Thursday, October 30, 2008

Yes, on Prop. 8

My cute mother-in-law sent this to me. I wish we were in California to let our votes count for it, and for McCain. I you can't vote, you can pray- and we are!!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Really?

Who in their right mind lets their 14 year old daughter go to the WARD trunk-or-treat at the CHURCH building to pass out candy to SMALL CHILDREN dressed up in LINGERIE?!?! Really? Where in the world did any of that make any sense at all? When we stopped to get candy from the barely covered bat girl Emma said,"Mommy- she cold!" I hope she was. And embarassed. Judgemental? Maybe. Sue me- I'm a mom and I took my daughters to the church to enjoy some Halloween fun thinking that it would be a good way to avoid some of the things that have started to bother and scare me about the holiday in the public sector. I didn't realize that I would have to shield their eyes from the immodest choices of the MIA MAIDS PRESIDENT!!! Not right!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Picture Tag

1. Kitchen Sink (no, those are not breakfast dishes. . . those are from dessert last night. . . I don't suppose that's any better though, is it?) 2. My favorite room- There is usually a computer and a toddler camped out there. Today was one of those rare days where I moved the computer downstairs and made the bed- sort of.
3. Mr Fridge- yes, that is a giant bowl of pumpkin- I am working on figuring out how in the heck to use it all!


4. My favorite shoes- $3.50 at Payless!
5. My Laundry Room
6. My Closet- notice how Ross got the long side. . . That boy has clothes!

7. My Most Recent Grocery Purchase
8. What My Children are doing Right Now- they were helping with #3. Emma is eating #7.

9. My Dream Vacation- I have never been on a cruise. Free food and no driving- I am SO in!
10. Self Portrait- it wasn't too flattering in color- so I broke the rules and took a second one in black and white :)

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Pictures!!!

I added quite a few posts tonight. I totally forgot I had most of them on the camera- so I had to play a little catch up tonight. Enjoy.

Conference

We always gather at my Grandma Wallace's house for the last session of Conference. She usually feeds us a quick meal between sessions, and then we have a big dinner after the session and we play board games and the like. Here are some pictures from this year's October session of General Conference.

Dana found a new twist to the Potato Head game. I do not even want to think about how many mouths all those tongues were in. . . gross! Don't be fooled by that vacant expression on Tanner's face- he really is quite bright. :) There's my cousin Micah in the background. He is a couple years older than Emma, but he loves to follow her around, which is good because Emma quite enjoys bossing him around.
Here is the group playing Scattergories. I took some pictures ater I had filled my card for that round. I won, handily. I am awsome!
Ross, Heather, Caulene, Dana, Garrett, Annika, Jay, Lara's arm.

Heather, Caulene, Lara, Jay- it looks as though Heather has some wandering eyes there.

That cheating wasn't the only shockig part about this round for Heather. Take a look at her scandalous card! Shame on you! :)

Our Window Well Tenants

We keep killing them, (and by we, I mean Ross does while I curl up in a ball upstairs crying and praying they don't attack and kill him- so far it has worked) and spraying the area with various poisons, but it usually takes one rain and those wenches are back in business. Ross has killed 6 so far. One of the webs had a dead scorpion in it. I hate arachnids. I don't care what Aunt Carrie says, Ross and I will find a way to not have to include them in our world. I REFUSE to be any part of the creation of these creatures. By the way, this is the 3rd house I have lived in with a problem like this, and these are the biggest black widows I have EVER seen. The one featured was a smaller one, and her abdomen was about the size of a quarter. These things are monstrous and I HATE them.

I have horrible arachnophobia, and it makes me all shaky and teary eyed just to write this. I am actually researching hypnotherapy to help me with it- and rumor has it that one of my uncles is actually a certified hypnotherapist- how cool is that? Anyway, has anyone out there ever done that for anything? I would love to chat with anyone who has actually had it done to them.

She Dresses Herself Now. . .

Last week, I was rushing to get the girls out the door so we could go pick up Daddy, and as I was trying to get Sara diapered and in her carseat, I asked Emma to go get her shoes. I was relieved to see her run back to the shoe chest, and I heard her rummaging through the assorted footwear we keep by the back door. I was glad to not have to do that myself. This is what she found. . . At least they are on the right feet!

I asked her to find the other blue or the other pink, and she said, 'I can't find em' Mommy, let's go!' Gee- I wonder where it could be. . . Stinker!
She is hiding so I wont force her to wear matching shoes. . . I wonder where she could be :)

How Much is that Puppy in the Window?

Ross found a friend in the mall one day and started talking about a bunch of boring financial and automotvie mumbo jumbo- somethings about mutual hedge funds and the new carborator on a dodge something or other. When we realized this was not going to be a quick run-in, Emma and I decided to leave the sleeping baby with Daddy while we perused some of the other stores. After a while we came across this lovely display with this adorable pink dog. I know it is weird to let a two year old play in a store that sells lingerie, but she really liked that dog, and I thought she was cute while she rode 'Pinker' (she named it herself) and practiced her winking. For the record, we did not look at anything else there. For reals!

Emily!

This is Emily! I love Emily! I do not get to see Emily nearly as much as I would like to, especially not now that she has some boy hanging around her all the time! :) These are some quick pictures of our quick-not-nearly-long-enough luch date a couple weeks ago. She and I were extremely close in Junior High and High School, but college distanced us quite a bit. Recently, through the wonder of facebook, we have re-connected, and I have LOVED chatting with her again. She is so sweet and funny. I am especially grateful to have been thrust back into her life just in time to land a front row seat to her new (and possibly final?) romance. I love you, Ems!

Kinda Corny. . .

My dad always has a rally nice garden. This year, Ross and I came back from a date to find that Grandpa had put Emma and Sara to work in harvesting the corn.
They sure didn't seem to mind. :)

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Ross Needs. . .

Ross was feeling left out, so here is was Google says he needs.


1. Ross needs
more time to rectify sins of the past. (Is there something you aren't telling me?)

2. Ross needs attention.

3.
Ross needs a fro pick.

4. Ross needs a little help with his drinking and other things but his dress code is his business. (yeah, those big boy cups can be really tricky!)

5. Ross needs to shut up. Especially about someone as beloved as Barry Sanders.

6. Ross needs to be axed from all Awards and TV shows - the masses will get over it. (I highly doubt that!)

7. Ross needs to shut his fat azzizzle up.

8. Ross needs to quit it with these lyrics. He sounds like a groper. (If you only knew. . .)

9. Ross needs your help! Decorate your site with Ross banners and spread the word. (Does anyone want some AFLAC banners?)

10. Ross needs to be 1m across and about 40cms deep. (???)

11. Ross needs to get Doctor Paul’s new product called Mature Masculine Power.

12. Ross needs to show people that he possesses a hard edge to go with his obvious array of skills. (bowstaff skills, numchuck skills, wolverine hunting skills, cow milking skills. . . (that last one is real, people!))

13. Ross needs to suffer from a different kind of selective amnesia. (does anyone really need that?)

14. Ross needs those pills to keep himself under control. (True. . .)

15. Ross needs to be turned every two hours, which isn't easy.

16. Ross needs to leave his shirt/girdle on at all times.

17. Ross needs someone to do his dirty work. (That is where I come in!)

18. Ross needs to evaluate your teeth to recommend a specific method.

19. Ross needs to take off that shaggy weave and sit down and ask God for forgiveness.

20. Ross needs lots of time for the formation of the world and its contents. (Yes, he will!)

These were much better than mine!

The Bruise

I found it, along with some other really great pictures for future Memory Mondays. Just a warning, though to anyone who ever lived with me in Kerr Hall, there may be some great/embarrassing shots featuring you!

Anyway- the bruise. I got this bruise from donating plamsa. For those of you who are not familiar with this starving college student's access to cheesy bread money (thank you, Heather for introducing me to the wonder that is Pizza Hut Cheesy Bread!), let me quickly explain this process.

After having your vitals checked and promising to not have any STD's or drug addictions, the nice plasma people herd you to the back room with funky looking chairs and myriads of TV's with some old movie playing. You are then confronted with a very young technitian who will lead you to your very own funky bed-chair, and will poke and prod you with a GIANT needle and hook you to the plasma machine. This machine will the take your blood, a pint at a time, and spin it around in it's mysterious chamber with horrible wrenching sounds (I think that is what the old movies are supposed to drown out). After your plasma has been separated from your blood, the machine pumps the blood back into you with an anti-coagulant that is usually very cold and stings a little bit. This process is repeated a number of times until the desired amount of plasma has been harvested. $20 is paid each time this is done, and you can give up to twice a week. It can take up to 2 hours, but if you are sneaky and know the ropes, you can get in and out in about half an hour. I was sneaky! I always knew when to go and what to do to get it over with quickly.

One time, however, this sneakiness did not pan out the way I would have liked. I was pumping the little squishy ball so hard and I gave so much blood to the machine in such a short amount of time that I got dizzy. I tried to tell someone, but there was nobody there to hear my pleas. I woke up probably a minute or two later and I had the worst pain in my arm that I have ever felt. I looked down at my arm to see that when I had passed out, I had pulled my arm with the needle in it towards me. This caused the needle to puncture the vein and dig deeper into my arm. The worst part was that the machine was pumping my blood back into my arm- just not a real vein. I started saying, "Oh, No! Oh, No! Very loudly until someone finally came to my aid and shut off the machine. He then yanked the needle out of my arm. When I woke up the second time I was all bandaged up and the nice young man who had de-needleified me had some juice and cookies for me.

The result of this crazy and painful experience was that glorious bruise (which looked like a butterfly towards the end) and a very painful left arm. I couldn't lift heay loads for a while after that. The good news is that I still got my $20, and they let me come back 4 weeks later because I got most of my blood back (whether it was in an actual vein or not). Good times.

Amanda Needs. . .

1. Amanda Needs You to Map Yourself - (for reals people, I am tired of mapping you all by myself!)

2. Amanda needs wisdom & strength to do what is right. (wow- that is all I have to say to this one.)

3. Amanda needs a mom in her corner with lots of time and attention to give to her. (Hear that, Mom- Google is calling you to action! :))

4. Amanda needs a serious love interest. (Check!)

5. Amanda needs you! ... Amanda needs you! (These are not nearly as funny as Tracie's were!)

6. Amanda Needs Two of Them to Outshine Mrs. Tittle-Tattle. (OK- now we are gettin' somewhere!)

7. Amanda needs to get help busting skulls, not new friends. (Sounds like a Chuck Norris joke!)

8. Amanda needs to work on he singing- for real! A lot of work! (ouch- true, but ouch!)

9. Amanda needs gnutar (GNU tar is an archiver that creates and handles file archives in various formats. Thanks Wikipedia for spoiling my fun! I thought for sure this would be some type of ehtnic food or torture or something. . .)

10. Amanda needs to prove her style goes beyond quirky.

11. Amanda Needs A House In London. (Heck yes, I do!! I love London!)

12. Amanda needs to suck on a pacifier to clear her ears! (I'll get right on that! I'll let you know how it goes!)

13. Amanda needs to summon the motivation to go to the gym today! (If by gym, you mean the treadmill in the basement with the view of our pet blackwidows, then yes, this may be true.)

14. Amanda needs to get busy smacking some CNN types around the network to change that! (Truer words have never been spoken! Enough with the left wing, almost Marxism bias! It is getting really old!)

15. Amanda needs a new testimonial, so here goes: I testify that Amanda is my hero. Give her room, people! She's makin' it happen! (I like this one!)

16. Amanda needs a file on the Samba server. (Does this mean someone will serve me while I dance the Samba? If so, count me in!)

17. Amanda needs glasses so that she may reach her full potential. (So that's the secret! Who knew?)

18. Amanda needs a few swigs of whiskey to relax, eh? (I only drink whiskey when it is offered by Canadians!)

19. Amanda needs to be wary of getting too close to Charley. (Yeah, I have heard rumors about that little nephew of mine! j/k)

20. Amanda needs to shut her filthy whorish mouth when she talks to me!! (I think we will go ahead and end there!)

Thanks to Tracie and Google for 10 minutes of random entertainment!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Tag Time

8 Crazy Quirks!

I have done this one before, but I am sure I can think of some new ones.

1. I dream about other men in dream settings a lot. This past week featured Patrick Dempsey, Tony Stark, and Christian Bale. I would consider this dream cheating, (especially with how some of our dates end) but I almost always call them Ross throughout the entire dream, so I think I am safe!

2. I have not had a hair cut in about 18 months. It is terrible. I just can't bring myself to spend that much money for someone to cut it. I considered doing it myself, but then worried about Ross's reaction.

3. I am a news-radio junkie! I have always liked hearing the interesting, albeit biased opinions onthe world's happenings, but lately, with all the time I spend in the car, and all the crappy music on the radio, I have become almost addicted. Glenn Beck, Dr. Laura, Rush Linbaugh, Sean Hannity, Doug Wright- they are all my best friends and moral advisors now!

4. I like making comments. In classes, in church, on blogs, everywhere. I feel a special sense of intelligence and belonging. The sad thing is, I am usually too afraid to make them. I just think them to myself and revel in how much better my unspoken comments were than the ones we all got to hear or read.

5. I LOVE free samples. And gift certificates. And the mini-toiletries from hotels. Free things make me happy inside! I feel privileged and special and sneaky about enjoying things that were of no cost to me. Ross and I have donated a veritable mountain of free T-Shirts to D.I. We knew we would never really wear them, but they were free with the information cards, or whatever. Pathetic really, I know!

6. I really like bruises. I do not bruise very easily, so when I actually get one it is very exciting. I have a strange fascination with the tenderness and the colors. I love that they change like the leaves at Fall. My favorite are the mystery bruises that invite the game of figuring out where in the heck they came from. Good times. The best one I ever had may actually merit a Memory Monday if I can find the picture. It was awesome!

7. I can touch my nose with my tongue. Ross thinks it is gross. I think it makes me totally awesome and he is obviously jealous.

8. Sara is threatening to walk in the next month or two. She has been cruising around by holding onto the furniture and the walls, and has even stood up un-assisted on a number of occasions. Most moms would be gloating with pride and taking pictures of every step in the progression. I am not thrilled. I am not encouraging her in any way to walk! She is hard enough to catch while crawling! I am NOT ready to chase around 2 over-active toddlers! What happened to my little baby? It makes me sad.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Emma-isms

We went to the hospital again last night- this time for Emma. It was nothing serious- she just dislocated her elbow again. The doctor popped it back into place, and in no time she was running around bossing people around again. The reason for this post was not really to go into details, but to relay here some of the clever and cute things that this adorable two year old said last night. She was so cute, and sometimes I am just astounded at what she remembers and says.

When we drove up to the hospital the first thing she said was, "Oh- where is Gramma's car?" When we went to see Ross after his mishap, the first thing Emma saw in the parking lot was Grandma's jeep, so now she thinks every time we go there, Grandma will be there too.

Overly-Chipper Candy Striper: Hello there, what seems to be the problem?
Emma: I have owie right here. What's your name, Honey? (OCCS greeted her that way the last 3 times we went there. She was a little taken aback, and I was laughing.)

OCCS: Can I put this in your ear to see how hot you are?
Emma: NOOOOO! I'm cold. (She then proceeded to cover both ears, and was screaming because in order to do this she had to use the arm that had been hurting her.)

OCCS: Go ahead and watch the TV for a minute, honey, until the doctors are ready for you.
Emma: No honey, I want to watch the fish.

We then spent about 5 minutes (they were pretty speedy at getting us in) watching the fish, and Emma gave a hilarious play-by-play of what was going on in the fish-tank society.
Emma: Oh look- it's Nemo! Nemo and his Daddy. Nemo doesn't like his daddy! His daddy is mean to Dory. Oh, big Dory! The big Dory is hiding. Come here Dory, come on. Nemo Daddy, don't be mean to Dory. Say sorry to Dory. Oh, here she comes. Come on, come on honey. Hi big Dory. Oh, look at the poopel (purple) one. Its pretty! It's so pretty and yellow and poopel. Hey, where did it go? Hi big Dory, are you scared? The fish are swimming. They are swimming in the water. Fishes like the water. Dory likes the water. Nemo kissed Dory. Silly Nemo- Dory is big. Nemo is small. Ooh- the big one! Look how big! Is he going to eat Nemo? Don't eat Nemo! You stop it now! No eating Nemo! That's naughty! Oh, the big one is hiding now. Dory scared him. Good girl Dory! Oh, the yellow one. He wants bubbles. He sad. No bubbles. Oh, there are some bubbles. Go get them- they are over there. Oh, he is so sad.

This went on until she was called to the back. It was so funny! All the admittance ladies were laughing their heads off.

Nurse Boy: Is there anything I can do for you until the doctor comes in?
Emma: I need cookies and juice. (She got lots of cookies and juice the last 3 times we were there. . .)
Nurse Boy: Oh, you have to wait until later because you might need an x-ray.
Emma: I no need x-ray! I need cookies!! And Juice!!!! NOW!!! please?

As the doctor was popping it back into place. . .
Doctor: This will make it feel better- I promise sweetie.
Emma: No its not better! It's owie, sweetie! (All between screams of heart wrenching, tear jerking pain. Poor girl!)

A few minutes later to make sure it had worked, the doctor came back in. . .
Doctor: How are we doing?
Emma: I'm all better! No owie, sweetie!
Doctor: Well, lets see how well you are using your arm there. (he had her squeeze my fingers and give Daddy a five) Now, for the ultimate test- would you like this sucker? (holds up a bright yellow version of the red sucker OCCS had given her for standing on the scale to determine her weight)
Emma: Oh- yellow! (She then proceeded to chomp down her barely licked red sucker in record time so that she would have a reason to need the yellow one. At home, she only ever gets one treat at a time, so I am sure that she was thinking Mommy wouldn't let her even reach for the yellow one unless the red one was gone. Funny girl!)
Nurse Boy: Wow- that was amazing! I wonder how many times in a row she would do that!
Ross: Well, we're already here, may as well compound the problem right!
Emma: (to Nurse Boy) Where is the juice and cookies?

It was a very quick visit, and the doctor actually showed us how to pop the arm back into place if this ever happens again. We were very happy with the service, and were thrilled to get our happy Emma back. She had been so miserable. When we got home, she ran around EVERYWHERE! I guess she felt the need to make-up for her temporary immobility. After about an hour of this she came and sat next to me and said, "Mommy, can I go sleep?" I was feeling rather generous and let her have her way. I am nice like that! :)

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Single Word Answers Only

My friend Becca did not tag me, but I will overlook that terrible sin and just do this anyway because I have nothing else to blog about except my yearning to go with Brittany to San Diego and my poisonous 8 legged window well squatters.

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Where is your significant other? Kitchen
3. Your hair color? Auburn
4. Your mother? Busy
5. Your father? Protective
6. Your favorite thing? Music
7. Your dream last night? Terrifying
8. Your dream/goal? Debtless
9. The room you're in? Cold
10. Your hobby? Writing
11. Your fear? Arachnids
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Oregon?
13. Where were you last night? Floor
14. What you're not? Sleeping
15. One of your wish-list items? Money
16. Where you grew up? USA
17. The last thing you did? Cooked
18. What are you wearing? Pajamas
19. Your TV? Off
20. Your pet? Crazy
21. Your computer? Warm
22.Your mood? Annoyedish
23.Missing someone? You
24. Your car? Sexy
25. Something you're not wearing? Support
26. Favorite store? Staples
27. Your summer? Lonely
28. Love someone? Family
29. Your favorite color? Red
30. When is the last time you laughed? Now
31. Last time you cried? Today

Monday, October 13, 2008

Mesial Temporal Sclerosis and Prayers

I was surprised at how many e-mails and phone calls I got from people who were not at all aware of Ross's medical condition and how it came to be, so I decided to go ahead and fill you all in. Call it Memory Monday Sans Pictures.

Just after graduating in 2005, Ross and I decided that the next step for us would be to join the Air Force. Ross had always wanted to serve in the military, and we knew that this point in our lives would really be the only opportune time. He went through the process and was offered a job as an Air Traffic Controller. This was on or wish list of possible jobs- mostly because Air Traffic Controllers in the civilian world are very highly paid, and an Air Traffic Control contract with the military was only 3 years. He was scheduled to head out for training in Texas at the end of August, and I planned to stay with my parents for 12 weeks until I could move to on-base housing with him in Mississippi where he would have 3 months of Air Traffic Control training. We had just found out that I was pregnant with Emma, and we were excited to get some good insurance and move to the next stage of our lives.

This was not to be! The day that we moved our things to a storage unit in Provo was the very same day that Hurricane Katrina hit land and destroyed all of Biloxi, Mississippi. Take a wild guess where Ross was supposed to have his Air Traffic training. . . We were hoping and praying that he would be sent to another base, but this was not to be either. They needed the man power to get things fixed up down there, so after his grueling basic training, he spent six months trudging through the horrifying after-math of a Catergory 5 Hurricane trying to put the towns back together. I wasn't allowed to go out there and be with him, because there was no on-base housing anymore.

I actually went out for a couple of weeks and stayed in a hotel on base so that we could be together for a little bit before I was not allowed to fly anymore. I was shocked! I have never seen anything like it. I took some pictures, but ended up deleting them because the images did not do justice to the sad state of things, and this was not something I really wanted to be reminded of. What kind of scrap-book page would that have made?

Anyway, about a month before Emma was born, we got our orders for after training. We were very excited to get to spend our next three years in Germany! Not only would Ross get to serve his country and get fully trained in a lucrative position, but we would get to have a real European experience. Things were looking up for the Goodmans. . . That was not to be!

Ross was not with me when I had Emma. We knew that was going to be the case. He tried everything in his power to get some leave to come and be with me, especially when we found out about all the complications, but it was just not in the cards. I was holding our 3 week old baby girl when I got a call from Ross's phone. I picked it up and said, "Hey Handsome, I was just thinking about you!" Thank goodness I didn't use one of my less civilized greetings, because the answer I got was, "Ma'am, is this Mrs. Ross Goodman?" "Yes, who is this?" "My name is something Stetler, and I just thought you should know that Ross was just taken to the hospital after having a seizure."

He went on to explain that he was playing raquetteball with his roommate when he just hit the ground all the sudden and started seizing. The man who had called me was one of Ross's Mormon friends, and he and another Elder were heading to the hospital to give him a blessing, and they promised to return his phone so that he could talk to me when he was lucid again.

The next 6 weeks were full of testing and frustrations. He was kicked out of his program because his seizure made him unelligible for Air Traffic Controlling. They were trying to evaluate whether or not this would be a permanent position to ascertain whether or not he could finish out his 3 year contract under a different (infantry) position. All the testing came to find that while cleaning up all of the aftermath he contracted a virus which settled itself in his left frontal lobe causing him to have Mesial Temporal Sclerosis which manifests itself in Grand Mall Seizures. This condition made him unelligible for military duty in any form, and they FINALLY sent him back to me and his beautiful little daughter whom he had yet to meet.

When he got home, we were a little lost. We had no idea what to do now- we had our plans made, and they were good ones! Our future looked bright and planned- my favorite kind! We were starting from square one all of the sudden and we were just not sure what to do about it. After a LOT of prayers, we decided to head back up to Rexburg and see what we could find. Ross toyed with the idea of getting a second degree, but he ended up finding a good job with an insurance firm there before he could register. The financial industry was something he had always wanted to learn more about, and this company was offering to pay for the training and certification needed to become an agent, and were also offering a nice steady base before commission kicked in. This was exactly what we needed, and Ross has been loving the financial industry ever since.

Ross will probably be on medication for this condition for the rest of his life. He has had about 7 seizures since coming home- one of them in his office in Rexburg, 2 on our couch in Rexburg (these were about 12 minutes apart, and happened right next to me- one of the worst days of my life!) 3 in bed after really hard days when he was off on his meds (these were only partial seizures, but still scary) and one in his car. The medication he is on has caused him to be turned down for a few jobs, and the symptoms of his condition have made him unelligible for certain jobs as well. This is hard. We are struggling. We could use some prayers!

Speaking of prayers. . . I know this is getting long, but we have had a really good experience with something we have decided to try this week. In Elder Bednar's talk in conference, he shared an experience where he was counseled to give a family prayer that was full of thanks rather than asking. The Bednars had certain specific blessings that they were planning to ask for, but they followed the Apostle's counsel and Sister Bednar (who I love, by the way!) gave a prayer of thanks. Through this prayer, they found that they no longer felt the need to ask for those blessings because they were made more keenly aware of the blessings they already had. Ross and I have gotten a little down the last few days and have been givng some pretty selfish prayers. Well, yesterday the Spirit slapped me in the face during Relief Society (have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE Relief Society?).

First of all, it was a lesson on trials, and I had that thought of, "Oh good- I really need this because of all my trials!" Humility was the name of the game for this lesson! I felt so ashamed for feeling so picked on after reading about some of the horrible things that Joseph went through. Then the teacher spent a lot of time talking about gratitude. That was when Elder Bednar's talk started ringing in my mind, and I knew right then what I needed to do to overcome this rough patch. I needed to pray, and I needed to thank Heavenly Father. I needed to be grateful and joyful. I told Ross when I came home that I wanted a week full of family prayers where we didn't ask for anything. I was afraid he would think I was crazy, (maybe he does, I don't know) but he agreed. It has only been two nights now, but the difference is incredible! We feel so much closer together. The love is just pouring not only between us, but with our girls and with Heavenly Father. We are so blessed. We are struggling- but we are grateful for it now, and all struggles can be managed when they are really blessings in disguise.

I know it may sound silly- but our home environment has completely changed. We are just happier people now. I highly reccommend this experiment to EVERYONE! It has really made all the difference for us right now.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Crazy Eights

I got two tags on this, so I combined them, and ironically ended up with 8 catergories!
8 Favorite T.V shows
  1. 30 Rock
  2. Friends
  3. Scrubs
  4. Gilmore Girls
  5. The Office
  6. M*A*S*H
  7. Grey's Anatomy
  8. Charlie and Lola (It is my favorite and my best!)
8 Favorite Restaurants
  1. Ruth's Chris Steak House
  2. Ruby River
  3. Texas Roadhouse (We like steak!)
  4. Papa John's Pizza
  5. Macaroni Grille
  6. Tucanos (again with the steak!)
  7. The Pita Pit
  8. Pizza Hut (we like pizza too!)
8 Things I did Yesterday
  1. Drove Ross to work, and to his appointment, and then home to pick up a document he forgot, and to his other appointment, and back to the office, and then home.
  2. Wrote a lesson plan on my mom's couch
  3. Made an AWESOME omelette for dinner
  4. Had the second counselors in our bishopric and stake presidency come by for a visit (half-way through making dinner- and it still turned out good!)
  5. Had a picnic with Carrie (feel better- I love you!)
  6. 2 loads of laundry- not nearly enough to get caught up, but more than nothing. . .
  7. Practiced the piano when I should have been running
  8. Played with Sara when she decided 3 hours of sleep was more than enough

8 Things I Look Forward to
  1. My Loritab to kick in (I am not addicted- just in pain today! I haven't taken it for 3 days!)
  2. Hulu to pick up the new episode of The Office
  3. The Day the Pancakes Took Over the World
  4. Super Saturday! It has been a pain to plan and an even bigger pain to have to play bill collector, and the biggest pain of all to fight with the other ward over the building when we have had it reserved since February, but I think it will be fun!
  5. Christmas. I love Christmas with all my heart (even if Grandma Jones has decided that she will not go shopping this year) but this year, the best present of all will be Ross's driver's license! Hallelujah!
  6. My next date night with Ross.
  7. Going to bed (I know- lame- but so so true! It has been another rough week!).
  8. Getting my next check from Guru!


8 Things I love about Fall
  1. Carving pumpkins. I am an Excellent pumpkin carver!
  2. The temperature
  3. The colors-and not just the leaves. I love pumpkins and corn and stacks of hay and freshly harvested fields and squash, and lots of other fall things that fit into that heavenly fall color-scheme.
  4. The first snow
  5. Sweaters and scarves and gloves, and all those other wonderful wintery clothes
  6. Seeing my breath in the air
  7. 'Falling Back' at daylight savings time
  8. Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas music (yes- we are already playing my favorite Christmas CD's when Ross is not around!)

8 Things on my wish list
  1. No debt
  2. Fitting into my wedding dress again
  3. A new hair style
  4. Moneys- lots of it
  5. Traveling to Europe with Ross (and Asia, and South America, and Australia, and lots of other places!)
  6. Disney Land! I have NEVER been!!
  7. Have a book published
  8. Ross to be healed

8 Things I will do tomorrow

  1. Hopefully collect money from 10 more sisters so I can get the rest of the supplies for Super Saturday.
  2. Call my sister absurdly early to wish her Happy Birthday (I love you, Caulene!)
  3. Take Ross to work and entertain myself at the office (hopefully with a writing job and not with screaming children) while he works it at his appointment.
  4. Find or make up a recipe that will use all or most of the random left-overs from this week in the fridge (chicken, teriyaki sausage, bacon, fresh spinache, grated cheese, spaghetti sauce, bell pepper, alfredo sauce, and taco meat- any ideas?)
  5. Finish the next lesson plan on Guru and make-out an invoice for payment (yay!)
  6. Write up avertisements for Ross in the Thrifty Nickel, the Daily Universe, The UVU E-Bulletin Board thingy, Craigslist, KSL.com, and any other place I can think of. He just started a new job in addition to AFLAC and he is very excited about it. Expect a post about it maybe most likely.
  7. Teach Emma her last name.
  8. Run 2 miles

8 Things I am grateful for

  1. Priesthood blessings (thank you Grandpa!)
  2. Ross. He really is incredible! He has only complained once about the dishes in the sink and the pile of laundry that just never seem to go away now that I am not home all day. When I burst into tears at his complaint, he aplogized and thanked me for everything I have done (not all that much really) and has helped me keep things tidy ever since. He is such a trooper and is so much stronger than I am. I feel so foolish for needing him to buoy me up when he is the one with the chronic and dangerous debilitating disease! His response to all of this was to mope around for a few days and then get motivated to work harder (hence the new additional job) and my response was to try faking strength, but develop some terribly painful stess-induced cysts. Lame. I love Ross.
  3. Loritab (it is kicking in now!)
  4. Wireless internet and the ability to work anywhere I can steal an internet connection.
  5. My piano. I am still terrible, but I LOVE the potential for actual music there someday. Thanks, Mom! I really love it!
  6. Emma and Sara. They are my world! They have been, for the most part, so good about being in the car for hours on end lately. They both have their moments. . . Emma constantly reminds me that she is 2, and Sara apparently heard from Emma that sleep is boring. My hibernating bear is now doing what Emma used to do at her age. Really, though, they have been so sweet and wonderful! Sara is full of smiles (and 7 teeth!!) and Emma tells me every day that she loves me and wants snuggles. They are wonderful!
  7. Good friends. I am blessed.
  8. Living prophets. Conference was amazing! Heavenly Father made sure they knew just what I needed to hear. Maybe I will do a post about that too if I can find the time.