Our holiday
November 27, 2007 
Last week we played games: Skip-bo; Yahtzee; Blurt!; Imaginiff (so much fun!); Speed; Oh, Heck; Carolina Rummy (a personal favorite); Boom-O; and Freeze Tag
Watched movies: The Santa Claus 3, Hairspray (soo good) and Enchanted (very cute)
Assembled Puzzles: Eric Dowdle’s Portland puzzle (1000 pieces…took forever!) and a Christmas Santa one
Went shopping: Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and black Friday shopping at Wal-Mart and Target (up at 4 for this!- it was worth it though!) We stopped at K-Mart but ended up not going in.
Visited with DH’s mother, brother and sister and their families. Visited with friends. Played with my old volleyball team for a night (oh, how I miss it!)
Did haircuts – 11 of them!, plus I had my own hair cut and colored – love it!
Prepared food: I did the rolls, veggie tray, pumpkin pies, dip.
Enjoyed food: rolls, mashed potatoes, turkey, pie (way to much of this), veggies, eggs and more
Went on walks: to lunch one day and along the river by my folk’s house
Visited restaurants: Cracker Barrel, Panda Express, and Subway.
No wonder I am so tired! Although, I wouldn’t trade it for anything! I had a hard time saying goodbye and coming home. I loved being with my family and seeing some of my old friends. I could hardly stay awake on the way home, and now I can see why! It was busy, busy, but it was oh so good. We drove the 13+ hour drive in one day both ways. My kids did so good and I am so glad for this (thanks goodness for the dollar aisle at Target and portable DVD players.) We will spend the next few days getting back on a normal schedule, getting the house decorated for Christmas and cleaning out the car. It is covered in trash (despite my cleaning it out along the way), slinkies, books on tape, cds, movies, jackets, blankets, pillows and everything else that kids bring into the car, but don’t take it out.
Or maybe instead of doing any of this stuff, I will spend my time catching up on blogs.
Hey, I know what is important right?
Rambling
October 10, 2007 
Maybe I shouldn’t post this because I am a little worried about the backlash that I may get, but I have to share my point of view. Sister Beck’s talk has sparked all kinds of debate all across blog-land. I loved it. My friend that was here for the weekend was watching it and commented that she thought that it was going to cause a lot of guilt. My sister-in-law commented that she was surprised we were supposed to be the best because she didn’t think that as latter-day saints we should be comparing ourselves to others.
Both valid points, but you know. I LOVED the talk. It made me feel inspired to be better. I am not much for house-work but I shouldn’t be complaining about it. I chose this for my job and I enjoy it. I can be better. If I am better organized, I can spend less time doing house work. If I am picky about which activities I chose outside my house I will be better prepared for my days with my kids. I feel inspired to nurture more. I feel inspired to pray for the help I need. I feel a confirmation that the Lord does care about my happiness in my work at home and He will help me. I’ll probably never be the “best” homemaker in Oregon. But will I be the best I can be? Possibly. I can’t wait until it comes out in print and I can put up different parts that I like around my house to keep me inspired. Good talk, Sister Beck. Loved her general RS meeting talk too.
I am feeling really helpless right now. One of my best friends from home has found out that she is pregnant, which is great but she has also found out that she has either a bone cyst or bone cancer. We are praying that it is a bone-cyst, although neither is good. If it is a bone cyst, doctors will take her baby at 34 weeks and do a surgery to remove the cyst. Apparently the surgery would be bloody and she will need several transfusions. Scary. However, not as scary as bone cancer. If it turns out to be bone cancer, they would have to start aggressive treatment immediately which would cause her to miscarry her baby. Such a sad situation. I wish that I was home so I could help her with her kids while she is going from appointment to appointment. I wish that I could do her hair for her on Sunday, since it hurts her too much to do it herself. I wish I could take dinner in so she would have one less thing to worry about (although her vegetarian husband probably wouldn’t eat what I made). From 800 miles away, what I can do to help is prayer. Will you prayer with me? She has three little kids at home.
Today is my husband’s 33rd birthday. Happy birthday! I am so grateful for him. He is wonderful and I hope he loves his day. We are having steak for dinner and tomorrow we are having peach cobbler and apple crisp with some family that is local for dessert. Those are his favorite desserts.
Just spent a girls weekend with a friend from home in Seattle. She flew to PDX and we took the Amtrak train to Seattle. We took a cab to Pike’s Place Market, the monorail to the Space Needle and a bus to her grandma’s house in Bothell. We did some shopping (I got three new sweaters, yay!) and reading and relaxing. I am reading Three Cups of Tea (very good) and she raced through the Stephenie Meyers series. I enjoyed my couple of days away, although, I am having a hard time getting back into the groove of everyday life.
T had his first homework last week. I guess every Thursday he will come home with a homework folder and it is due the following Wednesday. He is excited to have homework and is starting to really pick up on reading. N is loving learning the letters at prechool. She spends a lot of free time writing letters and she has learned to write her name. Proud of her and her effort. A is trying to give up naps and he is not ready. So grouchy on days he doesn’t nap. He is turning into a independent little boy instead of the cuddly, happy-go-lucky that he has been.
Took a bit of break from blogging, and enjoyed it. Once in a while, I think we all need that. =)
