grateful

During this month of November it is natural to let my thoughts drift to the things for which I'm grateful.

Today I am especially grateful for time with my family.

I just found out a friend passed away. She entered the ER on Monday with "abdominal pain" and was dead from agressive kidney cancer 3 days later (almost before doctors had discovered what was even wrong). Her husband, in a post on a social network, informed others of her passing. He then asked for the continued prayers of her friends since he was going to have to break the news to their 4 children (ages 4-16) in about an hour when they awoke.

That broke my heart. I've cried several times since just thinking of how hard it would be to break such devastating news to loving children.

I am extremely grateful for the time I get to spend with my children, with my husband, with my parents, and with my siblings. I love them all so much and am a better person because of the things they've taught me and the examples they've all set. They have pushed me, caused me to think, challenged me, and given me unconditional love.

I enjoy doing things with all of them whether it be "craft nights" with my sisters, watching my children's soccer games, reunions, "date night" with my husband, FHE, or just sitting around visiting.

Family is everything! I am grateful for the reminder to cherish every minute I have with my family because you never know when that minute might be your last.

Barbell

As part of Chandler's soccer team, they do conditioning/training indoors all winter. They also play indoor soccer. Tonight's schedule included a cross-training/conditioning session of Barbell. I couldn't resist going in for a few minutes to watch. The idea of 9-yr-old boys lifting barbells just cracked me up. I knew it was going to be interesting.


It was pretty funny watching them. It turns out, though, that the class is less about lifting weights than it is about core strength just using a barbell with light weights. I felt bad for the teacher trying to describe what a straight back should look like to these boys who were all hunched over. Good luck, teach!

remember Dolly?

What ever happened to cloning? Remember when they cloned Dolly (the sheep)? Is no one interested in cloning anymore? Did anyone ever ask a busy mother what she thought of the idea?

I can't say I given any serious thought to the ethical issues involved but at this very moment cloning me sounds like a perfect solution!

I can't figure out any other way to get everyone where they are supposed to be tonight. I've mapped it all out - it would honestly take three of me to actually make tonight work so, how's that cloning coming along?

quick crafts

I really do love to craft and I love it even more when it is simple and FAST! I did all of these crafts in just a couple hours today so I'm pretty pleased with myself.

Refrigerator magnet clips made with clothespins. I just covered them in paper and glued on good strong magnets using E6000 glue.

A Thanksgiving banner using scrapbook paper and jute.
I just had to take a close-up because I thought the paper was just so darn cute!


A Thanksgiving table runner made from burlap, foam letter stamps and paint. This table runner idea is courtesy of my Jazzercise friend, BethAnne and her blog. Don't you just friends with good ideas?

blame it on Kevin

Last Wednesday Alec came home from school and insisted that Shanley was going to make him donuts. I told him she wasn't. He wasn't about to take that for an answer so he started getting out the bowl, flour, sugar, etc. I again told him that Shanley was NOT going to make donuts for him. I tried to explain to him that Shanley didn't know how to make donuts. So, he got out my Betty Crocker cookbook and flipped through it page by page until he found a donut recipe. Finally, I gave in and told him that although Shanley was NOT going to make donuts that I would make them if he'd wait until the next day. He agreed.

Thursday I had a break between seminary classes (that I was substitute teaching) so I came home and made the dough. While it was rising, I went back and finished teaching. Then I came home and rolled out the dough, cut them out, let it rise again, fried them, and glazed them.

Wow! They were delicious! I am not a huge donut fan but it's a different story when they're warm and fresh.

They were work but well worth it. It's a good thing since I'm blaming Kevin for the fact I even had to make them. I'm sure Alec would never have even known you COULD make donuts if Kevin hadn't told him. Trust Kevin to plant the idea in Alec's head and then leave town and leave me with the work.

Happy Birthday,McKayla!

My beautiful daughter is 15! Happy Birthday, Kaya!

I love you so much and feel so privileged to be your mother! You are a delightful daughter. Your smile lights up the room and I love to do things to see that smile. You are kind to others. You are so responsible and dependable and I love having a child I don't have to worry too much about.

You are incredibly talented! You play the piano well. You are very athletic and you are a very good student. You also have an amazing way with clothes and hair. You always look so "put together". I always have the feeling that there's nothing you can't do!

You have always been such a funny mix of tomboy and "girlie-girl". On the one hand, you love to have your nails painted and your hair fixed but on the other hand, you can sure bet you'll be doing hip-checks out on the soccer field. You can hold your own playing soccer or night games with the boys in the neighborhood but you also loves your new glitter gel toes and nail art kit.

You are a dream child! I love you and am glad you're my daughter!

Resolution Check-Up

Reporting on my goals each month has been good for me. It really helps provide some motivation!

Lose weight - Okay, not making progress in this area. I am actually up a couple pounds. It's scary that we're starting into the holiday season.

Earn YW Medallion - FINISHED! McKayla and I both received our awards on Sunday, October 24th. Yea!

Write my grandma's life history - I'm still using the "computer crashed and I lost everything" excuse! I am still sobbing and trying to get motivated to start over, but am seriously lacking in motivation.

Do major projects early
CPE - My total for the year is 44 hours. -FINSIHED in May
Christmas cards - FINISHED! The cards are done, the envelopes are addressed, and I even have the rough draft of the Christmas letter (which I won't finish until I am ready to send them out - you never know what exciting thing might happen.)
nieces and nephews birthday presents - FINISHED!
Christmas gifts - I did some shopping. I'm feeling good about this area, but would like to make a lot more progress during November.

Write a book - I worked on this one and made some progress.

Get 7 hours of sleep per night - Again, not so great. I am making an effort to get to bed early and have been fairly successful at that. Unfortunately, Alec is not cooperating. That kid only needs a few hours of sleep at night and he is LOUD! He either wakes me at 1 am because he hasn't even gone to bed yet and I have to get up and chase him into bed or he wakes me at 3 am because he's had enough sleep for the night.


Conclusion: So glad I have to 'fess up every month. It keeps me on my toes.