Our New Little Man

I have been slow in getting pictures up of our new little guy, Adam Robert Thornley. I hope I am forgiven. Adam and I both just had our two week check-ups and are now cleared for all activities. So I finally have permission to blog :)

Anyway, everything went well. We reported to the hospital at 5 am. Which meant we had to get up at 4:15 am. Adam was born at 8:03 a.m. There were no complications for the baby. He weighed in at 8 pounds and 5.75 ounces. I had almost no problems except for the motion sickness after the operation. Everytime the nursing staff tried to move me after the operation, I got sick. It would make a cool real life baby doll feature, but wasn't so fun for me. (The hospital nurses, doctors and even food service were all so wonderful. I would do it all again happily IF we were going to, but we aren't!) I was released from the hospital Saturday afternoon and have done really well since being home. It helps tremendously that my mom is here for almost a full month.

Adam has been described by his pediatrician, the nurses and Perry's speach therapists as being mellow. I agree with this mostly. The exception is night time. But he is a great baby. He likes to be REALLY WARM. I mean, we live in AZ, and the daytime temps this week are in the 70's, but he still likes two to three blankets and preferrably a warm body underneath him (he loves to sleep on people.) He lost a little bit too much weight at first (move than 10%), but is quickly gaining it all back.

There are two new pieces of baby care info (so far) that amaze me considering Perry is only almost three years old. One is, the protocol for umbilical cord care. You no longer clean it all the time with alcohol. You just let it dry up by itself unless it starts oozing or smelling. My other kids had their cords still at the two week check up. Adam lost his at day nine. Wow! I also learned that breast fed babies, even in sunny AZ, need Vitamin D supplementation. Who knew?

Well, that is the update. Randal is doing great, but needing sleep. Same with me. Parker and Peter have pretty much carried on as usual. They love their new brother, but are also quite busy themselves. Parker has had an exciting time lately too with a birthday and Arrow of Light (I hope to update soon on that.) The real blessing/surprise has been Perry. We thought there would be tons of jealousy. Perry can be pretty rough and still doesn't talk well. But with Adam he has turned out to be a fabulous big brother and he is even talking better in just the past two weeks. He has also started telling us when he needs a new diaper which means someday I may be able to potty train him. YAY!!!

That's about all for now.

Not so new anymore

Hi All,
It's been awhile. But we are doing well. We are about to come up on our first "Intersession," better known as fall break. Three weeks off for no reason in the fall. We don't have any big plans for the time off, but we do need to visit the Desert Museum and Air museum. UPDATE: So far, we have gone to Colossal Cave and a mall trip. I love the mall, I love my kids, but put them together and it's kind of expensive. I'm a sucker for comments like, "Look Mom! They have pretzels just like we used to get in Nampa (Boise, really.)"

Parker is doing great in school. We just had parent/teacher conference for him and his teacher says he's a good kid and smart, if a little introverted. Kinda sounds like his dad to me. Parker is still on course for being taller than my by about age 12. He will also be participating in his first Chess tournament on Saturday, so that should be exciting. UPDATE: He got 2 1/2 points for his first tournament, which means he had one draw, two wins and one loss. Chess is cool in my opinion for one reason at least. Parents are not allowed to watch the games (or rather, coach, shout, stress their kids out, etc.) Chess tournament are slightly trying though because they literally take all day. Randal says all the people there are super nice though. Parker also attended a birthday party recently and found himself the only boy who showed up. He seemed a bit shocked that some of his guy friends "ditched" him, but I think he had a great time, and it's actually pretty cool, one guy to ten or so girls?

Peter has the whole school thing down. He loves it! Yesterday and today were half-days, which are done a little differently here. ALL kindergarteners, yes, that's AM and PM, go to school at the same time in the morning. These are the days when they get to do the special things at school like library, computers, P.E., etc. So, hopefully the teachers aren't overwhelmed, but I must admit, I think they are crazy!
Peter also recently was spotlighted in Primary, so since Randal and I have spoken in church already and Parker has also been spotlighted, I don't think we are considered "new" anymore here. My favorite thing Peter told his teacher when he was spotlighted was in answer to the question "Favorite Scripture?" Peter's response, "I can't read scriptures yet!" But he is getting there. He surprises us at the strangest moments by reading a sign or something else to us. He also likes to read sentences with exclamation marks REALLY LOUDLY and then tell us that's what exclamation marks mean. UPDATE: We have had to have "The Talk" with Peter. You read right, not Parker, but Peter. And he sure wanted to know a lot! I went with the philosophy that you tell the basics and let them ask questions. He had a lot of questions! I probably should have sent a heads-up to his teacher at school in case he feels like sharing his knowledge.

Perry has a friend. Her name is Sarah and they are in nursery together. Recently, Sarah's mom and I, got together to do some canning. Now, Sarah is in his prayers nightly, and everyday he asks "Where's Sarah?" An interesting thing I have noticed is, though he still has trouble speaking and being understood, he is extra careful when he talks to her and we can understand all kinds of sentences like "Sarah, follow me" and "That's my blankie!"

The new baby is growing well. So far, everything is great, but man, I am too old to be doing this. I either have to take a nap daily or I crash by about 8:30 p.m., sometimes mid sentence. We have tenatively schedule the birthday to be Dec 3rd. The baby may have other plans, but we'll go with that for now. And the name game is hopeless. No one can agree on anything! Parker wants Phineas. Peter just doesn't want another "P" name, but likes Thomas (the tank engine), and Perry has suggested about every train name. Gordon, Henry, Percy. He has stayed away from Skarloey and Rhineas, so that's helpful at least. Randal doesn't really say, but I think he is through with "P" names too. As for me, I once made a joke that my initial and the boys made C3P and we needed an "O." Peter then thought we should call the baby "C3PO," but this week (literally, it changes from week to week,) I like Oliver. Don't ask why. There has also been votes for calling the baby Perry Junior. This would be massively confusing because we have a Perry, who calls his brother Peter "Perry" and gets his parents so confused we sometimes do it too. So, there would be three Perrys in the house. I guess they could all be spelled different...Pari...Parry...AHHHH!!! UPDATE: Perry has finally started calling Peter by his real name. So, it would only be two Perrys afterall. Also, we found out due to Mom's "advanced maternal age," that we will be having Dr. appointments twice a week for the rest of forever! Apparently, it is standard procedure to get NSD tests this often WHEN YOU ARE OLD and having a baby. But still, what a pain! Anything for the baby though. I have no idea how to make this work with the kids, especially trying to get Peter to P.M. kindergarten.

Randal and I are fairly busy, but don't always know where the time goes. Of course, there is work and taking care of kids. I've been roped into canning, book club, Girls' movie nights, etc. It's helping me make friends, but the times when I'm not busy still make me home sick. Randal, doesn't seem to have much free time, except when we are all in bed by 8 p.m. and he isn't even tired. I don't know what he does then. Anyway, we are happy and healthy but we sure miss family and friends. Take Care all and know we love you.

Random, and I mean even more random things that usual.

We are in the house. And we love it. The only drawback is the boxes. And boxes. I have been busy, but do you really want to know that the movers carefully wrapped and moved some of our prized scrap wood, a crushed paper dixie cup, a couple of lego creations that despite the very careful wrapping came apart and various other precious things? It is sometimes like Christmas opening boxes and putting things away. Unfortunately, we are down to opening boxes now that we say to ourselves "Where are we going to put that? or I don't want to deal with that now, how boring." My loving hubbie did go through a few boxes marked simply "books," in order to find New Moon for me. It was very sweet and he was very lucky b/c we have quite a few of those boxes. He has a quote he tells me from his friend David Mitchell which is something about it being a good thing to move more weight in books than other stuff. It makes me feel a little better.

We are also about to have our twelfth anniversary. Our plans include exploring a new part of Tucson, eating and Harry Potter. We have been fortunate with Randal's new calling (Sunday school, 16-17 year olds) to meet a few babysitter's in the ward. I got called to be the accompanist to the ward choir, asssured that they do mostly hymns. Well, we'll see how it goes, but they do NOT do mostly hymns and the choir director was a music major in school. She even composes her own stuff. For fun. I am amazed that the singers in the choir, it seems all of them, can match the director in talent.

Parker has started Chess club and day one was "awesome." He even graciously said Peter could do it if he wanted too. (This was a big deal, b/c of the age difference and Parker likes to feel like there are just some things he does.) I guess they still need more people. But it costs money and can a Kindergartener really grasp Chess? We were just working on Checkers, and the unbelieveable sorrow that comes with losing is quite, well, unbelieveable. Parker also has scouts still and I feel very blessed that we came into a wonderfully functioning den/pack. Parker also has another loose tooth and just got a desk for his room which he is thrilled about. Who knew a desk would be exciting to a fifth grader? But he can now work without Perry, well, helping.

Peter really likes Kindergarten. He says he knows all the answers because he saw the answer book the teacher uses. He also said, on one of the first days, that there was a girl, named Emily, at his yellow table who (add some drama here) "Doesn't like cute things!" When asked to explain, he said she likes Star Wars and her favorite color is...BLUE! Like a boy! He is so funny. He also thinks Trix are the "evolvtion" of Kix cereal. It's a Pokemon thing, not a Darwin thing. And sometimes, when he is cutting things, his scissors are "out of control" and he needs a little help.

Perry has passed another hearing screen and is catching up on his speech. His evalutaion was "inconclusive" meaning that he isn't 50% behind his age group, but he is still slightly delayed. We are going to try a behavioral specialist for a month and then decide about speech therapy. The behavior stuff is to help him learn to focus, mostly on the different sounds in words, so that he learns the tiny differences in words, such as "moo" and "moon." As long as the tubes work, we think this is going to go fast and easy for him. He is enamored of Trix also, chocolate covered pretzels and trains. He has also moved on from refering to Peter as "baby." Now, Peter is Perry. And Perry is Perry. So, it gets a little confusing around here.

Randal still likes his job and the people. He did come home a little green the day he got his security clearance and FOUR HOUR BRIEFING! And now, of course, he can't tell us everything he does at work. Though I never REALLY understood what he did anyway, this new development surprisingly drives me a little crazy. It's a lot like wanting to know your Christmas presents before Christmas. My imagination has us watching 60 minutes one night, and hearing about some new, fascinating technology. At which point, I turn to him and say "I wonder how that works." And, where he would normally try to explain, he just stares at me and says NOTHING!

So that's just about everything. We still don't know if the new baby is a boy or girl. It didn't bother me for a long time. I had so much else going on. But now that things have slowed down a little, I really would like to know. It drives Parker crazy to not know and he really wants a sister. But we are all seemingly healthy and happy with a little homesickness in there for Nampa. Tucson has wonderful lightening storms, though still not a good as one I once watched in Pullman with my good friend Kristy. And we love eating breakfast on the patio, the only cool time of the day. We have beautiful mountain sunrises to watch from our backyard, and that feels a little decadent. We hope that future construction doesn't ruin that. Hope you all are well and happy also. Bye.

Intermission

I left off on our journey to AZ with picking our children up in Utah. While there we got to do some vacationy stuff. We made it a goal to ride the Front Runner train from Ogden to SLC. It may have been a subconscious attempt to kiss up to a two year old who is by now pretty fed up with us. It worked. At least, while we were doing it. I don't know if the trip is 30 or 45 minutes, but all the way there and all the way back we (mostly me and Velda) heard, "Mommy, choo-choo! Choo-choo train. Tracks! Mommy, choo-choo!!!!" I still don't know the appropriate response, but a response is required as any of you who have had a two year old knows.

As a lucky break, our new house is near some railroad tracks. Not too close, but close enough.

Anyway, we also got to see most of the family before we began our Exodus, and that was good because it may be awhile before we get vacation time. It may be even longer before we convince the kids to travel that far again.

We set off later than we thought to head down here, so we only made it to some obscure place in Utah. I really can't remember the name, but it is by the famous Big Rock Candy Mountain. We also made it to Cove Fort (thanks for the recommendation Peggy.) It was a fun way to break up the trip. Lots of pioneer stuff to look at and do. And boys and forts go together so well.

The next day was the grand canyon. Randal decided we would camp that night. OKAY?! This is probably the most exciting part of the trip and I don't even know where to begin. R and I had no coats with us. I mean, we were moving to AZ, so who would think to pack coats? The kids had jackets, so they were okay though. We also had a little tiny stove to cook on. It's a one burner, unstable contraption that I am sure is useful if you are, say, climbing Mt. Everest and need to travel light. Not very practical for cooking meals though. But R was willing to do the cooking. Oh, yeah, did I mention we didn't have a skillet, spatula, and barely enough eating utensils which we had stored in the car not for this trip, but some time ago "In case of emergency." Well, it does get cold in AZ if you are in the mountains. And everyone except R went to the tent by about 7 pm due to the cold.

The next day, we went to the south side of the Canyon and that is NOT CLOSE to the North side. Should have know with the name "Grand" canyon. We made some wrong turns also which added, oh say, a couple of hours to this trip. And of course, this was the day mom didn't get a shower (due to camping.) A side note here, for those of you who might not know this trick, is that if I am grumpy, chances are I didn't get a shower that day. It isn't a conscious thing. I'm not trying to be a brat. It is just something I have noticed about myself through the years.

Anyway, we saw the canyon, but this was probably my least favorite day of all the traveling. We were going to trying to make it to Flagstaff that night, but I mutinied, and we found a hotel near the canyon that night thinking we might go back in the morning. AFTER A SHOWER! I couldn't go back the next day knowing we still had five hours to get to Tucson and going back would have added at least two hours. So, we just headed towards Tucson. It was a good call for the majority. I think R was disappointed though. But hey, we'll go back someday. We do live here now. And I understand there is a train that goes from Williamsburg (?) to the canyon.

And now, we have arrived. So, next post is all about moving forward with our new life. We really do feel like we have done what we needed to do for our family and that we are exactly where we need to be. That DOESN'T help with the fact that we are home sick for our other homes. UT, WA, and most especially ID. Sometimes, we get blinded by comfort zones and routines, but we LOVED our time in ID. We LOVE and MISS our friends greatly. And we hope we can make this place home.

Arizona, part 1

Hi All,
We did make it, finally, to Arizona. It was a massively crazy time getting here. We started with a house hunting trip in May. We drove to Utah with the kids, left them with aunt Peggy, and then flew from SLC to Tuscon for a fast paced weekend of house hunting. Now, I'm a pretty good pregnant lady, I think, but boy was it a rough trip. We had part of Sat and all day Mon to try to find a house. Eerily reminiscent of our move to Nampa in which we also had a weekend to find a house. I was expecting then too. Well, I THINK we must have looked at 50 houses. Randal says it was more like 30. Either way, it was exhausting. And confusing. Old houses were the same price as new houses. Three bedroom houses were the same price as a six bedroom house. No yard houses were the same price as houses with fully decked out yards. It really is a buyers market I guess. Anyway, we did find a house we like and I'll try to find it's picture. It's a model home, so it has lots of upgrades. Unfortunately, the decorations don't come with it, so who knows what it will look like once we move in. I never have found one decorating style I like and it isn't my talent. DARN IT! Do you want to help, Alli?
Parker will be getting his own room though (except when company comes), so he is pretty excited. It's a two story, four bedroom house + a loft area. No pool, which comes with mixed emotions. We wanted one BECAUSE IT IS SO DANG HOT HERE, but I also had visions of Perry or the new little one drowning, So...there, no pool.

One interesting thing we have discovered is there are "cool down zones" in AZ. I don't know what all of them are, but the one we discovered was a "splash pad." Think Roaring springs kids area, but smaller. And Free! It had the flower showers, dumping water buckets and spritz tunnels.

But back to our house hunting trip. Did I mention our realtor has an H2? It's sleek for sure, but climbing in and out, in and out for all those houses was not fun.

Sunday, because our realtor was busy, we just tried to find a ward we might be in and then went site seeing. It took us three tries to find the right ward. I guess boundaries are fairly new here, or at least confusing, because no one was sure about what ward we should even look at (in?) But I guess that is skipping ahead to when we actually found the house.

Monday was the longest day ever! About 2p.m., I told Randal to buy whatever house he wanted and I promised to be happy. I was DONE! They made the prego lady keep looking until 5 p.m.! And then we were supposed to have dinner with people Randal was going to be working with. And I was supposed to be good company??? The people he works with seem like just genuinely good people and I THINK they understood what a day it had been, but we still didn't get back to the hotel until about 9:30 p.m. Dinner rocked though. An italian place called Gavi's. I was missing Parker, so I ordered Ravioli, and it was Goo-ood! (Parker has recently discovered canned Ravioli and decided he likes it, which is amazing!)

Tuesday was a lot of paper signing and I can't even try to make that sound interesting! And check writing. Then a flight home. I still don't like flying and flying through thunder clouds/high pressure systems it yucky! Again, Randal says I exaggerate, but I think when you hit turbulence and all the passengers let out and "Oh," and some (okay, probably just me) grab a hold of the arm rests, things are pretty bumpy.

Meanwhile, our kids were living it up at Peggy's and making friends and were SO BUSY we couldn't even see them until WED, because they had been invited to a BBQ Tues night!

We visited with them Wed., then snuck out at nap time for Perry, and came back to Nampa to clean and supervise packing. The packing/cleaning went well. So many people helped out with the cleaning. THANK YOU!!! Then it was back to Utah to pick up the kids. Lots of traveling and we still haven't reached AZ! I'll leave the story there and pick up later. I've blabbed too much as it is.

For those of you wondering, Perry still hasn't forgiven us for sneeking out on him. I am not usually allowed out of his sight. And now we have nightly visits from the youngest pro-wrestler I have even known. The plus is, he seems to be talking better. He loves "kacky," his word for cactus. And he is getting very good at mimicking words he doesn't even know. Things like shopping lists and store names. Peter and Parker are truly AMAZED AZ has things like Pizza Hut, Target, Kohl's etc. Peter especially is thrilled everytime I fix one of his favorite dinners, like Pot Pies. He didn't think we'd have them in AZ. I guess he was expecting rice and beans, jalepeno peppers, etc.

Things I won't be able to say...

...I have a wonderful opportunity today. It is probably our last Sunday in Nampa, ID and the speakers selected in church today will not be in town. So, the two families in our ward moving get to bare their testimonies, though admittedly, Brother Deeble will have to do the rest. Part of me still thinks it's a joke, but we will see. And believe me, I WANT NAMES of the people who cancelled. Well, I do have a testimony, but I don't think it will be understood between the tears and blubbering and nerves and distractions (children, mostly.) So, there are a few things I'll mention here specifically, but the overall message is that I know my Heavenly Father loves me and has a plan for me. A good part of that testimony has been developed while living here in Nampa, going to the 13th ward and serving and being served here for the past 10 years. I LOVE this ward!

I hesitate to mention names, because there will be some who are dear to me who I won't mention. That could hurt feelings, but please don't let it. It's 5 a.m. and I'm just thinking of a few things right now. The first being my friend Alli. You know these last 4+ months have been so hard. And my family and I have been really looked after a lot. But as during any trial (I think), there have been some moments of real self-pity. One Saturday, I woke up feeling not very cared about. People had been dropping in and checking on Randal, checking on Randal, checking on Randal, and everyone was looking out for our kids, but it seemed that morning like no one was caring about ME! (Ungrateful little brat that I was on that day.) I hadn't been checked-up on in awhile. That was the day Alli (and Joel) stopped by my house. I don't know why they stopped by that day, though they are always welcome. But what I do know is that the Lord used them to reach out to me. The Lord answered my need in the very day it was expressed. And I wasn't even very nice when I expressed the need. I believe I was "murmuring." Out loud and very grumpily. Nothing remarkable was said, nothing remarkable done, but it was enough. I knew the Lord was watching out for me and perhaps just waiting for me to ask for help.

Corla, thank you. You truly have checked-up on me many, many, many times. It seemed like sometimes I was just calling you about primary or stopping by to see Brooklyn's new glasses, but it always ended up with you asking about me and my family and then doing something, unasked, for us. You are a very good do-er. A remarkable talent that I have often admired in you.

Katie, you are another do-er that I know. You were the very first person to show up on our door with help. I admit to the first week after our job loss, for me, being a freak-out week. A week full of what the heck are we going to do??? What now? And when you showed up, though I believe you did it all on your own, I just thought you embodied the term "Relief Society." I know that we wouldn't have hit any major trouble in just one week, but some of the immediate worries I would have had were taken care of by your gift. I know I'm being vague, but I don't want to embarrass. I just want to say "thanks."

There has to be bigger words than "Thank You" when you are trying to say thanks for years of friendship. I just don't know those words though. But my friend Nicole has been with me the entire ten years I have lived here. She was "assigned" me as a person to visit teach right after I had Parker. We were briefly part of a colossal ward (3rd ward) and didn't know more than five or six people. That's a hard way to be with no family around and a new baby. But, again, I know the Lord was looking out for me, because he sent Nicole. I hope I have blessed you as you have blessed me. You are my quilting, sewing, crafting and now crocheting buddy. I had a blast with you trying to "Shop Hop" the quilt stores. What an adventure! Half-way Oregon wouldn't be nearly as fun a place without you. And Baker City was awesome.

Laurie, do you even read this blog? I will never forget you kindness to me after the miscarriage. I know that was a long time ago, but your testimony during that time made everything better. We knew about the fertility issues we had at that time. We were so excited that maybe, just maybe, the Lord would bless us with a second child. And then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone. Sometimes, it doesn't even seem real, because we weren't very far along. But your testimony about what a life is, even when it's only a few small cell, and your faith that the Lord would somehow make it alright was what got me past that difficult time. We still don't know the hows, whens, ifs or whys, but we do know the Lord loves us and has a plan.

How do I include the rest of my friends, who have all been such a blessing in my life? I love you all. I don't want to forget anyone, but I will if I list names. Then I'll be lower than slug slime. I do have to give a quick, but sincere, thank you to the mystery donor of money to us. We found it in an unmarked envelope on our car and the gesture touched our whole family's hearts. So much of the service we each receive goes unnoticed by children. We have to show them or teach them how people serve us and how we can serve them. But that envelope was something our kids understood without us explaining. They knew that someone in the ward, and also their Heavenly Father, was very aware of them and our situation. They knew, in that moment, that we would be okay as a family and people were going to help us. They knew, and I know, the Lord is ever present in our lives. I know I'm cheesy, but they knew and I know that we are not alone. I love you all! Stay tuned for our next Adventures.

Smelling like a wet, soapy man!

Okay, so EVERYTHING in our life is a little random and a little chaotic, so you know what to expect here, right? First, the title. I just hate it when it seems you are out of everything. Well, everything except toilet paper, because I don't run out of toilet paper (COSTCO!) Anyway, I ran out of shaving cream the other day and had to use hubbie's. I know. It works just as well. I just don't like smelling like a wet, soapy man. Though the smell is good on him. So there is my complaint for the day and I think I'm doing pretty good all things considered.

We actually have news here. I'll start with job opportunities. First, Randal got offered a job with L3 in SLC, UT. The major plus being family. Then, he got offered a job in Tuscon, AZ. The major plus, adventure? I don't know. It seems a no-brainer. Until you pray about it. As of today, though nothing is official, it looks like we may be headed to Tuscon. And the great thing about it is we don't even know why besides "it's a (small)feeling." Truthfully, this is one of the times when there isn't a right or wrong choice. But we are both surprised the answer appears to be AZ. We are hoping family understands. We are hoping family visits. Same with friends.

(Switch to your best infomercial voice in your head.) As if this isn't enough, my friends, I have a special bonus for you news seekers. Yes, they are technically still unemployed, yes, their house still has NOT sold and yes, they still have more news. I am here to talk about the exciting, all-natural BABY "P." (Ok, I'll quit being weird now and try for serious.) We are totally stunned to tell you we believe we are expecting another baby (another Dec baby at that.) We don't know how it happened. Okay, we do (wink-wink), but we don't. We were not doing fertility treatments. We weren't officially "trying." We had even concluded that we were done having children. We've never been sure how many kids would be in our family. I have always wanted 2-4 kids. And three fit that criteria. So, when the job loss hit, after I had just had another birthday (29, again :) and we figured in time to move and then time for fertility treatments, we came up with "We are done." I guess the fact that there is a period instead of an exclamation point on the end of that sentence should have been a warning maybe? I don't know. But we are excited, stunned, surprised and hopeful about this baby. AND THANKFUL! So thankful. Fertility treatments can sometimes work, but they are also such a trial of faith. And to be honest, the treatments can try a marriage too. All I can say is "The Lord has a plan." I don't know what it is, but I am grateful he is watching out for us and blessing us. We are NOT planning on another "P" name FYI. But we may use the initial just so this last one isn't left out.

I feel like there should be more news and I'm sure there will be soon. After all the adventure is just beginning. But quite frankly, I'm exhausted! My worry bucket is full! And I need a nap. And I can take one because it is that glorious weekend that comes once a year. Father/Son Campout! (cheering, applause, general happiness.) The boys love their dad. They love camping. They love dirt. And though I haven't figured out the "perfect" way to use my time alone, I do enjoy it. And I'll start missing them like crazy just a couple of hours before they get home.

Back to the Basics

Here's the quick update. We are still looking for a job. The house is on the market. And we are still doing okay. Now on to some fun stuff.

Some of the blessings I have noticed lately are what are keeping me going. The first (in no particular order) is that I can now grocery shop without kids! This alone has cut the grocery bill, but I am also able to remember to use the coupons I have at the check-out instead of realizing too late that they were in my purse. Another Savings! I can run errands almost anytime of day now, no trying to work around school or nap schedules. YEAH! I can go for walks almost anytime of day. AND today was so beautiful. Seventy degree weather and lots of Sunshine! Music up and windows down in the car. Did I mention that because I am able to go places without my children, I actually get to listen to MY music. Usually, it's Signing Time or Thomas in the background. But now it's MIX 106, Michael Buble or whatever else gets me going. As a side note, I heard "Blame It On the Rain" today, admittedly turned up the volume and had a great Friday Flashback.

Another perk of this time, is that I am finally finishing some projects that I have wanted to do. I finished the top to Peter's new duck jammies. I do pants for Christmas time, but Peter decided he needed a top to match. Mostly because these duck jammies were replacing ones that he had outgrown, and the old ones had a top and a bottom. Anyway, I quilt, I don't sew. I mean, quilting, for the most part, is straight lines. Curves on the other hand, are quite the pain in the butt! And that, my friends, is why plus sized clothing never fits right. No one likes to sew curves! (OK, I am probably exaggerating a little, but you'll never know unless you try to sew yourself.) And any outfit you may have with piping on it is worth double what you paid, I promise. Can I just tell you, it was 100% worth it when I finished because of my Peter's beautiful smile? He was so proud of me and the jammies. Just don't tell him that I think they are at least one size too big.

I also have almost finished my friend's baby quilt. Shamefully, I think he is about nine months old now, but still, it counts. The first problem with me finishing stuff is that I am a perfectionist. The second it that my friend refused to find out the sex of the baby before he came. So, I started a quilt, but it started looking girly. Then I find out it's a boy. What to do, what to do? You'll have to tell me what you think of it (it's the rainbow one.) You can't see the quilting very well, but that was tons of fun because I was using the laser on a long arm quilter to trace some stars and moons. Cute stuff I tell you. The people who design and invent these quilting projects are awesome!

Lastly, I have included a picture of a table runner I have wanted to do for at least a year if not longer. Yeah, you probably guessed that it was originally going to be for Valentine's day, but it could work for Mother's day, Birthdays, or Anniversaries, right? I got so into it, I have more than one. I made five. Don't know why, but I did. And I probably have fabric to make five more. This is always how it goes with me. I have a thing for fabric. I have thoughts of using the extras as visiting teaching gifts, presents, or selling them on ebay. I don't know. I just can't make one. ESPECIALLY if I originally am making it for myself. Because right before I finish the project, I will almost always think of someone else that I think might like what I am making too. (I don't mean that pridefully.) Anyone own a Mr. Gobbles or snowman door hanger??? :)

So, I think this is a pretty good update of my life. I have some fun things coming up too, so maybe I'll be better about updating the blog. I have a trip to Washington soon. I'm going without kids. To be with my best friend from High school. It should be a lot of fun and maybe a little bit of trouble too :) I have my second ever talk to give in church. I am not sure I can do it, but the good news is I won't remember a thing I said afterwards, so I can't be held accountable, right? And then, hopefully, I'll have a new job for hubbie and place to live to tell you all about.

I can't let the opportunity pass without telling you all "Thanks." Thanks for being my friend. Thanks for supporting and sustaining me through this stressful time. Thanks for praying for me and my family. I have always been surrounded by great friends and I hope that never changes. Love you!

P.S. The other picture is just a cute one of Parker and his marshmellow catapult. I think it may have been a scout project. And he built it himself. Cute kid!

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the ....

So,....SO!... so...it's been awhile since my last post and this one comes with a confession. I HATE journaling! But blogging has somehow made it doable. By giving journaling a different name, I am able to attempt it. (It's similar to calling your "Budget" a spending plan. Now, doesn't it make you more relaxed to call it a spending plan?) You see, journaling the cute, the weird, the funny, the growing moments and even some truly touching things is easy and fun. It can be entertaining even. And I have several journals with six to nine months worth of my life in them. Then BAM! You hit a rocky point in your life and you just figure it's 1) depressing and 2) no one wants to read about depressing things. I'll try not to give TMI, b/c I do find the jobless situation depressing, but I also don't want you all to think I ditched you for Facebook or something like that.
So, here are some things I've learned:
It's not natural for hubbie to be home all day. He gets in my way and makes me face some things I knew, but didn't want him to know. What things?
I sometimes spend too much time on the computer, which I can't do now that he needs to be looking for a job.
Sometimes, my computer time involves ignoring the kids.
I like to watch Oprah AND I don't even fold the laundry while watching her.
When I don't feel like doing housework, and who ever does, I have lots of things to replace it with such as talking on the phone about absolutely nothing, reading, quilting and podcasts on itunes (can Dave Ramsey possibly be a bad thing?)
I have also realized I like to shop. Or should that be, used to like to shop :) If I needed out of the house, Target or Costco have often been my drug of choice. No flat screen TVs or anything, but go get the kids' gummy vitamins, pick up a book and by-the-way, how about some poppyseed muffins?
I hate FEELING poor.
I KNOW we aren't really poor.
Knowing how long a trial will last does not help you through the trial. I think of the children of Israel and Moses and I also think of Noah and the Ark. Knowing the length of a trial probably leads to things like last minute repentance and blatant rebellion. Plus, you always keep asking "Are we there yet?" And I'm pretty sure our Father in Heaven doesn't like that question any more than our earthly parents do (or us, for that matter.)
The big shocker for me has been to learn I haven't been as compassionate as I should have been to others in the past. It truly is hard to know something unless you've been through it. It's sympathy VS. empathy. And empathy is a talent for those of you who have it. But I feel sad for all the times I thought about things but didn't do them. Things like sending a card in the mail for no reason. Dropping by to say "Hi" unexpectedly and being willing to stay as long as needed. Kidnapping people, I definitely should have done this more for some of my friends. (Let me clarify, kidnapping my friends, not their kids, or maybe both, I don't know.) Buying an extra gallon of milk and dropping by to see if someone needs it (Have any of you heard a talk about that? I have and it's always stuck with me, though the details are fuzzy.)
Anyway, I think I found my New Year's Resolution finally. I need to be more empathetic and a better friend.
Thanks to all our secret friends who have helped. I know you want to be anonymous, but I can't let you go unthanked and I don't often get up in church to do such things. I have learned a lot from you. I haven't even been snooping or trying to be a detective or anything. This is amazing if you know what I'm like about Christmas. But I love all of you and thank you for caring! I even finally cried, but it's a good thing, because I have always been blessed with good friends and that thought is what started the tears. Can you help me pass these words of thanks on to my known and unknown friends who don't blog and have helped us? You all are great!

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

I had a funny story to write. At least, it's funny in our house because it involves gas. But I think I'll give the short version because there are other things going on here. The short version is that I made a new dinner for the family to try. It was a cheesy chicken broccoli crock pot dish. Well, then next day, Parker was pretty convinced he needed to stay home from school because of extra stink in the bathroom and slightly looser stool. Anyway, I just asked if it smelled like dinner. And he thought about it and said, "YES! How did you know?" And I just said that is what cheesy broccoli soup does to everyone. He not only thinks I'm wise, but terribly hilarious (I think he even had tears in his eyes during this discussion.) He went to school, but wouldn't eat leftovers the next day. THAT will teach me to open my big mouth.
The other news here is that we have joined the unemployment ranks for the first time in our lives together. You can imagine this involves a lot of mixed emotions. We've told the kids and they have the usual, but odd kid concerns. Things like, "do we have to sell my toys?" But truly, we are okay. We've pointed out that we have a good family, great friends and that we belong to a church that will always be there for us both spiritually and temporally. Having never gone through this before, we really don't know what they need to hear, so if you have any advice that would be great. Another blessing is that we have been trying to get our house in order. We have been working on getting debt free for awhile. Thanks to Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. We have some concerns, but overall, we feel we have been doing our part and the Lord will be watching out for us.
We have already had some wonderful friends step in with help. Sometimes, kindness overwhelms me. It's not like I believe this world is unkind, but sometimes, there are just moments of such generosity and love that words cannot convey the experience. I have felt like this before, first when I got baptized after four years of being partially active in the church. I think everyone who had anything to do with me during that four years showed up to show their love for me and I think that has always impressed my mom too. Then, when you get married, people are super generous. It's like they are grateful someone was willing to marry you or their grateful you married someone who was almost a menace to society. I don't know, but it is a bit surprising and touching. I experienced this love and support again when I was called to the Relief Society Presidency years ago. I had a lot of learning and growing to do, but the sisters in the ward overlooked every flaw it seemed and welcomed me. Especially the dear older sisters of the ward. They have so much life experience, skills, and things to teach, yet they were so loving. They always had a kind word for me. I'm expressing it poorly, but those older sisters in the ward were awesome. And I know their names, I'm just protecting the innocent. Now, I am already experiencing this love again. Part of it comes directly from our friends, after all, because that's what friends are for. But part of their love also comes from the savior through them and we can feel that too.
So, what's the bottom line? We are grateful. We are loved. We are blessed. And truth be told, we are a little worried. We would love to have you pray for us. But just having each of you in our lives brings a ton of comfort. I suspect that you don't know how awesome you all are, but there is a reason we call you friends. Thank you!

Don't do it!

Okay, so, I was going to change the look of the blog and then write. After all, it's no longer Christmas. But I made some HUGE errors while trying to do this, and have lost the cute things my kids used to say, which of course, I hadn't written down anywhere else. And that led me to thoughts of my new years resolution, which is to eliminate the occasional swear word that has mysteriously crept back into my not-quite-daily usage. Some of you are so far past this kind of goal. And I thought I was too. But I must have been pushed over the edge sometime in the past year, because, well, I'm having occasional vocabulary issues. Now please, you know I'm not dropping the F bomb or anything like that, but some of the borderline ones are back. Unfortunately, there has been some positive reinforcement from hubbie who always asks concernedly, "Are you okay? Is everything alright?" Well, No, thanks for asking. My mom used to say something like, "You are highly educated and really smart. Surely you can come up with better words to use." Of course, this was directed at my brother, because, well, let's face it, I'm smarter than him and learned not to say those things in front of her. But now I hear those words directed at me.
Anyway, I do have other, loftier goals. I still need my passport. That got put on hold when I got the perm. No good pictures=no passport photo. Plus, these days, with homeland security and all that, I'm pretty sure if you get one of your parents birth places wrong, you'll be denied a passport. So, I need to borrow some white out.
I've been considering giving up soda, but I think I'll wait for Lent. And I've been thinking every time I eat out, I should make myself order a salad. Again, that maybe a better idea for Lent. When is that anyway???
I am planning on being out of debt, except the house, this year.
But mostly, my goal can be summed up by this quote. "The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him, he is always doing both."-James Michener