
* Pirate challenges :) my personal favorite was trying to do a layout while wearing an eyepatch over one of my eyes. Depth perception really is a necessary component of good scrapping!
* that nobody spilled my buttons all over my suitcase on my return trip to SLC [they were everywhere when I opened the suitcase up in Des Moines]. I'm thinking I should not use metal tins to transport my scrapping supplies...
* We're one month closer to paying off Jared's student loan.
* I spent less than I had budgeted for food/gas this week, and had some left-over cash. Hmmm, what to do, what to do...
* My SIL is due today, with a little girl, and I cannot wait to see her baby and hear what they're calling her! [good luck on the whole labor/delivery thing, Amber!!]
* I am caught up on laundry. Not ahead [is that even possible?], but not behind either.
* Snow on the ground, and I don't have to go anywhere but the library today.
* Libraries. Have I mentioned how much I love borrowing books for free?
* Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. Mmmmm.
* God blessed me with the ability to stay awake and talk and actually make sense, after my very long Sunday :)
* the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and its impact on my life.
* kids who took an hour-long recess outside today, so I could have a nice long shower without worrying about pencil fights in the kitchen.

Oh, today

* Today I am happy that I got to go to the bookstore by myself.
* Today I remembered how much I enjoy autumn. And spring.
* Today I colored all the letters in the word "February" on my calendar.
* Today I packed 2 suitcases full of scrapbooking supplies and a change of clothes. I could have fit everything into one suitcase, but there is a weight limit :)
* Today I did a whole lot of laundry.
* Today I read a lot of books.
* Today I went to the public library and fell in love all over again. I love books.
* Today I let Walker make mac-n-cheese without any supervision or help from myself.
* Today I am grateful for that summer I worked taking hotel reservations over the phone, because it allowed me to stay calm when I dealt with a less-than-helpful service person.
* Today I am grateful that the less-than-helpful person's supervisor was extremely helpful, and that I am no longer booked on 2 flights out of SLC tomorrow.
* Today I am glad I have good friends in many places, and that I get to visit some of the ones living in Iowa over the weekend.
* Today I am grateful for food, and heat, and God's Word, and my neighbors, and my life in general, I guess. Oh, and for my husband and children. They are my heart.

Count down

Jared will be home on Friday :)

** That's pretty much my gratitude list for the rest of the week LOL.

Had a nice easy day today- slept in, ran errands, did not do laundry [but I will, tonight], picked up some books at the library- Walker found a new book in the Children of the Lamp series, which he's allowing me to borrow AFTER he finishes reading it- and now we're going to the grocery store.

Sunday was interesting. Some days are more tender than others, and I don't really have the luxury of skipping my women's meeting, because I'm partially responsible for running it. It's good, because it keeps me busy. It's not so good when I'm feeling raw and sensitive, and I'm up in front of people and I feel like my guts are hanging out there for all the world to admire. Or not, as the case may be. I try not to leave in the middle of the lesson, because that brings more attention to me, since I cannot sneak out from the front of the room. But there are times when I have to focus really hard on my fingernails, or something equally un-emotional, to keep the sobs in my chest from spilling over. That being said, Sunday was not actually one of those days, and I actually learned something helpful to me. We took one of President Dieter F Uchtdorf's addresses from the Sept. 2008 General Relief Society Conference [our women's conference], and I'll just share the parts that I needed:

Happiness is my heritage. It's a gift from my Heavenly Father, and it is something that is rightfully mine- not a treat, a sometimes thing, but a right that I have at all times- to be happy. So, how do I get and keep this happiness? [Pres. Uchtdorf suggested 2 ways: be creative [make something] and be compassionate] And then this, which I'm quoting exactly:

President Gordon B. Hinckley believed in the healing power of service. After the death of his wife, he provided a great example to the Church in the way he immersed himself in work and in serving others. It is told that President Hinckley remarked to one woman who had recently lost her husband, “Work will cure your grief. Serve others.” [I put part of that in bold]. I cannot imagine the grief he felt at losing his wife of 60 years, and the loneliness and heartache that he must have felt. And yet...

See, I know that when I'm really, truly aching, that hiding in my bedroom [or at the bookstore] does not bring me happiness. I come out as sad as I went in. And I have felt joy most often when I am working and serving. When I take the time to play a game with my kids; when I'm busy with church work [not meetings, but actual work LOL]; when I take raw materials and create something new and good [like bread, or chocolate chip cookies, or happy memories for my children], these times are the ones that bring that peace and joy and happiness that God has promised me.

*sigh* That was a bit melancholy. I really am doing well- kids have been ANGELS today [which leads me to be suspicious of those pod-like things in the basement], and today was beautiful- cold and bright and crisp.

Whew

Just a quick list, since I'm up to my ears in jobs ;)

Gratitude List:
* unlimited texts :) Jared calls me on the phone, too, but we mostly text each other, even when he's not TDY.
* I slept in this morning, accidentally.
* When I finally did drag myself out to the kitchen, my kids had already eaten breakfast, and were doing their schoolwork. WOW.
* hot cocoa and french toast [comfort food, for sure]
* blogging
* music
* the library and the budding love affairs my children are developing w/books.
* Hyrum wrote his first love note [with help from his sister] to a little girl, and I get to mail it for him ;) It says, "Dear Xxxx, I love you. I know you have a crush on me. I wish you could play. Love, Hyrum
**Okay, the note really isn't a gratitude thing, but it kind of is, because I'm grateful he has such a tender heart, and that I got to see his first love note, and that he has such good taste- this little girl is extremely intelligent, 2 years older than he is, and definitely on her way to being possibly good enough for my son ;) Hopefully all his girlfriends will be this type LOL.
* chore charts
* our new President has been safely inaugurated. No attacks [at least, no physical ones], no bombs, no shooting. SO thankful for that.
* It was warmer today, so the dogs' water didn't freeze. And I didn't have to go chop ice.
* God

Little Miracles

Charlotte's Web has been a favorite book of mine for many, many [too many to count, really] years. And a few years ago there was a movie made of the book, which I took all [four, at the time] of my kids to see. I LOVED the movie- I was impressed with how well the script captured the feeling of the book, and I pounced on the DVD and bought it the first day it was available. And, I also loved the music in the movie- one song in particular- 'Ordinary Miracle' sung by Sarah McLachlan.

This song can still bring tears to my eyes :). Hearing it reminds me of how much I have to be grateful for. I struggle with this a lot, which is why I like to keep a list at the bottom of my posts. Writing down my blessings, even the small ones, makes them seem more real to me.

Gratitude List:
* movies that lift my spirits [Narnia movies are good for this; so is Charlotte's Web]
* my mom, who came up to tend my kids on Monday last, freeing me up to run some errands and enjoy some alone time.
* my husband, who wrote me a beautiful letter [sorry honey, I know you're a man, but handsome letter doesn't mean the same thing] that I received today.
* I have wonderful friends.
* 2 more weeks 'till Jared's home :)
* dry erase markers and a dry erase board for my kids to color on.
* healthy kids.
* healthy me.
* a strong, supportive, extended family.
* a Father in Heaven who understands my grief, and my happiness, and that they aren't always mutually exclusive.
* the night sky.
* I have money for gas to fill the car to drive me to visit my family and friends.
* books to read.
* soup and bread.

Snow Day

Jared is in MD through the end of January, for training. We both agree it's redundant, but then, a lot of military things are. It's why they are so great at training soldiers, and totally suck at saving money LOL. Anyway, he's enjoying [? or not] the warmer weather out there, and we're enjoying [completely and totally] the snowy winter wonderland that is our yard.

A few nights ago, I finally realized that getting to the gym just isn't happening during the day for me. I could take my kids w/me, but since the daycare has an age limit of 8, I'd still need to find something for my oldest 2 to do. And letting them loose, unsupervised, just scares me [besides being against the gym policy of having to supervise children up to age 12]. I cannot even tell you how many things I can see them getting into, or destroying LOL, all in the name of 'discovering.' Not to mention the occasional creepy person I see walking around the gym area. So, again, not happening right now.

I came up with a solution, however. I desperately need to exercise, to keep up on the frequent family hikes we take during the warmer months of the year. It finally occurred to me that I could go after the kids are in bed- just put the dogs in the house and do a few laps around the block- and get the exercise I want to. Ah-hah!! ** We're also visiting places like Red Butte Gardens, which is a gorgeous place to walk in the summer and winter both. Today we actually took a class about winter, and how plants and animals prepare for winter, and how we prepare for winter. Then we walked around the garden [hooray, more walking LOL] and looked for plants and animals that were prepared for winter. **

Back to walking around the neighborhood: my Wednesday night walk was gorgeous. It was snowing those fat, fluffy snowflakes, and everything was hushed. Oh, :) and I came back wet and happy. For now, this seems to be the best solution. It has the added bonus of getting me out of the house by myself, which I need more now that I'm homeschooling and seem to spend every waking minute with at least one child talking to me. Aaah, the perfect quiet of a solitary walk! Although last night I spent almost an hour talking to Jared while I was walking, so it wasn't really very quiet.

Gratitude List:
* My kids are cooperating again. Wow- twice in one week!
* Walker shoveled the driveway and cleared off most of the snow.
* I made bread, and it was yummy!
* My kids are old enough to share popcorn without fighting [mostly].
* I have 4-wheel-drive :)
* Gas is still under $2/gallon
* The hot water heater works
* hot chocolate in the mornings
* friends and family
* God
* my husband, whether he's home or away.
* 13 years married, today!
* no car payments and money in the bank.

Cherish

:) I have so many things I wish to post about, and so little time right now- back to school, fighting the 'playtime' to get in some 'schooltime' and dealing with computer viruses [thank you Jared for fixing those!], changing all my passwords, backing up the hard drive, and now, FINALLY, I can upload pics from my camera! Except I need to find that little USB cord that connects my camera to the computer. *sigh* I'm sure it's around here somewhere...

Ali Edwards hosts a yearly "one-word" challenge on her blog. I've participated the last two years, and was debating whether to do it agan this year, but decided I needed this- it forced me to sit down and evaluate exactly what I want to be doing this year, and where I want to go- on a personal level- with my life.

I chose the word CHERISH.

I want to cherish what I have, and not make lists of things [especially things I have to dust LOL] that will somehow make my life better. I have a good- well, great, actually- life already.

I want to cherish my husband, and my children. I chose to get married, and to have kids. I chose to stay home. I chose to homeschool. I need to remember WHY, and enjoy this time. How many people do YOU know that can honestly say they are doing exactly what they have chosen to do?!

I want to cherish my memories, and cherish the opportunities I have to make new ones. As much as I'd like to sometimes, I cannot spend all my time focused on the past. Life goes on [it DOES] and I want to be involved in it. I want to cherish the time that we have together. I want to continue making memories with Walker, Morgen, Hyrum, and Jared; because I don't know how much time we'll have together.

Now I need to sit down and evaluate how I'll put all these wishes into effect- make my list of resolutions ;)

Gratitude List:
* We had a lot of family time this past month, and it's been great.
* We're close to our families, so spending time with any/all of them is a treat.
* My parents taught me to be kind to my siblings, and they set a good example by treating their own siblings and parents with kindness.
* I know that my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, lives. I know because of His Atonement that I can see my son, Myles, again.
* God answers prayers. :) I'm especially grateful that he answers MY prayers.
* Our furnace works!
* My computer is working again.
* My children are [temporarily, I'm sure] not fighting.
* My husband is home for one more day :)

Verboten

Or, why my posts will have no [current] pictures for a little while. And this is really all in my head, because I have a less than perfect understanding with my computer right now. :) One of my Christmas presents was a new internal hard drive to supplement our old 40-gig hard drive. I filled that one completely up with itunes and digital photographs. My dh [who is pretty much capable of anything, I've discovered] installed the new drive- there was a spot for it, but no hardware to attach it, so he figured all that out, too. Now we're backing up all the current memory, and then we'll switch the pics and tunes to the new drive, and *gulp* erase them from the old drive. So, while all the backing up is going on, I have not downloaded or saved any pictures. And I have taken a few since our trip to LV. Mostly this is because there really is NO ROOM left on the old hard drive. Partly it is also because I'm afraid if I add anything before the [long and extremely slow] back-up process is complete, the whole darn thing will have to restart.

So this is a summary of the last few days: Friday we drove down to a hunt club, and FINALLY took the kids out for a pheasant hunt. [we stopped along the way to see Nate and Caitlin & their boys, and played with all Saxon's new cars] We hunted the gully [that's a very small canyon, BTW] right next to an access road, which meant that Jared and the dogs walked in/near the gully to look for birds, and I walked along the road with any kids that weren't following him. LOL, I have now held 2- yes, TWO- dead pheasants. Oh the things I will do for love ;). Jared was the only one with a gun [thank goodness], and we made sure we stayed behind him, so he knew where NOT to shoot. We ended up with 4 of the fattest pheasants you'll ever see. Or maybe you won't, depending on the whole picture/hard drive thing...

Left the hunt club, drove to my parents' house for games and dinner, and ended up spending the night, which was probably the safer choice. Saturday was a pretty laid-back day; pancakes for breakfast [thanks to my mom, who is an awesome cook], and lots of snow in the yard. Jared spent most of the morning outside with Kyle, Emmeline, Cassie [she's the honorary canine cousin], Alyson, and all our kids, building a huge snow fort. Actually, it is an igloo- it has a roof, and it's tall enough to stand up in. I did go outside and try it out, and take some pics.

We drove home by way of Provo Canyon through Heber, and checked on my grandparents' house- it's for sale now, which is kind of hard, but understandable. We also stopped at the cemetery [kids were all asleep in the back seat- late nights and lots of outdoor exercise, I guess], and Jared shovelled a path from the road into Myles' grave, and my grandparents' and great-grandparents' graves as well. We brushed off the snow, and tidied things up a bit, then headed home. We made it home in one piece- no accidents or close calls- and fed everybody and went to bed. Yesterday was a normal church day, and we had roast pheasant for dinner. Yep, we eat our kills. Anyway, because they're farm raised, and fed like chickens, they basically taste like chicken. I just need to comment that Jared and I came to an agreement early in our marriage: he shoots it, he cleans it, and he prepares it. I'm happy to taste anything, but I do not prepare wild game of any kind. So, yes, Jared cooked the pheasant ;)

Today, we're slowly working our way through a normal day- chores, school, etc. At least, that's the plan. Who knows what might happen?

Gratitude List:
* heat! Oh I am so glad I have a furnace that works :)
* warm oatmeal [with brown sugar and cranberries] and hot cocoa for breakfast. The cocoa isn't exactly healthy, but it feeds my soul, so it stays.
* kids who are old enough to have morning chores, like 'put the dogs outside and feed them.'
* good church meeting yesterday
* my kids
* my husband ;)
* my family and friends
* having my own set of scripture [I mean, 200 years ago, I'd be lucky to know how to read, much less own ANY books at all]

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

and if we had a fire, I'm sure it would be delightful :). We woke up this morning to more than presents from Santa- we had a full-on blizzard raging outside our windows! So much for visiting family this afternoon. I have snow stuck in the upper corners of my window- in between the screen and the glass- because it was so windy. I bet we got 8 or 10 inches [depending on where you measure], and we're due for more tomorrow. We had 2 hours without power, which was interesting. I had the stove on, cooking chukar soup [like chicken noodle soup, but with a different bird] and heating up some wassail, so the kitchen stayed nice and warm 'till the power returned. Thank goodness for gas-powered appliances!

We're going hunting tomorrow. Yes, this is the family hunting trip that has been postponed twice already due to ... WEATHER ... and we're going for the third one, baby. I am doing this because I want to spend time as a family, doing something that my dh loves to do. :) And I think my kids really need to be outside for awhile. That didn't happen today, for various reasons.

On a good note, I am knitting again. This time it's a kicking bag, and since I'm giving it to somebody who sees this blog, I won't be posting pictures, or explaining exactly what a 'kicking bag' really is. At least, not until I've given it away ;). But because of this little project, I have finally tackled [and sort of mastered] knitting a cable stitch. Hooray!

Oh, and I finished "Undaunted Courage" which is an autobiography about Meriweather Lewis. I first heard of the book when we were up in Montana, and promised myself I would find it and read it. I continue to be amazed at the men [and women] who explored and settled this country. Wow. **Jared's reading it now LOL**

Gratitude List:
* our neighbor has come by TWICE today and cleared our sidewalk and driveway with his snowblower. I love our neighbors!
* Santa Claus brought just enough candy- the kids ate it all, so tomorrow should be relatively normal.
* the workers who fixed the power outage in my area, on Christmas Day, so my house would stay warm tonight.
* any calories consumed on major holidays do not count.
* okay, that last one was more wishful thinking than reality. I AM grateful that my problem with food is that I have too much, rather than too little.
* new snow tires, and a 4-wheel-drive vehicle that "dominates" the snow :)
* no school ;) so this teacher can relax for a few days.
* Today was a good day.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!