Twenty-two years ago today I lost my mom. When I think about it all kinds of feelings and memories come back. My mom had rhematoid arthritis. She was diagnosed when I was three years old. I don't remember a time when she wasn't sick and in pain. Despite that, I have many happy memories of her and the time we spent together. My favorites are from the winter of my junior year in high school. My dad had been transferred to teach at a high school quite a ways from where we lived and so he stayed there during the week and only came home on the weekends. So it was just mom and I at home. That time together was a special gift that I think about with happy thoughts.
Mom was feeling pretty good that winter. We had fun eating whatever we wanted to and watching whatever we wanted to on our newly installed cable. That winter we watched the whole series of Anne of Green Gables on the Disney Channel. To this day I LOVE that series! We had so much fun anticipating the next episode. We laughed and just enjoyed being together. My mom could be so silly and fun when she felt good.
I wonder why this year is really bringing up the memories for me. It could be because my Nita (who is named after my mom) is the same age I was when my mom died. I can't believe that much time has passed. I have been married to Lincoln longer than I lived with my mom. I wonder what my kids will remember about me after I'm gone. I hope there are some good memories and not just the fact that I'm a witch most of the time and I yell too much.
I feel sad that my kids aren't getting to know their grandma. She was so cute with her grandkids and she loved them so much. She always wanted to do special things for them and get them little surprises, even though she couldn't always afford to do it. I know I get that desire to surprise and make fun little things from her. I love her, I miss her, I know I will see her again and she will be able to do all the things she wanted to and couldn't because her sick body wouldn't let her. I'm grateful that she is my mother.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
A New Year
I love starting a new year. It's so full of possibilities. I have big plans to do so many things. I hope that I can get at least some of them accomplished.
Some goals for this year are:
-Get organized! And keep it that way.
-Clean out the garage so two cars can be parked there. Isn't that what garages are for??
-Sew lots of fun things.
-Teach Faha, Pasi, and Siu piano lessons
-Exercise regularly
-Be super spiritual! Read scriptures and have prayers every day! (Thanks Stacie!)
That's the main list, I will think of more I'm sure.
I have started painting. I painted a wall in our "tv room". It used to be our master bedroom, but now it's a playroom/tv room. Hey, I want an upstairs family room and I don't have one, so I made one! I painted one wall red. I'm going to use all my apple decorations. I hope it turns out cute.
Another project is crocheting blankets for my new great nephews, three of them, that are due to arrive soon. I have finished one, two more to go. Also, I'm making rag quilts for my kids' Build a Bears. I have to keep busy with these little projects because they are my stress relieving therapy.
Why do I need stress relieving therapy?? Because my kids are making me nuts! Cody wants to transfer to the high school close to us. Which you think would make my life easier, but it probably will be more complicated because Anita and Faha will still go to school on the east side of the valley. So I will have 5 kids in 4 different schools! So goes the drama of life with 3 teenagers.
Anyway, I am off to give piano lessons.
Some goals for this year are:
-Get organized! And keep it that way.
-Clean out the garage so two cars can be parked there. Isn't that what garages are for??
-Sew lots of fun things.
-Teach Faha, Pasi, and Siu piano lessons
-Exercise regularly
-Be super spiritual! Read scriptures and have prayers every day! (Thanks Stacie!)
That's the main list, I will think of more I'm sure.
I have started painting. I painted a wall in our "tv room". It used to be our master bedroom, but now it's a playroom/tv room. Hey, I want an upstairs family room and I don't have one, so I made one! I painted one wall red. I'm going to use all my apple decorations. I hope it turns out cute.
Another project is crocheting blankets for my new great nephews, three of them, that are due to arrive soon. I have finished one, two more to go. Also, I'm making rag quilts for my kids' Build a Bears. I have to keep busy with these little projects because they are my stress relieving therapy.
Why do I need stress relieving therapy?? Because my kids are making me nuts! Cody wants to transfer to the high school close to us. Which you think would make my life easier, but it probably will be more complicated because Anita and Faha will still go to school on the east side of the valley. So I will have 5 kids in 4 different schools! So goes the drama of life with 3 teenagers.
Anyway, I am off to give piano lessons.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Christmas!
We had a very nice Christmas. It was low stress, my favorite. On Wednesday we got to visit with my niece, Brooke, and her family. We got to see her new baby, Benjamin. Adorable! Her 2 year old, Liam, had fun with the kids. He is so cute. We had my brother, Kevin, his daughter, Jenelle, her husband, Damian, and our friends, the Langis, over on Christmas Eve. We played a white elephant game and the kids acted out the Christmas story. It was fun. We stayed up until 12:30am with them and then I still had some presents to wrap so I ended up being awake until 3:30am. Lincoln woke me up at 8:30. The kids were awake, but just waiting for us to get up. They are such good kids. I would have already made my parents get up. The kids were all happy with their gifts and they played with them all day. I had made dinner on Christmas Eve so we just had the leftovers on Christmas Day. It was nice not having to cook.
It's a little bit of a let down after Christmas. I usually want to take the tree down the day after, but this year I'm wanting to leave it up a little longer. I may take it down today, if I get in the mood.
I made my first rag quilt for Benjamin in about 3 hours. I was pretty proud of myself. I should have taken a picture of it, but I had to give it to Brooke right away because I barely finished it right before they got here. But it turned out pretty cute. I'm planning to make little ones for the kids Build a Bears.
We have another week of the kids being out of school, so my days this week will be filled with keeping them occupied and keeping them from killing each other and tearing my house down. I hope to get some cleaning done, too!
It's a little bit of a let down after Christmas. I usually want to take the tree down the day after, but this year I'm wanting to leave it up a little longer. I may take it down today, if I get in the mood.
I made my first rag quilt for Benjamin in about 3 hours. I was pretty proud of myself. I should have taken a picture of it, but I had to give it to Brooke right away because I barely finished it right before they got here. But it turned out pretty cute. I'm planning to make little ones for the kids Build a Bears.
We have another week of the kids being out of school, so my days this week will be filled with keeping them occupied and keeping them from killing each other and tearing my house down. I hope to get some cleaning done, too!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
First Week on the Job!
Lincoln is officially employed. It's pretty exciting and it may take us a little while to adjust, but it's a good thing! We are still not sure what his real schedule will be, he's been training the past week, but probably he will work around 7:30am-4:00pm. That's pretty good because then he can still help me run the kids to their activities in the evenings. He's been having a difficult time this week because of his ankle. It's really hard for him to get around on crutches and his leg and ankle are very painful. I'm afraid it's going to take a long time for his tendon to heal. He is not used to being sick or laid up and he has no patience for it. Our hometeacher came over on Tuesday and gave him a blessing and I'm sure that will help.
This week was fall recess from school for the kids so they had Thursday and Friday off and tomorrow, too. Anita helped me can peaches from our peach trees for the first time on Thursday. I'm going to try to post a picture sometime of our canning. It's not too pretty, but hopefully they taste better than they look!
Cody's team won their game on Tuesday against Cyprus. We weren't able to watch the game because normally his games are on Thursdays and I have scheduled my piano lessons around that, but because they didn't have school on Thursday the game was on Tuesday and I couldn't rearrange 7 piano lessons for another day. I was very sad to miss his game, especially since he got to run the ball for the first time this season.
Pasi and Faha's teams won their games on Saturday against Judge. Pasi's team has never beaten Judge and they have lost to them twice in the playoffs, but they won this time. It was a very exciting game. Pasi's team won 13-7. They scored a touchdown in the last minute of the game to win. Faha's game was exciting too and they won 12-6.
I'm looking forward to watching conference today. I only got to watch the last half of the afternoon session yesterday. Last night the boys all went to the priesthood session and out to dinner after, so the girls and I had a girls night. We got Wendy's dollar menu and rented Coraline and The Secret Life of Bees. We had fun watching those together.
I had planned to sleep in today, but our dumb cat, Gizmo, didn't come inside last night and she meowed at our window until I let her in at 5:00am. I'm going to try to go back to bed and get a little more sleep now before everyone else wakes up!
This week was fall recess from school for the kids so they had Thursday and Friday off and tomorrow, too. Anita helped me can peaches from our peach trees for the first time on Thursday. I'm going to try to post a picture sometime of our canning. It's not too pretty, but hopefully they taste better than they look!
Cody's team won their game on Tuesday against Cyprus. We weren't able to watch the game because normally his games are on Thursdays and I have scheduled my piano lessons around that, but because they didn't have school on Thursday the game was on Tuesday and I couldn't rearrange 7 piano lessons for another day. I was very sad to miss his game, especially since he got to run the ball for the first time this season.
Pasi and Faha's teams won their games on Saturday against Judge. Pasi's team has never beaten Judge and they have lost to them twice in the playoffs, but they won this time. It was a very exciting game. Pasi's team won 13-7. They scored a touchdown in the last minute of the game to win. Faha's game was exciting too and they won 12-6.
I'm looking forward to watching conference today. I only got to watch the last half of the afternoon session yesterday. Last night the boys all went to the priesthood session and out to dinner after, so the girls and I had a girls night. We got Wendy's dollar menu and rented Coraline and The Secret Life of Bees. We had fun watching those together.
I had planned to sleep in today, but our dumb cat, Gizmo, didn't come inside last night and she meowed at our window until I let her in at 5:00am. I'm going to try to go back to bed and get a little more sleep now before everyone else wakes up!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
I love Fall!!!
You know how you want to do stuff and visit places, but you never make the time to do it? I know my nieces and nephews aren't like that because I read their blogs and they are always doing fun things and going all over. I guess I have too much of my dad in me that thinks "we don't have time and we don't have money" so we don't do anything and life is passing us by. I am getting pretty sick of that! It's coming to my realization that my kids are growing up FAST! Anita will be in college in TWO years! Cody will be on his mission in a little over THREE years! I want to take time and make it stop for a little while so I can enjoy my family all being together because I know it will never be this way again. Things have been really hard the last few months and, if nothing else, I've learned that if you wait until the kids are older, you have extra money, you have extra time, you have more energy, etc. to live your life the way you want to....you'll be wasting your whole life!
I love fall colors. I love the crispness of the air (I HATE being hot!). I just love Fall (and Spring too!). Normally, I want to drive up through the mountains and look at all the fall colors, just for the fun of it. Of course, we never do. Well, yesterday we had to drive to South Summit (Oakley, east of Kamas) for Faha and Pasi's football games. I had been dreading the drive ever since I found out at the beginning of the season that the boys had games there. By the way, it's only an hour drive (or maybe a little less). We had to drive farther than that just to go from Ramah to Gallup for heaven's sake! Another reason I was dreading it was because Lincoln couldn't go with us because he had to finish up his Scout leader training with an overnight campout in Lehi. So it was just me and the boys. It turned out to be so much fun! The boys and I talked, listened to music, and enjoyed seeing all the gorgeous fall colors the whole drive up and back. They both won their games, so it wasn't even a wasted trip! I just wish I could have stopped and taken pictures of everything because it was so pretty. What a great day to spend time with my boys and listen to their thoughts and ideas and joke around with them. FUN! We made a memory.
So for all of you parents with young children or soon to be parents, ENJOY the journey! Enjoy when your kids are little, have fun with them. I am so proud of my kids and they way they are, but every once in awhile I wish I could turn back time and have a day with them when they were little again. I wish I could hear Anita say, "Sing happy songs." and watch Cody wear his little white construction hat that he NEVER took off (even for church) with his spatula sword shoved down the front of his pants, strutting around the house. Or see Faha's double dimple smile and him trying so hard to keep up with Anita and Cody. You think you will be forever changing diapers and never get an uninterupted night's sleep, but before you know it they are all grown up. And they have more grown up problems that you can't soothe away and solve for them. So, we are changing how we do things around here. We are going to have some fun and enjoy being together more. Just wish we had been doing it all along!
I love fall colors. I love the crispness of the air (I HATE being hot!). I just love Fall (and Spring too!). Normally, I want to drive up through the mountains and look at all the fall colors, just for the fun of it. Of course, we never do. Well, yesterday we had to drive to South Summit (Oakley, east of Kamas) for Faha and Pasi's football games. I had been dreading the drive ever since I found out at the beginning of the season that the boys had games there. By the way, it's only an hour drive (or maybe a little less). We had to drive farther than that just to go from Ramah to Gallup for heaven's sake! Another reason I was dreading it was because Lincoln couldn't go with us because he had to finish up his Scout leader training with an overnight campout in Lehi. So it was just me and the boys. It turned out to be so much fun! The boys and I talked, listened to music, and enjoyed seeing all the gorgeous fall colors the whole drive up and back. They both won their games, so it wasn't even a wasted trip! I just wish I could have stopped and taken pictures of everything because it was so pretty. What a great day to spend time with my boys and listen to their thoughts and ideas and joke around with them. FUN! We made a memory.
So for all of you parents with young children or soon to be parents, ENJOY the journey! Enjoy when your kids are little, have fun with them. I am so proud of my kids and they way they are, but every once in awhile I wish I could turn back time and have a day with them when they were little again. I wish I could hear Anita say, "Sing happy songs." and watch Cody wear his little white construction hat that he NEVER took off (even for church) with his spatula sword shoved down the front of his pants, strutting around the house. Or see Faha's double dimple smile and him trying so hard to keep up with Anita and Cody. You think you will be forever changing diapers and never get an uninterupted night's sleep, but before you know it they are all grown up. And they have more grown up problems that you can't soothe away and solve for them. So, we are changing how we do things around here. We are going to have some fun and enjoy being together more. Just wish we had been doing it all along!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
It's a Good Football Week!
We're home from the games today and after a little nap to recover from the early morning to afternoon day at football, I'm ready to report. Cody's team had their first win of the year against West 40-0. They finally decided to show up for the game! The JV and Varsity teams both won their games, too, which was nice because it was Homecoming this week. All the teams dressed out for the Varsity game last night. It was so cute because Cody was so excited. Even though he didn't get to play, he was still so happy and excited!
Today the little league teams played in Tooele (about 30 miles west). We left about 6:45 this morning and it was a little cold and windy. By the time Faha's game started at noon, it was hot and no wind. I think I got a sunburn. Anyway, Pasi's team won 40-6 and Faha's team won 33-0. Good games! Faha played most of the game, offense and defense. He is pretty tired. He's not used to playing that much. This is a much better week than last week. Last week all the teams lost. So we have much happier boys at this house this week!
Tomorrow is the Primary Sacrament Meeting Program. Siu says she has her part memorized...we'll see. She is supposed to play "I Wonder When He Comes Again" on the piano for prelude, but I don't think she's ready so I may not have her play it. Pasi is singing a solo of the third verse to "Baptism". He's also supposed to play a song for prelude, but he hasn't practiced anything. We've been too busy practicing for the song he's singing.
This next week is the last week Lincoln will be home before he starts his new job on the 28th. I have lots of things I would like him to do before he goes back to work. I don't know if they will all get done, but I can hope, can't I? Last Saturday he tore his achilles tendon so he has been in pain and limping around all week.
Time to go make some dinner and do the Saturday night prep for tomorrow.
Today the little league teams played in Tooele (about 30 miles west). We left about 6:45 this morning and it was a little cold and windy. By the time Faha's game started at noon, it was hot and no wind. I think I got a sunburn. Anyway, Pasi's team won 40-6 and Faha's team won 33-0. Good games! Faha played most of the game, offense and defense. He is pretty tired. He's not used to playing that much. This is a much better week than last week. Last week all the teams lost. So we have much happier boys at this house this week!
Tomorrow is the Primary Sacrament Meeting Program. Siu says she has her part memorized...we'll see. She is supposed to play "I Wonder When He Comes Again" on the piano for prelude, but I don't think she's ready so I may not have her play it. Pasi is singing a solo of the third verse to "Baptism". He's also supposed to play a song for prelude, but he hasn't practiced anything. We've been too busy practicing for the song he's singing.
This next week is the last week Lincoln will be home before he starts his new job on the 28th. I have lots of things I would like him to do before he goes back to work. I don't know if they will all get done, but I can hope, can't I? Last Saturday he tore his achilles tendon so he has been in pain and limping around all week.
Time to go make some dinner and do the Saturday night prep for tomorrow.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Official Job Offer!
Well, Lincoln's job offer is official! He got the paperwork last week and we are waiting for the background checks and paperwork to go through. If all goes well, he will start on September 28th! We are pretty excited. He will be a Benefit Specialist for ADP (Advanced Data Processing). I'm still not really believing it's real. I probably won't breathe a sigh of relief until he is actually at work!
Thank you to all of you for your prayers and support! We really appreciate it!
Thank you to all of you for your prayers and support! We really appreciate it!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Back to School Time!
Amazing that it's already time for the kids to go back to school. They start on Monday. They are all excited. It hasn't been such a fun summer around here, so I guess they figure school will be better. I'm missing the back to school shopping, that's always so fun. But we have to forgo that until Lincoln gets a job. The kids have been great about it, very understanding. My kids are awesome!
We are all going to fast tomorrow for Lincoln. He has a job interview Monday morning. Please say a prayer that he will get the job!
Lincoln and I and the three older kids went to the temple this morning. (6am, the kids think that's waaaaaaay to early!) The kids finished doing baptisms about 2 hours before we came out and they were pretty tired. It was good to go with the kids. We wanted to go this Saturday before football games start next week.
Hopefully when I post next I can report that Lincoln has a job!
We are all going to fast tomorrow for Lincoln. He has a job interview Monday morning. Please say a prayer that he will get the job!
Lincoln and I and the three older kids went to the temple this morning. (6am, the kids think that's waaaaaaay to early!) The kids finished doing baptisms about 2 hours before we came out and they were pretty tired. It was good to go with the kids. We wanted to go this Saturday before football games start next week.
Hopefully when I post next I can report that Lincoln has a job!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
It's cool today!
I'm sooooo excited! The weather is so nice and cool today. I love cloudy cool days. What does that say about me??
This morning we went to the Kearns Dayz Parade. It was fun. The kids got a ton of candy. Pasi and Faha were in the parade with their football teams. There were a lot of entries. Way more than last year.
I forgot that Siu is giving a talk in Primary tomorrow so now I must go and help her get her talk ready.
This morning we went to the Kearns Dayz Parade. It was fun. The kids got a ton of candy. Pasi and Faha were in the parade with their football teams. There were a lot of entries. Way more than last year.
I forgot that Siu is giving a talk in Primary tomorrow so now I must go and help her get her talk ready.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
New Look!
How do you like my new look? I finally decided I needed to jazz up my blog. I will probably change this in a week or so. I'm just trying out different backgrounds. As usual, I had problems getting everything to work so I didn't get all the font colors I wanted and stuff, but it's a little bit cute don't you think??
My next project is trying to post my pictures. I have a lot to download and with my computer it could take awhile. Well, gotta run and get ready for the day. I've spent the last 2 hours playing on thecutestblogontheblock.com. Enough wasting time!
My next project is trying to post my pictures. I have a lot to download and with my computer it could take awhile. Well, gotta run and get ready for the day. I've spent the last 2 hours playing on thecutestblogontheblock.com. Enough wasting time!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
The Summer is Almost Over!
I can't believe the summer is almost over! Only three more weeks and the kids will be back in school. I know no one but me reads this blog, but I'm just posting for my own benefit!
Football has started. We have been going since last week. Daily practices from 5:30-7:30. It gets a little crazy. Pasi found out Monday that he made the A team! A big accomplishment and we are very proud of him. He also made the A team last year, but this year the competition was a lot more tough. Being on the A team is significant for me because Faha and Pasi's games will all be at the same place and will start at the same time every Saturday. Pasi's will probably start at 9:00am and Faha's at 12:00pm. Having kids on the B team means that games are all over the place and at different times. Games start on August 29th.
Siu finally passed Level 4 swimming!!! She has probably taken that level about 10 times. It's been a tough one for her, but she finally did it! We are so proud of her!
We had a good family vacation to New Mexico to visit my family and have Siu's baptism there. I will post more about that in a separate post (with pictures!).
Monday was free admission to the Utah Museum of Natural History so we took advantage of that opportunity. The kids had a great time and really enjoyed the frog exhibit.
I started with two new daycare kids last week and things are going well with that. It is a little hectic keeping up with 7 daycare kids plus my 5 kids, but so far I'm surviving. I am having a hard time finding things to do to keep them all occupied and fed. I tried having more structure today and they didn't like it very much! We had breakfast, went for a walk, came home and the daycare kids colored and did workbooks while I helped Pasi and Siu clean their extremely messy rooms. Then they played outside, we had lunch, storytime, nap and now they are running through the sprinklers. They should all be picked up in about half an hour! Then I fall into a heap of exhaustion! Yesterday was worse because I had 11 piano lessons in the afternoon/evening.
I just wanted to do a quick post (even though I know no one reads this because hardly anyone EVER comments on my posts!!!) so I better go now and get the kids ready to be picked up.
Football has started. We have been going since last week. Daily practices from 5:30-7:30. It gets a little crazy. Pasi found out Monday that he made the A team! A big accomplishment and we are very proud of him. He also made the A team last year, but this year the competition was a lot more tough. Being on the A team is significant for me because Faha and Pasi's games will all be at the same place and will start at the same time every Saturday. Pasi's will probably start at 9:00am and Faha's at 12:00pm. Having kids on the B team means that games are all over the place and at different times. Games start on August 29th.
Siu finally passed Level 4 swimming!!! She has probably taken that level about 10 times. It's been a tough one for her, but she finally did it! We are so proud of her!
We had a good family vacation to New Mexico to visit my family and have Siu's baptism there. I will post more about that in a separate post (with pictures!).
Monday was free admission to the Utah Museum of Natural History so we took advantage of that opportunity. The kids had a great time and really enjoyed the frog exhibit.
I started with two new daycare kids last week and things are going well with that. It is a little hectic keeping up with 7 daycare kids plus my 5 kids, but so far I'm surviving. I am having a hard time finding things to do to keep them all occupied and fed. I tried having more structure today and they didn't like it very much! We had breakfast, went for a walk, came home and the daycare kids colored and did workbooks while I helped Pasi and Siu clean their extremely messy rooms. Then they played outside, we had lunch, storytime, nap and now they are running through the sprinklers. They should all be picked up in about half an hour! Then I fall into a heap of exhaustion! Yesterday was worse because I had 11 piano lessons in the afternoon/evening.
I just wanted to do a quick post (even though I know no one reads this because hardly anyone EVER comments on my posts!!!) so I better go now and get the kids ready to be picked up.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Another Week!
Well, another week has gone by and still no job. I'm trying not to freak out about it, but sometimes (especially in the middle of the night) I get panic attacks about it. Lincoln did have one interview with a recruiter last week, but he hasn't heard back from him yet. I have been thinking today about what we are supposed to learn from this experience. There's the obvious, that we need to learn to better manage our finances, get out of debt, and save. Could there be something else, as well? I'm trying to figure it out, so I can hurry up and learn it and move on to having a steady income again.
Lincoln and Faha are leaving in the morning for Scout camp at Bear Lake. They will be gone all week. Lincoln was going to take my van, but I was able to convince him that I NEED my van! I wouldn't be able to go anywhere during the day all week without it. So, finally, he told me today that he will be taking the car. Hurray!
Pasi is leaving in the morning for Mill Hollow. It's a school camp that Granite School District does for students that have finished 4th and 5th grades. He will be gone until Wed. He is sooooooooo excited! I hope he will be able to sleep tonight.
So for most of the week it will just be me and the girls and Cody. Where can we send Cody???? No, I want to keep Cody here to entertain the 4 day care boys. They think he is "awesome" as one of them said to me.
Pasi and Siu finished their first set of swimming lessons this year. Pasi passed Level 6 (first try) and now he is finished with swimming lessons. He is officially a swimmer. It's a good thing, because he HATES swimming lessons! Siu is still at Level 4 and will keep working on her swimming skills. Their last lesson was on Wed. and most of the classes had the kids jump off the diving board. Siu was going to do it, but she chickened out. She was very upset about it and had a big temper tantrum fit right there. I took a picture of her when she was walking out on the diving board before she started freaking out. So here it is:
I'm pretty excited because I have just found out I will be having another great niece or nephew. We are now up to three of my nieces and one niece in law that are pregnant. It's so exciting! For two of them this will be their first baby and the other two their second. So, for those of you who might know them: Brooke (Coleen's youngest daughter) is expecting their 2nd boy in October, Alysha (Coleen's 2nd daughter) is expecting their second child late February or early March (she just found out she is pregnant), Jenelle (Kevin's oldest daughter) is expecting their 1st in February, and Kelly (Sheryl's oldest son Brandon's wife) is expecting their first in February. I have to get busy making baby stuff. I love it!
Lincoln and Faha are leaving in the morning for Scout camp at Bear Lake. They will be gone all week. Lincoln was going to take my van, but I was able to convince him that I NEED my van! I wouldn't be able to go anywhere during the day all week without it. So, finally, he told me today that he will be taking the car. Hurray!
Pasi is leaving in the morning for Mill Hollow. It's a school camp that Granite School District does for students that have finished 4th and 5th grades. He will be gone until Wed. He is sooooooooo excited! I hope he will be able to sleep tonight.
So for most of the week it will just be me and the girls and Cody. Where can we send Cody???? No, I want to keep Cody here to entertain the 4 day care boys. They think he is "awesome" as one of them said to me.
Pasi and Siu finished their first set of swimming lessons this year. Pasi passed Level 6 (first try) and now he is finished with swimming lessons. He is officially a swimmer. It's a good thing, because he HATES swimming lessons! Siu is still at Level 4 and will keep working on her swimming skills. Their last lesson was on Wed. and most of the classes had the kids jump off the diving board. Siu was going to do it, but she chickened out. She was very upset about it and had a big temper tantrum fit right there. I took a picture of her when she was walking out on the diving board before she started freaking out. So here it is:
I'm pretty excited because I have just found out I will be having another great niece or nephew. We are now up to three of my nieces and one niece in law that are pregnant. It's so exciting! For two of them this will be their first baby and the other two their second. So, for those of you who might know them: Brooke (Coleen's youngest daughter) is expecting their 2nd boy in October, Alysha (Coleen's 2nd daughter) is expecting their second child late February or early March (she just found out she is pregnant), Jenelle (Kevin's oldest daughter) is expecting their 1st in February, and Kelly (Sheryl's oldest son Brandon's wife) is expecting their first in February. I have to get busy making baby stuff. I love it!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
A Bad Week!
The last week and a half have been really hard for us. On the 10th of June Lincoln was laid off from his job of almost thirteen years. He was given a decent severance package, but it won't last long. Unfortunately, we have not followed the counsel to not get into debt and to have an emergency fund, so we are definitely not prepared for this crisis. I ask all of you for your prayers that Lincoln can find a job soon so we can take care of our family and not lose our house. It's so hard to keep going and act normal when I am so worried, but I try. It took all of my effort to go to church today and play for Primary, teach my lesson, and go to sacrament meeting. I did feel better after though. I try to keep up my spirits for Lincoln's and the kids sake. It's pretty hard for me though!
We went to our ward camp out Thurs-Sat and we had a good time. It was a little cold the first night, so I came home and got us more blankets and warmer clothes and the second night was much more comfortable. We camped in the Spruces campground up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was beautiful! We have had so much rain so everything was really green and pretty. We saw a moose in our camp the morning we left. I forgot to take my camera so I have no pictures. I have to be better about taking pictures. I know I will regret not having taken pictures more as the kids get older.
I'm stressing this week because I have my follow-up surprise inspection for my daycare probably sometime this week. I have to have corrected the problems they found on the announced inspection last month. Most of the problems were with my swingset that we bought last summer. I hope we have everything fixed so that it will pass. I had my kitchen inspection almost two weeks ago and almost had a nervous breakdown before it. It turned out to be no big deal and I passed with no problems. I also will be having my food program inspection sometime in the next two weeks. Sometimes I wish we could just be normal in our own house, but it is good to have that income and be able to stay home. Trying to count my blessings!
I hope Lincoln has had a good Father's Day. I made him breakfast in bed. He doesn't want us to spend money on him ever, so I didn't, but I wanted him to have a good day.
We went to our ward camp out Thurs-Sat and we had a good time. It was a little cold the first night, so I came home and got us more blankets and warmer clothes and the second night was much more comfortable. We camped in the Spruces campground up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was beautiful! We have had so much rain so everything was really green and pretty. We saw a moose in our camp the morning we left. I forgot to take my camera so I have no pictures. I have to be better about taking pictures. I know I will regret not having taken pictures more as the kids get older.
I'm stressing this week because I have my follow-up surprise inspection for my daycare probably sometime this week. I have to have corrected the problems they found on the announced inspection last month. Most of the problems were with my swingset that we bought last summer. I hope we have everything fixed so that it will pass. I had my kitchen inspection almost two weeks ago and almost had a nervous breakdown before it. It turned out to be no big deal and I passed with no problems. I also will be having my food program inspection sometime in the next two weeks. Sometimes I wish we could just be normal in our own house, but it is good to have that income and be able to stay home. Trying to count my blessings!
I hope Lincoln has had a good Father's Day. I made him breakfast in bed. He doesn't want us to spend money on him ever, so I didn't, but I wanted him to have a good day.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Summer is here!
Well, summer has arrived and I love the weather so far! It's rainy and cloudy with a little sun each day, temperature is mid 70's. I love it!! Can it stay like this all summer??
Yesterday I had my kitchen inspection from the state health department for my daycare. STRESS!!! I was having panic attacks, but it turned out to be no big deal. The inspector lady was only here about 5 minutes and everything was up to her standards and she liked my floors. I only have 2 more (hopefully) unannounced inspections from child care licensing and then my quarterly inspection from my food program. Sometimes I get sick of it all and want to tell them all to kiss my grits, but I do love being home.
So the kids got out of school last Friday we are all still alive, so that's going well. Cody and Faha left Monday night for an orchestra trip to Disneyland. They will be gone until Friday. Monday night Anita spent the night at her friend's house, so we only had 2 kids home. Last night Siu and Pasi both spent the night at their friend's houses and Anita was the only kid at home! It was cool! Very quiet and when I got up this morning, the living room looked exactly like it did when I went to bed. Amazing!
Pasi and Siu have started swim lessons. Pasi only has one more level to pass and Siu has three. Pasi doesn't enjoy swim lessons so he is working hard to pass this time so he doesn't have to take lessons all summer. Faha is taking tennis lessons. He is missing the first week because of his Disney trip, but he will make them up the next lesson set. Cody has weight training for football Mon., Wed, and Fridays at 7:00am. So even though we are out of school, we still will keep busy. I'll post more later.
Yesterday I had my kitchen inspection from the state health department for my daycare. STRESS!!! I was having panic attacks, but it turned out to be no big deal. The inspector lady was only here about 5 minutes and everything was up to her standards and she liked my floors. I only have 2 more (hopefully) unannounced inspections from child care licensing and then my quarterly inspection from my food program. Sometimes I get sick of it all and want to tell them all to kiss my grits, but I do love being home.
So the kids got out of school last Friday we are all still alive, so that's going well. Cody and Faha left Monday night for an orchestra trip to Disneyland. They will be gone until Friday. Monday night Anita spent the night at her friend's house, so we only had 2 kids home. Last night Siu and Pasi both spent the night at their friend's houses and Anita was the only kid at home! It was cool! Very quiet and when I got up this morning, the living room looked exactly like it did when I went to bed. Amazing!
Pasi and Siu have started swim lessons. Pasi only has one more level to pass and Siu has three. Pasi doesn't enjoy swim lessons so he is working hard to pass this time so he doesn't have to take lessons all summer. Faha is taking tennis lessons. He is missing the first week because of his Disney trip, but he will make them up the next lesson set. Cody has weight training for football Mon., Wed, and Fridays at 7:00am. So even though we are out of school, we still will keep busy. I'll post more later.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
My Projects
Well, has it been long enough since I last posted?? I have waited partly because I wanted to post some pictures, but haven't been able to find my cable that connects my camera to the computer. It's so great to have sooooo many helpers to help me keep track of my things (translation, lose everything I own!). Anyway, I had a couple on my phone so I will post those, even though the picture quality is somewhat lacking. These are my projects I have been working on the last couple of months. I painted the playroom and Siu's room. For those of you who have seen my house, you know that the playroom was painted about 1/3 of the way up with chalkboard paint. That is all gone as you can see.
Siu and I had been wanting to paint her room for a long time and I finally got it done! We went with pink (sassy pink) with brown polka dots. I still need to get the vinyl lettering and more polka dots put up. It takes me awhile. Above her bed we will put "Sweet Dreams", above her closet "Butterfly Kisses", and some other place we haven't decided yet, "The Princess Sleeps Here". A friend of mine (Stacie) has a Cricket machine and offered to cut out the vinyl for me. It's great. We just haven't been able to get together to get everything finished. So here it is so far.... The big circle is a chalk board. I made it from a table round top that I was going to throw away. It's coming along, it's a work in progress. I found a cute comforter at Target, I just need to save up for it.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone! We had a really nice day. It was just our family and it was so relaxing and unstressful. We slept in and I didn't even put the turkey in the oven until about 10:30. We ate about 5. We had a nice little vacation just relaxing and spending time together. It was refreshing. Our dinner turned out wonderful. It was our best one yet. Delicious!
We started our Christmas Box tonight. It has become our tradition. We put a clue in a special decorated box. The clue tells what we will be doing for the evening. It's something special like play a game, watch a movie, make a treat, or go someplace. We start on Dec. 1 and do something every evening until Christmas. I started it to help us remember to spend some time together each day during a time that can be very busy and stressful. Sometimes we just do something simple like have a candy, or it can be a big thing like going ice skating. We started a little late tonight so we didn't get to do everything I had planned, but that's okay. We can do it another night. But we did something, that's the important thing! It's something that we all look forward to doing and it's fun! It's also fun to think of the things to do and to come up with the clue for it.
What are some of your family Christmas traditions?
I'm so proud of myself! I got most of our Christmas cards mailed today! I'm trying to get things done early and not wait until the last minute and have to rush like a crazy person.
Well, it's getting late and time for bed!
We started our Christmas Box tonight. It has become our tradition. We put a clue in a special decorated box. The clue tells what we will be doing for the evening. It's something special like play a game, watch a movie, make a treat, or go someplace. We start on Dec. 1 and do something every evening until Christmas. I started it to help us remember to spend some time together each day during a time that can be very busy and stressful. Sometimes we just do something simple like have a candy, or it can be a big thing like going ice skating. We started a little late tonight so we didn't get to do everything I had planned, but that's okay. We can do it another night. But we did something, that's the important thing! It's something that we all look forward to doing and it's fun! It's also fun to think of the things to do and to come up with the clue for it.
What are some of your family Christmas traditions?
I'm so proud of myself! I got most of our Christmas cards mailed today! I'm trying to get things done early and not wait until the last minute and have to rush like a crazy person.
Well, it's getting late and time for bed!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
New Project
I think I will have a new project. Well, it's not really a NEW project, but it's one that it's time to face for real. It's called saving as much money as possible. Right now I'm focusing on groceries. I read Brooke's blog and she's not totally convinced about coupons. I'm not sure whether I am or not either. I mostly buy store brand rather than name brand items, so I'm not sure if I would save any money. I'm reading a book called "Live You Life for Half the Price" by Mary Hunt. It's very good. The author says the best way to save on groceries is to use coupons together with store sales and double coupons if the store offers it. She also suggests shopping "in reserve" as she calls it rather than for "needs shopping". I'm still reading the book, but I'll post when I learn more about the program she recommends.
We are getting to the end of football season. (Yippee!) The last game is Saturday. Neither Pasi's, nor Cody's team will be going to the playoffs, so we are done! It's been a rough season. Both teams started off really well, but have had some hard games. About 3 1/2 weeks ago Cody got a grade 2 concussion in a game. He was out of all activities for 3 weeks. It was a little scary. He couldn't (and still can't) remember what happened and was disoriented and dizzy for several days after. The kid from the other team hit him helmet to helmet right in the forehead. He was really doing well before that happened. He had scored several touchdowns (He gets to run the ball this year. It's very exciting! I'm one proud mom.) and was the kicker for the team. He didn't have much opportunity to do either in their game last Saturday because they got smashed! Pasi's team still might go to the playoffs if they win on Saturday, but that's only if a couple of other teams lose their games. Football is fun, but it is so time consuming that it's nice when it's over.
We had an awesome opportunity last Saturday to go to a Stake fireside with Sister Elaine Dalton, the General Young Womens President. It was so neat. Our stake held the fireside and invited the other two Tongan stakes in the area to come. The chapel wasn't even full!! It was very sad that so many people missed out on that great experience. Anita and I got to meet her afterward and she was so nice. She talked to everyone that wanted to talk to her. It was just a wonderful experience.
My other project is motivating my kids to do their chores. This morning I decided I was sick of running late because Pasi and Siu wouldn't get out of bed. I had bought some charts a few months ago with stickers, but hadn't decided how to use them. I put them to use this morning. The charts have 20 squares for star stickers. My program will be when they fill a paper with stickers they will get a treat. If they want to save it and cash in 5 at a time, they can get a toy. I'm still working on the list of things they can get a sticker for doing. So far I have:
getting up out of bed the first time I call them
getting ready for school by 8:00am
homework done the night before
brushing and flossing their teeth (one sticker for am one for pm)
bonus sticker if they make their bed
if their room is clean when they leave for school
bonus sticker for Siu if she doesn't take her hair out before bed (she always takes out her ponytail, braid, whatever at school and then she looks like an orphan)
These are just the things we've really been struggling with. It worked wonderfully this morning. They were both ready and happy they got their stickers and I got some peace in the morning! Even if it only works for today, I'm happy! Now I just have to think of something for the older kids. Somehow I don't think sticker cards will give them the same motivation.
Well, It's almost time for everyone to get home so I better go! Love to all!
We are getting to the end of football season. (Yippee!) The last game is Saturday. Neither Pasi's, nor Cody's team will be going to the playoffs, so we are done! It's been a rough season. Both teams started off really well, but have had some hard games. About 3 1/2 weeks ago Cody got a grade 2 concussion in a game. He was out of all activities for 3 weeks. It was a little scary. He couldn't (and still can't) remember what happened and was disoriented and dizzy for several days after. The kid from the other team hit him helmet to helmet right in the forehead. He was really doing well before that happened. He had scored several touchdowns (He gets to run the ball this year. It's very exciting! I'm one proud mom.) and was the kicker for the team. He didn't have much opportunity to do either in their game last Saturday because they got smashed! Pasi's team still might go to the playoffs if they win on Saturday, but that's only if a couple of other teams lose their games. Football is fun, but it is so time consuming that it's nice when it's over.
We had an awesome opportunity last Saturday to go to a Stake fireside with Sister Elaine Dalton, the General Young Womens President. It was so neat. Our stake held the fireside and invited the other two Tongan stakes in the area to come. The chapel wasn't even full!! It was very sad that so many people missed out on that great experience. Anita and I got to meet her afterward and she was so nice. She talked to everyone that wanted to talk to her. It was just a wonderful experience.
My other project is motivating my kids to do their chores. This morning I decided I was sick of running late because Pasi and Siu wouldn't get out of bed. I had bought some charts a few months ago with stickers, but hadn't decided how to use them. I put them to use this morning. The charts have 20 squares for star stickers. My program will be when they fill a paper with stickers they will get a treat. If they want to save it and cash in 5 at a time, they can get a toy. I'm still working on the list of things they can get a sticker for doing. So far I have:
getting up out of bed the first time I call them
getting ready for school by 8:00am
homework done the night before
brushing and flossing their teeth (one sticker for am one for pm)
bonus sticker if they make their bed
if their room is clean when they leave for school
bonus sticker for Siu if she doesn't take her hair out before bed (she always takes out her ponytail, braid, whatever at school and then she looks like an orphan)
These are just the things we've really been struggling with. It worked wonderfully this morning. They were both ready and happy they got their stickers and I got some peace in the morning! Even if it only works for today, I'm happy! Now I just have to think of something for the older kids. Somehow I don't think sticker cards will give them the same motivation.
Well, It's almost time for everyone to get home so I better go! Love to all!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Wishing we were there
I'm sitting here thinking that everyone is at Jenelle's wedding reception. I hope it is beautiful and will be a lovely memory for her always.
I had an interesting day. It was nice and quiet, just John (almost 3) and Wyatt (2 1/2). Lincoln was home, so that was nice, too. Wyatt's mom picked him up and as she was walking out the door just happened to mention that she is taking him to her friend to be babysat until he's potty trained. She's not sure how long that will take, but I won't be watching him until he's potty trained. I told her that after her two weeks of vacation are gone, she will have to pay me whether she brings him or not. She did not seem concerned about that, so I'm guessing that she's not planning to bring him back. That leaves me in a bit of a spot. I was planning on that money. Now it's back almost to square one. At least I still have Davyn, my other new child I started watching this week. It's a little discouraging! I need to have 7 day care kids to be okay. Without Wyatt I have 5. Pray that I'll get some calls this weekend!
Tomorrow is Cody and Pasi's first official football game. It's a home game. I hope they do well and nobody gets hurt! Cody already has some bumps and bruises and the season hasn't even started yet. I'm worried about him now that he's running the ball. When he was on the line, he never got hurt! Those blockers better protect him!
I think I'll sleep early tonight. We have to be at Pasi's game at 7:45am. Love you all!
I had an interesting day. It was nice and quiet, just John (almost 3) and Wyatt (2 1/2). Lincoln was home, so that was nice, too. Wyatt's mom picked him up and as she was walking out the door just happened to mention that she is taking him to her friend to be babysat until he's potty trained. She's not sure how long that will take, but I won't be watching him until he's potty trained. I told her that after her two weeks of vacation are gone, she will have to pay me whether she brings him or not. She did not seem concerned about that, so I'm guessing that she's not planning to bring him back. That leaves me in a bit of a spot. I was planning on that money. Now it's back almost to square one. At least I still have Davyn, my other new child I started watching this week. It's a little discouraging! I need to have 7 day care kids to be okay. Without Wyatt I have 5. Pray that I'll get some calls this weekend!
Tomorrow is Cody and Pasi's first official football game. It's a home game. I hope they do well and nobody gets hurt! Cody already has some bumps and bruises and the season hasn't even started yet. I'm worried about him now that he's running the ball. When he was on the line, he never got hurt! Those blockers better protect him!
I think I'll sleep early tonight. We have to be at Pasi's game at 7:45am. Love you all!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
I'm Feeling Sorry for Myself Today
Today was the day we were supposed to leave for New Mexico. The trip has been cancelled due to finances. I'm very disappointed, but I know we honestly cannot afford to go. I even looked for a plane ticket online and the lowest I could find was $345! Maybe if I would have started looking into it earlier, I could have found something. I hope everyone has a great time and we will be thinking of you!
Well, school started on Monday. It was quite an event around this house because we had our first high school student (Anita) and Faha started Jr. High. Everyone is still in the "I love school" phase. Hopefully it will last. I only have to wake up Pasi and Siu. Anita, Cody, Faha, Lincoln, and I all have to get up about 5:00am to make it to work (Lincoln) and to the bus stop (everyone else). I am in a carpool. I take my kids and 2 other boys to the bus stop about 6:10 and the other 2 moms bring the kids home. It was going to work out great, except now Anita's bus gets back about 40 minutes before everyone else's. So, I will still have to pick up Anita. Luckily, Lincoln is on vacation until Sept. 8, so he can pick her up.
Football has also started and Pasi and Cody are doing well. Cody scored a touchdown at their pre-game last Saturday. It does take up a lot of time, but it is so fun to watch them play!
I'm also busy getting ready for the Primary Sacrament Meeting program. It is Sept. 14. Siu has her part memorized, but Pasi is still working on his. To be fair, Pasi's is much longer than Siu's. All the children's parts are in Tongan and we are singing one verse in Tongan of most of the songs. It is challenging. I finally got the seating chart finished. Last Sunday we practiced and it was crazy! Hopefully this week will run more smoothly.
I started watching two new day care kids this week. One is an 8 month old boy and the other is a 2 year old boy. That gives me 6 total: the 8 month old, a 19 month old, 2 two year olds, a 4 year old, and a 5 year old. The 5 year old will start kindergarten next week. We haven't found out if he will be in morning or afternoon kindergarten, so depending on that I will either take him to school or pick him up. It definitely has been busy, but so far they have taken good naps. That's the main thing that's saving me.
I'm down to 14 piano students so I give lessons Tues. and Wed. and I hope to be able to stick to those two days. Between my two paying jobs and Primary and family I'm spread pretty thin. It's only through many prayers during the day that I am able to keep it all together. If nothing else, I am gaining an even stronger testimony of prayer in our daily lives for our little "worldly" concerns and problems. I even prayed this week that we would be able to make it to the bus stop on time. And I suppose I would rather be busy than have nothing to do.
I am interested in expanding my economical meal ideas. If anyone has any great and cheap meal ideas, please share. It's time for me to go now and check on the little ones. Have a great day! I love you all!
Well, school started on Monday. It was quite an event around this house because we had our first high school student (Anita) and Faha started Jr. High. Everyone is still in the "I love school" phase. Hopefully it will last. I only have to wake up Pasi and Siu. Anita, Cody, Faha, Lincoln, and I all have to get up about 5:00am to make it to work (Lincoln) and to the bus stop (everyone else). I am in a carpool. I take my kids and 2 other boys to the bus stop about 6:10 and the other 2 moms bring the kids home. It was going to work out great, except now Anita's bus gets back about 40 minutes before everyone else's. So, I will still have to pick up Anita. Luckily, Lincoln is on vacation until Sept. 8, so he can pick her up.
Football has also started and Pasi and Cody are doing well. Cody scored a touchdown at their pre-game last Saturday. It does take up a lot of time, but it is so fun to watch them play!
I'm also busy getting ready for the Primary Sacrament Meeting program. It is Sept. 14. Siu has her part memorized, but Pasi is still working on his. To be fair, Pasi's is much longer than Siu's. All the children's parts are in Tongan and we are singing one verse in Tongan of most of the songs. It is challenging. I finally got the seating chart finished. Last Sunday we practiced and it was crazy! Hopefully this week will run more smoothly.
I started watching two new day care kids this week. One is an 8 month old boy and the other is a 2 year old boy. That gives me 6 total: the 8 month old, a 19 month old, 2 two year olds, a 4 year old, and a 5 year old. The 5 year old will start kindergarten next week. We haven't found out if he will be in morning or afternoon kindergarten, so depending on that I will either take him to school or pick him up. It definitely has been busy, but so far they have taken good naps. That's the main thing that's saving me.
I'm down to 14 piano students so I give lessons Tues. and Wed. and I hope to be able to stick to those two days. Between my two paying jobs and Primary and family I'm spread pretty thin. It's only through many prayers during the day that I am able to keep it all together. If nothing else, I am gaining an even stronger testimony of prayer in our daily lives for our little "worldly" concerns and problems. I even prayed this week that we would be able to make it to the bus stop on time. And I suppose I would rather be busy than have nothing to do.
I am interested in expanding my economical meal ideas. If anyone has any great and cheap meal ideas, please share. It's time for me to go now and check on the little ones. Have a great day! I love you all!
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