2 weeks to go!

1 week left of classes and 1 week of finals....I can't wait for a break. 2 weeks left of Christmas fall pictures....I can't wait for a break.

The kids and Steve have been great. They are all so busy-I don't think they really noticed that I am studying in the background except the fact that they keep praying mommy will pass her test!

Blake and Andrew started middle school wrestling season in Oct. They are doing great.
Blake is in his last year of middle school wrestling and has 13 wins 0 losses. Way to go Blake. It has finally clicked for him. He is amazing on the mat. He will be turning 14 this weekend. OH NO...I'm not ready for a 14 year old!
Andrew brought home a really neat ice cream in a bag recipe that we just did for family night. Hopefully, he can post the recipe soon. He has turned into quite the cook since I have started back to school. He has been amazing to his little sisters.
Leah Beth is busy with all her school projects and hip hop dancing. She is currently observing her latest school project: a Goldfish and snail. (yes another pet)
Caroline is ballet and tap dancing while keeping us all in line. She has just moved up in her reading levels to 2nd grade and she is so so so so so excited to check out the cool chapter books.

I have lots of pictures but maybe after these next two weeks I will be able to sort through and post.

Congratulations Matheny Family

Some good friends of our family are adopting a son from China. After a long wait they were finally able to get him! Congrats to then. We love and miss them and are so excited for them.
check out her blog www.heathermathenyfamily.blogspot.com
to read all about it!

It's gonna be a great winter!!!

I drove through McDonald's drive through the other day and guess what I saw!!!

McDonald's has hot chocolate again!!! I was so sad the last two winters that they took it off their menu...it's back!

I am so excited for a cold morning and a yummy cup of McDonald's hot choc.They have the best hot cocoa ever-if you don't believe me just try some!

Extra job ideas!

I was talking to a friend of mine and she was needing extra money to make ends meet in these kind of hard times. We brainstormed a bunch of ideas and I just thought if any of my four readers was looking for ways to make extra cash for making ends meet or Christmas or whatever-that I would share!

Yard sale
Sale of old furniture
sale your old gold
teach a lessons of something you know how to do...piano, sewing, budgeting, computer skills(how to make a blog lessons!), voice, knitting, cooking, cake decorating, and on and on. Whatever you are good at someone else would prob. love to learn-just advertise it that you are teaching it for X amount of dollars!
Babysit
Sale Bread or homemade food items(cookies)
clean houses
make little girl dresses or tutus and sale them on eBay or start a selling blog
make jewelry and sale it the same way (my customer's mom started this one)
make hair bows and sale them (craft fairs are getting ready to be every week-end) or online
refinish furniture or paint canvas art
Be a DJ for a wedding or reunion (this might be costly to start)
design blogs
teach a language
run errands for people who can't (older people or busy people)
haul off people's trash
pet sit
Are you a genealogy buff? People love to know their family histories, but don’t have time to do the research. You can offer your services as a “family researcher” and help clients learn about their roots, learn about your own in the process, and generate extra income.
paint (ugh)

What else-share your ideas with us!!!

The gift of time!

More gratitude for my sweet friends and family!!!

Thank you Ms.Katie for dinner, Grandma for taking 2 of my kids to visit their cousins in NC, Aunt Chrys for feeding and caring for my 2 kids while they are there, Heather for watching my other 2 kids while I was at school today, Mckenzie for doing my paper work taxes for magical memories, Mom for helping me write all the papers due this week for mid-term week, Blake and Andrew for cleaning house, Lisa for ordering magical memories, all the other things and prayers that have gone unspoken that I am forgetting to write about, and the bomb threat at school today so I could get out early. It is amazing how much I needed my community this week and didn't even know it. I feel so overwhelmed with love-I can't explain it. Because of you all this I was able to take 5 mid-terms test and turn in 3 research papers! Thank you Thank you Thank you. Thank you for being in tune with me and when I told the Lord I needed help you came my way. I knew by Tuesday night when I got home and Katie had snuck over here and hid dinner in my fridge I was receiving some major tender mercies this week.
When I was 14 I received a patriarchal blessing...In my blessing it states that I would get my education from a university where I would grow in knowledge and receive spiritual education at the same time. When I was younger I thought that meant BYU(ricks then) I just assumed because I had to take religious classes there -hence the spiritual growth. Not even the case I have had to rely so much on the Lord in the past 2 months than I ever had to in my entire life. I can't even explain it fully. I wish I was a beautiful writer and could explain the whisperings of the spirit that have guided me and helped direct me-but that's the best way I know how to explain it! Thank you again for helping me so much!

Gratitude

I am so thankful for good friends! I have been so blessed by so many good friends. It is amazing how the Lord puts people in my path right when I need them.

Singing with shaky voices!

Caroline says today, "Dad, there must have been a lot of new women at church today."
Dad says, "Why do you say that?"
C-"All these women were singing with really shaky voices really loud!"

Running too fast!

It seems over the last four weeks that I have started school I have been running a different speed. Even though working and juggling my family was hard throwing school in the midst of it has left me in a whirl wind of emotions. I am posting this because I want to remember these feelings and I am trying to take the advice of my SIL to remember through the busy times to journal how I am feeling...I thought I would take a minute to add some of my thoughts.

I have heard from some reading that my mom told me that basically (without the technical terms) if your brain opens to many files at once and doesn't close some you will start forgetting things. So I guess with me opening new files in my brain trying to retrieve information that has long been forgotten...has left some important open files WIDE open. I am kinda forgetting important things....like my son at practice, hmmmm, picture appts, people have called waiting in my driveway and I forgot they were even coming, fixing my family dinner. (I thought they ate) While the file was open in my brain about brefunnbeurners contextual model...I am forgetting the things that I find are really important.
I started getting so upset. Feeling so overwhelmed with doubt...what have I done...loosing my mind...hormonal (maybe) satan trying to give me doubt for something I really prayed about and knew it was right to do....(definitely)
I finally realized this morning that I have been forgetting to read my scriptures. I always pray but scripture reading has gone by the wayside. I just reached for a set of scriptures and opened them...turning to Mosiah 4:27...It says "And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order." I know the Lord needed me to read that today. I am so grateful to know that He is looking out for my best interest and reminding me the most important things...to do in order the rest will fall into place. I am no spiritual giant on most days, but it seems lately I have had to rely on the Lord's strength to just simply know how to handle any situation. I am feeling so blessed to know that I can do this when I can't carry myself and my family!

So I guess it doesn't matter so much that I feel my house is not clean enough or I haven't studied quite enough for an exam...but it is important that I go have lunch with my LB today because she was feeling down this morning when she left for school. I am so blessed to have the Jesus Christ in my life-I know he loves us and wants us to be happy. I found this quote this week on hope.....It made me feel better that I forgot to pick up Blake from practice! Blake forgave me instantly just forgiving myself wasn't so easy...



Learn from yesterday

Live for today

HOPE for tomorrow

10 years ago tag

I loved this blog from http://jenmeredithfamily.blogspot.com/. for the first time I loved a tag that I would want to go into my blurb book. I like to only blog things that I really want in my journal so it is takes less time to go thru when I blurb again!!! I had so much fun reading Jen's and I would love to read yours. I really had to do some thinking on some of these!!!
I added one more category just for the heck of it.

15 years ago-sept. 18, 1993 Steve and I had been married for 7 months. We were both students in East Tennessee. We lived in a tiny one bedroom apt. We both worked 20 hours a week. I worked at a little day care and he worked at Sears!

10 years ago-Sept. 18, 1998. I was in the hospital with our new baby girl. We had her for one whole day. I was looking her over and so excited to have my first daughter! We had just purchased our first van and I was so happy to be 24 and a mommy of three. Blake was 3 andrew 2 and our new sweet little leah beth was finally with us!

5 years ago Sept. 18, 2003. We had just sold our first home. I was so sentimental leaving it because we had worked so hard to get it. We were going into a rental home and I was not excited about the temporary fix. It was actually a really hard time for me. Caroline had just turned 2 and we were packing and getting ready to close on the house!

5 months ago April 18, 2008-I had to look back on my calendar to remember this! It is funny it is easier to remember 15 years ago than 5 months ago!!!
I had 3 mother's day picture appts from a mother's day special I was running. The kids were ending t-cap testing and I was looking forward to a fun friday!!!

5 hours ago-I was just getting out of my last class. I was exhausted. My brain hurt...I picked up the kiddos at school and got ready for afternoon activities!

5 minutes ago. I started this blog...trying to recap the last 15 years!

5 things I did today...read with Caroline, drove the kids to school, took a test at 8:00 AM, called my hubbie, walked all over campus trying to remember where the library was!

5 things I'll do tomorrow...2 loads of laundry, study, 1 picture shoot of a 6 month old, play with my kids on the playground when we take B. to work, cook dinner

5 things I want to tell my husband...to not forget to pick up blake tonight at work, that I love him, thank you for working so hard for all of us, not to wake my up if he gets home from work too late! and last that we need to plan a date night because I am missing him!

Happy 10th birthday Leah Beth!

Our girl just hit the double digits today. I can't believe 3 of my four kids are double digits!!! I never thought I'd make it to this point when they were all so little! Time really does fly by! I remember the day we brought her home from the hospital like it was yesterday! She was our sweet little 9 lbs. 12 oz. healthy little girl. She has always been such a healthy girl! I think the first time she got sick with any thing was when she was 4! She was really attached to me when she was a baby! I don't know if it was me or her more attached since it was my first daughter I had so much fun dressing her up in cute clothes and head bands on that bald head! She really didn't have too much to do with her daddy until she was around 10 months old. He went on a trip and when he came back it was all over! Daddy's girl! Once we left her with Nana (poor Nana) she cried the whole entire time and cuddle with me all night after that! Leah Beth is a head strong, crazy, fun girl! She brings a new meaning to the word stubborn! We have always said the girl knows what she wants and she will fight long and hard for whatever it is!!! When she was a baby I would rub her little bald head and wish for blonde beautiful curls and we sure got it! She has a full head of wavy, crazy, fun hair! I love to see her in the mornings, she always comes in for a morning hug with the craziest hair!!!

Leah Beth I am so happy to see you turning into such a beautiful young lady! We are so blessed to have you in our family! You fill our days with smiles and our nights with cuddles! You are always thinking of your sister and wanting her to be happy. You are a good loyal friend and daughter! I have been so amazed with you lately how you have helped me so much since I went back to school! You are always so willing to do your part! If I could just learn some of your organizational skills!!! Your smile sparkles and shines with the light of Christ as I see you make such amazing good choices! I am so proud of you- My first daughter-My little sweetheart-My baby angel-My friend! I love you sweet 10 year old! Happy Birthday!

Papa turned 60!!!

Last Sunday we celebrated Papa's 60th birthday! We had so much! Happy Birthday Papa!

Caroline's b-day party