I have a new BLOG!

My new blog is all about cooking and my fun adventures in the kitchen. Cooking from scratch and all that goes with it. :) Join and follow. Enjoy!

Here is the website:) Add to your bookmarks and favorites for new up to date recipes, new recipes daily. :)

http://lovingcookingfromscratch.blogspot.com/

Recent Accomplishments

Well, As I sit here in the house as it rains outside... I am thinking about what we as a family have accomplished so far this school year. It might not be much, but it is something. Especially on days when I feel like we haven't done anything. So, here goes:

Braeden has completed his Bear achievement in Cub Scouts and has advanced into Webelos. That is a big accomplishment.

Mikey has lost 3 teeth, I at one point thought he'd have all of his baby teeth forever... as none were falling out. But now, it's like a flood of teeth falling out.

Bryen has almost completed his Webelos badge and his Arrow of Light. Both HUGE accomplishments. And he will be an 11 year old scout. Boy time sure does fly. He only needs a few more items on his citizenship pin and his understanding of what it means to be a BOY SCOUT :)

Bill has earned his RHCE (Redhat Certified Engineer) certification. This is something he has struggled with in the past, and has accomplished it at last! Way to go Babe!

I have completed two more classes I got a B- in my Cultural and Diversity class, and an A in my Healthcare Administration class. :) Yeah me, and I've started two more classes Algebra 116 and Research writing English 102. I'm a little nervous but I'm hopeful I'll do ok.

I have realized that I currently do not qualify to apply for a nursing program, so I'm adjusting and thinking that Respiratory Therapy is a good second choice. That will mean quitting online and going to an actual campus for the remainder of my college. I'm nervous about that. But still debating. I may take a few more general ed classes online, before i transfer. To limit the number of semesters I need to be away from home.

I have been getting more into cooking dinners and things at home. I feel that is an accomplishment all by it's self. As I struggle at times to even feel motivated to cook anything. It has helped writing a menu at the first of the week, to help me be motivated to cook. Now these aren't all those quick dinners that are practically premade. These are things like homemade hoagie rolls for meatball subs (and yes the meatballs were homemade too). Home made bread. Crockpot meals, and yes of course some of the premade dinners, such as pizza and hamburger helper. I am still proud of my self for even attempting to make hoagie rolls. They turned out pretty good. :)

I am thinking of starting a cooking blog, about my cooking adventures. Not sure I'll have any followers but still, a way to post my menu's, my recipes and my experiences of what we are doing here at home to help cut costs and be more frugal. My food storage has been coming quite in handy. As my freezer is slowly depleting and my pantry is getting more bare, I am grateful for the food storage I have and trying to incorporate it into our diet. It is a good feeling.

I have been grateful for the blessings that have come from these accomplishments. The knowledge gained and the feeling of the Lords hand in my life. Prayers have been answered, and spirits have been lifted.

Another whirlwind of a summer

I can hardly believe that summer is over and school has officially started in my house. It has been full of excitement and turmoil, summer that is. I am working towards a couple of my goals, finishing school, and not going crazy... Not sure how either is going at this point. but taking one day at a time.

Summer started off pretty good. The kids were making friends in our new neighborhood, and we had a couple of fun vacations scheduled. Our first vacation was scheduled for the second week in June with Bill's parents and his brother Matt. We were going to the Grand Canyon. It was a 10 visit by his parents and his brother. We stayed 4 days in AZ and saw The Grand Canyon and went down to Sedona, AZ. What a beautiful country we live in! It was a pleasant trip. Then the boys had a Father and Son campout with our ward. They had a lot of fun, and I went a little crazy cause I didn't know what to do with myself while they were out having fun. Then three days later we headed off to Texas. For a three week trip. The boys and I drove from Utah to Texas. We went to help my youngest sister with her wedding. It was a crazy trip to texas, I had wanted to visit and see so many of my cousins, but didn't see hardly any of them. Which was a bummer, I did however, get to see my grandma and several of my aunts and uncles. My sister was beautiful. While at her reception, my son Braeden passed out from heat exhaustion. Luckily, Shane was there and was able to bring him around, before the paramedics came. We are so blessed to have so many talented and qualified family members. We went home exhausted and grateful for family. A week after we got home from our trip to Texas, I started school again. I'm still passing my classes, but it's a very challenging semester.

About 2 weeks ago, My oldest was struggling, and started to self mutilating during church. We took him home and tried to help him through his issues, which he wouldn't talk about. He seemed to get better, so we hoped it was a one time thing. Then on monday, the routine was back in and chores needed done so they could go play and enjoy their summer, back at home. Bryen lost his privilege to play his PSP. He quietly put it down and then went into the kitchen and then upstairs. On his way upstairs I felt impressed to ask him what he did in the kitchen, He was only in the kitchen a very short time. I asked him what he got in the kitchen. First thinking it was food, and he needed to eat it in the kitchen not upstairs. Then quickly realized it was far worse than food. He had taken one of my sharp kitchen knives and was going upstairs with it. I asked him what it was for. and very calmly he said, "to kill myself." OMG!!! WHAT!? YEah, that's what he said. I asked him to bring me the knife, and had him sit next to me on the couch, I called my insurance to find out what coverage we had for his mental issues, and then they said to take him to the ER. He didn't hurt himself, but was so ready to. We were at the hospital for 9 hours, and then he was transferred to a psychiatric in-patient facility for children. He was there for 7 days, they changed up some of his medicine, he's Bi-Polar, and was on ADHD meds, He is now on an antipsychotic medication and no longer on his ADHD medicine. My mother-in-law came out to "help" us with the situation with Bryen. I don't know if that was the right course for her to come out. But, she was here for 2 weeks. She went home today. Today was also the boys first day of school. So, needless to say, i'm still trying to recover from a hectic and crazy summer. Bryen is doing better, we are keeping a close eye on him. Not sure if normalcy is possible anymore, so we are taking one day at a time. Trying to create a new norm, hopefully one that is good for all of us. My schooling is going ok. Not as good as before, but trying to keep up on it. Some assignments are late, but My brain has been kind of fried. Well, that's been a brief summary of our summer. hopefully, this school year will bring better days, and better things. i hope you guys are having a GREAT summer and beginning of school year.

Fill'r Up

It has been a very long time since I wrote last. A lot of things have happened in my life since then. It's been very crazy around here. Let's see where to start... After we all got well, we started making a few changes in our schedules and life. I started college again, this time to finish it! I am in my second term finals week currently, I am attending University of Phoenix (Axia College - Online). I'm going to school to get my degree in Medical Administration. I'm excited to have direction. After I started school, during the first part of my second term, I found out that where we were renting they wanted to sell the house. So we had to move, Mid-term, Mid-school year for the kids. They were so sad... actually, we all were. We searched high and low in Kaysville, UT so the kids could stay near their friends, and they could stay in the same school, but no such luck :(. We were able to find something in Saratoga Springs, UT. So we moved in April to Saratoga Springs. It's been crazy since we moved in, too. The weekend after we moved in my In-laws came to visit for Easter, which was really nice. Then we had Spring Break, and we went to Lego Land with the boys (so much fun!). They started a new school, and I've been working on picking up my grades from the move. My school work didn't get done for a week, so I've been struggling to make up the work and my grades. I've since been back to California one other time for a trip with Bill and the kids, he couldn't come with us to Lego Land cause he had to work. So we took another trip with him a couple of weeks later. My sister Katy came to visit me the weekend we moved and she was such a GREAT help! It was so good to see her and her two girls. I miss my family, being so far away from anyone. I have a few cousins that live in Provo, but I never get to see them. They are really busy with school and stuff too. i am grateful for the challenges in my life, they help me see the hand of the Lord. I didn't think I could move and go to school and everything that has happened in the last several months... but he has blessed me and I'm grateful for his hand in my life. Bill loves his new job. He works for Overstock.com now. He loves it! I am grateful he has a job that he loves. Since moving to Saratoga Springs I've had a hard time getting to know people. I'm hoping that I can meet more people soon. It's kind of lonely here, I've made one friend and it's good to have a good friend :). We are excited to have my in-laws come visit again in June :) If feels like we see them more now that we're so far away than when we lived 20 min away. :) We have plenty of room for guests if any of my friends who read this want to come visit :). My little sister Jenniy will be getting married in July. I'm her maid-of-honor :) I'm excited for her. I'll be taking a trip to Texas leaving the end of June. Lots to plan and pull together before her BIG DAY! She is getting married July 9. So we are having a family bridal shower July 1 in San Antonio. Another Bridal shower July 3 in Temple for those up in that direction. Her Bachelorette party July 7th - can you say belly dancing!! :) We are gonna have so much fun this summer. I'm driving down to Texas with the boys, Bill will fly down on July 8th, then we will drive home together. I get to spend some Quality time with my best friend since 3rd grade Hulda and her family. I plan on seeing my friends in San Antonio too. And of course FAMILY!!! I'm so excited to have a positive reason to go to texas. It's been a while since we've had that. The last positive thing was Jenniy's graduation from High School! which was 3 or 4 years ago I think... If I remember correctly. I didn't get to see much family when we were there. So I'm excited to see more this trip. Well, I'd better go and clean up. School for my kids gets out May 28th. Then we have the summer to PLAY! So excited. I also need to start my final papers today. Ugh.. but so excited to be getting my schooling done. :)

A New Dawn, A New Day, A New Year

Well, we survived the trip home, finally got everyone well. I started college through University of Phoenix (Axia College) for Medical Administration. I'm doing ok. I have all A's right now. Yeah me... but mind you I've only been going for three weeks. :) I'm excited for the grades. :)

Bill got hired at Overstock.com. He started Jan. 18. We're really excited. He loves what he's doing there and he thinks it's a great group of guys to work with. I'm so happy for him. He has about a 35-45 min commute, which is a far cry from the 2 hr commute average he had from WV. So we're not complaining at all about his drive.

I've decided to give up looking for work and become a dedicated stay-at-home mom. Anyone who knows about stay at home moms is that they really don't stay home very often from all the errands, volunteering and stuff they do all day. But I'm grateful that I don't HAVE to work right now. I can enjoy and help my children. However, the house is the same as when I was working. We're just getting more hot meals since I'm definitely using my slow cooker more. I'm trying my first slow cooker lasagna tonight. I hope it turns out. I added a bag of mixed veggies to the meat mixture so we get in some green veggies. I am loving crockpot365.blogspot.com! I love that site. She has great ideas and recipes. Also, I'm tempted very tempted to start buying from Alison's pantry, I don't know just yet if I will. I noticed a lot of the stuff she sells I can get at Sams Club or Costco. But she does have some stuff that is different. Only thing is that it's once a month thru her, and I would place an order by Feb. 2 and wouldn't get it until March. So that's another thing to consider.

I have been volunteering a lot at the boy's school. It keeps me pretty busy. I'm also still working with the CubScouts as a Wolf Den Leader. I am still trying to get my head around everything that involves, but it's coming very slowly. I enjoy it just not all the paperwork and meetings associated with it. It's a highly involved calling.

I've lost 20 lbs. since moving to UT. I'm still trying to keep that off and not pack on more. It's hard in the winter as I'm not nearly as active as I am in the spring, summer and fall as I'd like to be. I am hoping I can get more motivated and get working out. Well, I'd better get off this computer and start the mountain of laundry hanging over my head. Thanks for reading :)

Christmas Catch-up

Well, we're finally home from our Christmas vacation. It feels like we were away for an eternity. It was a very long time to be away from our home. We were very grateful for my in-laws hospitality. But it is very unlikely for us to be making another one of those trips for a very, very long time. It was a good christmas. The kids had a lot of fun spending time with their Grandparents, Aunt and Uncles. We ended up having 4 christmases, and it was just Bill's family. All at his parents house, We had Christmas eve dinner celebration, Christmas morning present opening, Christmas evening opening presants and dinner, and then Day-after christmas opening presants again. sheesh... was it enough? I'm ready for more arn't you... Actually, I was done after christmas morning. We spent several days making food, TONS of cookies. I'm still eating Christmas cookies... do they freeze well enough so I don't need to make any for next christmas? yes we had that many cookies. I was able to take the boys down to Washington DC to some of the smithsonians. We went to the Air and Space Museum and the Natural History Museum. The kids loved it. They got to sit in an airplane, and a space shuttle.. check out cool dinosaur fossels and bones. It was a good day in DC. By the time we went to the American history museum they were closed :( I wanted to see that one first, but with a group of boys... the other stuff won over. Santa was good to the kids this year. They got some books from mom and dad and some ear muffs, Santa brought them one HUGE gift... Bryen got the newest Lego Mindstorm (He has been asking for that for at least 3 years) and Braeden and Mikey got the best most economical gaming system out there... (the iPod Touch) with a $10 iTunes gift card. Let's just say they were exstatic and we even got tons of peace and quiet after that. They have so many games they play together or alone. I know, I know. pretty extravagent you might say. But we looked into all of the hand held gaming systems the psp, the DSi and the iPod Touch. The touch is by far the best most economical device. They share all of their games they have.. They cost anywhere from FREE to 9.99 a game. But divide that game price by 4 because Bill and I can also put those games on our phones. No cartridges to loose, scratch or destroy. Parental controls to keep them from surfing the web on sites that are inappropriate. and No UTube for little boys to get into trouble with. Yea, I know it's kindof pricey but the DSi and the PSP are around 300 a piece, especially if you buy one new game to go with it. We spent less than $250 for the iPod touch, $10 gift card and a case for each iPod. The joy on their faces was priceless. We saved them for the last of christmas morning. It was awesome. They didn't even care about the two other christmases. They were content. The food was amazing, as always. I got some good gifts too. I got a couple of smaller crockpots for my new obsession. as well as a couple cast iron skillets, and a cast iron enamel dutch oven baker. Along with the Julia Childs Cookbook. :)) Oh yea baby, just what I wanted. Billy spent way too much on me he got me a Coach purse. i love it! I also got a pink iPod shuffle (for my workouts). I had been complaining about how bulky my iPhone is when I work out. So he was thinking on this gift. I was touched. (A side note is that I've gone from 325 lbs. to 287 lbs.) That is a good think and I'm still working on loosing more. I'm down to a size 22. I know still too big, but a little at a time makes it life changing. Any who... i digress... okay. So back to christmas. We had gotten 20+ inches of snow the sunday before christmas, so no christmas programs at church before christmas.. actually no church period. So, We were able to go the last sunday we were in town and they had their christmas program, it was very nice. It was good to see a few people while we were in town. Not as many as we would have liked. I missed catching up with my friend Erin.. I was sad for that. :( Bill also had gotten pretty sick after christmas too. He ended up with a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) yucky. So, he was out of commission for a little while. Then Braeden got a cold/chest infection on the day we left for home. So it post-poned us leaving out of town a few hours. with the Urgent care visit and picking up meds on the way out of town. I started getting a little cough too so I was seen at the same time as Braeden. They said it was just a cold. So I got a little cough med and one the way I went. We made it to Indianapolis right before New Years! well an hr to spare. We were able to ring in the new year with our dear friends the Velasquez family. I was feeling was miserable. But it was nice being there. We stayed there one more night to rest up a little. Then off we were to our next destination Lincoln, NE. Which by the time we got there I was a royal mess. I couldn't swallow with out wanting to die, it hurt to breathe. It didn't feel like any cold I had ever had before, it actually felt more like strep throat. But I had a cough that was awful too. Which usually doesn't happen with strep. I tried to be a trooper and be tough, but my senses were slowly diminishing. We all went to bed and were trying to make the best of the hotel. Billy had taken the boys to the pool to get out some energy. I tried to rest in bed. It didn't help. By 3am I hadn't slept at all... I'd kept Bill up all night from whining, tossing and turning, and hacking all the time. So, I told him I was going to the ER. I couldn't take it any more. I decided to drive myself. So he could try to rest for our trip that day. I just wanted to go home. But he was in no shape to drive, and I was in no shape to sit in the car for 13 hrs. Then Braeden got up and vomitted. He said his tummy hurt. OH BOY... does it get good. So, He goes back to bed. I head to the front desk to get directions to the hospital, Bill tries to go back to sleep. It doesn't happen. He calls me on my cell as I'm about to get in the car. and he tells me he's going to take me. The boys are all alseep in the hotel. Bryen is old enough to watch them. So, Bill drives me to the Hospital. While there, I get an X-Ray of my throat to make sure it's not swelling where they can't see. I'm in excruciating pain. Still having a hard time breathing and my throat is on fire. They give me morphine to help with pain management. (I'd never had morphine before) my arm started itching... and I starting scratching.. It felt like an allergic reaction... and it didn't even touch my pain. It felt useless. But what they hey, they said it should've worked. I had a strep test.. Negative. Still just a cold. ugh... So, off we are sent with more pain meds and a steroid to try to help with things. That was Sunday early morning. We stay in Lincoln one more day. To try to rest up. So, we left Lincoln on Monday. Bright and squirley early. We went home... Still miserable, but heading home. Mikey had gotten sick on Sunday with vommitting too. so we were a sight in our car... Sick as anything. We make it home on monday night to an angry cat. Who was not happy about us leaving him home alone for 3 weeks. Three weeks of garbage, and junk of a messy house awaiting us behind the front door. No food for the kids lunches the next day, not sure who would actually make it to school, with them all being sick, And Mikey ended up screaming and crying in the car on the way home with a sore throat. We got home in time for urgent care to still be open, so Bill rushes him to the urgent care to get him taken care of. Well, he tells the doctor he's fine. GRRRrrrr. ok. So he ends up with some cough syrup and off to school. so hundreds of dollars later. we're finally home and all supposed to be getting on the mend and back to life as we know it. Come tuesday morning. Getting the boys ready for school as best I can being horribly sick. Braeden decides he has a tummy ache and vommits. sigh... ok so, he's home... anyone else...? so, I get the other two ready for school. Rush to the store to get them something for their lunches. get them to school on time. run a few errands... like pay rent. and get Bill set for his interviews... Then home to try to rest. With a HUGE pile of mail Demanding to be addressed. So I sit in bed going through the mail. Making piles of bills, junk mail, christmas cards, misc... then Bill takes a nap as I'm going through the mail. I then start setting up the bills to be paid in my acct. He is still sleeping. I'm covered in paperwork. exhausted. As soon as i'm about done he wakes up and askes what all this crap is all over our bed. joy... so I explain what I was doing, through a very raspy, horse voice as best I could. Then he opens a few pieces of mail that were for him. Then gets angry cause the house is a mess, telling me how big of PIGs we are... and on and on... then does nothing....I can't even get him to make dinner... so we end up ordering out pizza... and leave the mess another day. Today, I was able to get the boys ready for school... all made it today.. YEAH! I'm a little better. YEAH! I did a workshop for school today, got the kitchen picked up a little. Got a grocery list together. Got the VW registered and tagged. But got a rejected inspection.. Need a new tire. Then went grocery shopping on a limited budget. Made up the kids portions for their lunches. Premade sandwiches, veggie baggies, snack baggies and such. Cleaned up that mess. Then put the groceries away. Kids came home and I got Braeden to unload the dishwasher. Bill to load the dishwasher. It has been productive. But still aways to go. Tons of homework for the boys to wade through. but we're slowly but surely getting back to normal. Me included. I hope you have had a wonderful christmas season with less adventure than mine. I hope all have been very well. I feel blessed to have made it through the tough times. I'm stronger for it. I am grateful for my husband and all that he does do. He was also hit this christmas with having to take a Voluntary Severance Package, as they were moving his job to India. He took it so he is no longer working for AOL. He is unemployed too. Sigh.. things get better and better don't they. He ended up with 3 months severance and his bonus. which will be helpful. He has a job interview with Overstock.com tomorrow. I pray he gets the job and it's what he wants to do. We are blessed through these trials and I know that the Lord is mindful of us. We will have all that we need to sustain us, I have faith. We have been blessed and guided to move here to Utah. And we are still following his lead through prayer, fasting and faith. School for me starts monday, but working on workshops for school this week. Excited as anything. :) see blessings :) there is always a silver lining and sparkles as it rains :) Be blessed and see the blessings!

Recent Developments

Well, here's the latest on the Clark Clan. I'm still looking for work... nothing even promising on the hunt. I'm going to be starting school in January online. Yeah me! I should be finished with my associates by May of 2011. I'm going to school for an associates as a Medical Administrator. It's a start.

Bill is getting his resume ready. We are trying to be prepared, if he is laid off next year. His department said they need to get rid of 50% of their workforce in the US so we're trying to be hopeful he'll keep his job, but not sure. We'll be sending it out this week to lots of places... So if you know anyone looking for an amazing Senior Unix System Administrator. Let us know. We're entertaining all options right now. Not that he wants to quit. He loves his job. He loves working for Aol. but there is only so long you can avoid getting laid off. He's been there for 10 years +, and has been thru several (like 20) layoffs. He's riding his bike a lot these days and loves it. He's itching to go play paintball with the boys. Maybe when we go to WV they'll get to play.

Bryen, Braeden and Mikey are doing very well in school. They love it here. Mikey has to wear a patch over his left eye to help the right eye get stronger. It may take 6 months + to help it but we'll check it in 3 months to be sure it's working. Or he'll need to get surgery. Other than that they are all healthy and doing well. :) What a blessing.

We are loving living in Utah. We're enjoying our church callings and loving our ward family here. Last night we made chocolate covered pretzel sticks with caramel and chocolate with sprinkles on some. They are yummy. We're enjoying the snow we've been getting periodically. Today we're getting a good one. The grass is completely covered and so is the road and sidewalks.

We're hoping for good weather on our journey back to WV for Christmas Break. We'd like to make it 3 days, but not sure with the weather outlook. It may take us longer since the midwest is looking at lots of snow over the next several days. I just hope I can leave the house clean and laundry done. That will be a feat in and of it's self.

Well that's the update on all of us here. May you all have a wonderful Christmas. Remember the reason for the Season. Our Lord and Savior's Birth :) Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving

During this time of year we typically list and acknowledge more things for which we are thankful. I see this as an opportunity to "kick it up a notch" instead of only limiting my thankfulness during this time of year. I try to post lots of things for which I am thankful for. I usually list them as blessings. I am thankful for my family, my children and my husband. I'm thankful for my Savior and the knowledge I have of who I am, where I'm from, my purpose here on the earth, and where I'm going. I am thankful for the ability to be a stay at home mom. I'm thankful for our home. I'm thankful for a great school that my children have to attend. I'm thankful for missionaries who share the gospel to others. I'm thankful for a prophet who leads and guides us on the earth today. I'm thankful for christmas music. I'm thankful for uplifting movies. I'm thankful for the internet and it's wealth of knowledge it shares with me when I ask a question. I'm thankful for food. I'm thankful for snow. I'm thankful for pies and yummy goodness that I am able to taste. I'm thankful for good health. I'm thankful for a working oven and utilities. I'm thankful for wonderful FRIENDS! I'm thankful for so much, I am thankful for YOU!

Today I have been baking up a storm! I've made 4 pumpkin pies (I tried two different recipes to see which one I like best). I made 2 macadamia nut pies (I used macadamia nuts instead of pecan since Bill's allergic). Two different kinds of Rice Krispie treats. and now ChexMix is baking in the oven. I'm going to crock pot my ham tomorrow, so I can use the oven to make rolls and green bean casserole. We'll also have homemade mashed potatoes. Shrimp cocktail and sparking grape juice. I'm so thankful for the bounty for which we have.

I am going to miss my extended family in Texas, New Mexico, Michigan, New Jersey, Boston, California, and West Virginia. I hope they have a wonderful holiday and know that we will be thinking about them. This is the first Thanksgiving we have not spent with family in a very, very long time. If ever. It feels strange. It feels very foreign. No family to visit with. No friends even to share the holiday with. If any of my cousins in Provo aren't going out of town for the holiday, you should come by. We have a feast, and have plenty to share. It's a blessing and a curse being the oldest girl of seven kids. I cook for an army.

I'm not sure if I'll be watching the Macy's day parade tomorrow. I'll be enjoying cooking :)

To one and all have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Blessings Daily

We have been so blessed this week even among some of our trials. I am so grateful for the Lords watchful care over us. We have had an opportunity to see if we were prepared in all things this week. We realized that we weren't, which has given us a bigger drive to become more prepared. We almost ended up being blacklisted from our bank and any other bank for up to 5 yrs. Due to our inability to manage our money properly. Scary. We had been trying for a couple of weeks to start a plan to help with that problem. We started the process two weeks ago. after we noticed our problem...We had a plan, we started on our plan, but it was a little too late. We had been notified that our bank account would be closed after 10 days, my debit card had already been canceled. I was told before that it was canceled due to it being reported lost. I was totally confused. So I went to the bank manager at the branch near my house. He looked at my account, spoke to a bank investigator about my account, and said I could open up a new account. While I was doing that. They told me that I needed to open up a new joint account with Bill. So I picked him up when I was done with my account and we went back to the bank. sigh... Ok, well here we are in the bank talking to the guy who opens new accounts. And he tells us that we are unable to open a joint account. Due to us being blacklisted! WHAT!!! and that all the accounts I just opened will also be closed. Not to mention that the next day Bill's paycheck was to be deposited into the account we were informed was being canceled in 10 days. We were told we couldn't get any money from that account and that it would be sent back to his company. (more heart-attack), Well, were trying to get definitive answers on the situation that is exploding in our face. We understand we have a problem and were trying to fix it. But this was way too much for us to comprehend. deep breath. Ok so we get the branch manager back out to see if he could give us a straight answer about our account and what to expect. We were in a heap of trouble. Bill's that needed to be paid and the thought of not being able to get our money to pay them was a scary thing. The thought of being homeless was too much to think about. We stayed calm and said many a silent prayer that we would be able to resolve these issues quickly and that we would be able to still take care of our family. The bank manager was able to figure out what had happened, we were able to get things resolved. We had to close one of our accounts, but would still be able to get our money out of it and still be able to keep the plan we were working on to eliminate our issues. With the help of prayer and faith, and the diligence and kindness of others were are no longer blacklisted. We were able to resolve our issues at the bank and were able to open up the accounts we had needed . Tragedy averted. We are even more determined then before to be better stewards over the money the Lord has blessed us with. We are so blessed

The boys are over their illnesses. They are doing well in school. We had parent teacher conferences this week, and they all did well. Their teachers said that they are all so very respectful. They wish all of their students were as respectful. That brought a tear to my eye. That is something that I am so grateful of that they are so good in their classes. They all have a few areas they could be working on, but that area is not one of them and I'm so grateful for their respect for their teachers and other classmates. It is truly a blessing.

We had a great day at church today. It was stake conference. The talks were so wonderful, the choir was heavenly. I am grateful for the blessings of the Temple. We are more determined to make it a regular part of our lives. We are grateful for a loving, inspired Stake presidency and bishopric. I am grateful for the friends we've been making here in Utah. We have been so very blessed to be here. I hope you all will see the blessings of the Lord in your life and praise him daily.

November Update

i have been really enjoying my cub scouts calling at church. We made clown hats from paper bags for our activity last week. It was so much fun :) Our theme this month is Under the Big Top :) So we're going to be clowns and we'll even have a strong man, one of our cubs :) I'm excited for our circus on Nov. 19th. We are going to make cars from boxes for our skit next week. :)

The boys got their report cards on Friday, I'm pleased with the results. Braeden and Mikey did very well. Only a few areas to work on. Bryen is still struggling, but not as bad as I thought he would. Today I have an appointment with his teacher to talk to her and to hear from Bryen about his first term. they don't do grades here, If they get a 3 then it means that they are at or above grade level, if they have a 2 then they have areas where they need help to get up to grade level, and a 1 is needing extreme help, and no where near grade level. Bryen had several 2.5's and 2.75 and a couple of 2's, a couple of 3's, not a single 1 so I'm ok with that, We'll continue to work with him on his areas of needs. But he has a great support network at school and at home, I know he can do it. I'm proud of all of my boys and their efforts towards their education. Bryen was suggested by his last school to be held back. But I think he's doing very well.

I just got a "new to me" couch set. I'm very excited because I now have plenty of seating in my living room. No more need to use folding chairs. :) took us long enough to get extra seating. Now to get a new table/chairs for the kitchen :) maybe next paycheck, The table and chairs I want to get are at Ikea... I can hardly wait to get those :)

I've been using my crockpot a lot lately. I made a brisket in it for dinner last night, it was sooo yummy. and then I tried again to make a hashbrown casserole but it was a flop. :( I'll keep trying, I just have to figure out what I'm doing wrong to get it to work. I am thinking of making cream cheese chicken later this week in it.

Bill is doing well still at his job. We are still blessed to have a job. I'm still looking for work. But we are making it on Bill's income so I'm not complaining. I have really enjoyed being home with the kids. I've been helping in the Library and in their classes :)

I may be able to spend Thanksgiving with my sister Katy in New Mexico, She is still waiting to find out what days she has off of work so we can plan accordingly. I haven't spent thanksgiving with her in over 11 years. Pretty sad if you ask me. I love my sister very much. We talk almost every day. Who would have thought with the way we were when we were kids. We got along ok, but not the best of relationships. I'm glad that we talk more now.

I have been so very blessed, I am grateful for the blessings that we have been given. My wonderful husband, and amazing children. The ability we have for me to be able to stay home with the kids, and for Bill to be able to work from home. For the knowing that we are Loved and our relationship with family and friends. We are also so very grateful for the Saviors sacrifice for us and our personal relationship with him. I'm so very grateful for our trials that bring us closer to the Savior and each other. We are so very blessed. All we are and have is from Heaven. Praises be unto him. :)

She's gone :(

Joi is officially at the breeders now. :( They said she's doing well and made the trip well. She has been well behaved around the kids, for which I'm grateful. The breeder is going to try to fix Joi's ear, and try to bulk her up, as she's too skinny. She will work on training her and then finding a new home for her. :( I hope she knows how much we love her and wish her well. Joi is better off where she is now. I need to keep reminding my self this. As much of a headache she was for us. We still loved her very much. It will be an adjustment getting used to her not being here. But, I know it's better this way for her. Now to try to move on. We need to clean up the yard, all the poo and trash from Joi. Sell the kennels and other dog stuff we have.

We are down to one pet... and will stay that way. Happy Halloween :)

More winds of change

Well, here we are we made it almost a full year with a dog... what a feat in and of it's self. However, Joi is now on her way to Indianapolis IN. She is going back to the breader we originally got her from. It is expensive to fly a dog... can I just say... wow. crazy! We were having such a hard time getting the boys to follow the training instructions with her. Everytime we'd tell them... don't yell at her, talk normally to her, don't all tell her a command at the same time... one at a time. on and on and on it went... they didn't listen. She kept jumping on everyone. She wouldn't stop pulling on the leash. WE tried everything. Nothing worked. We had to get the prong collar and even then she tested it alot, then she would just jump on us. She would eat her leash and everything. What an adventure. She is about to have a wonderful experience being trained by a professional... and one who loves her so much. WE are so grateful for the breaders (our friends) who trusted us with her and are willing to accept her back and know that we love them and her. So now what is in store for us.. well, we'll just be a one pet family for a long time. Socks the cat is perfectly fine being an only animal. He I think prefers being the only one around.. pet wise that is... :) He's a good cat.

The boys had "Storybook Day" at school aka Halloween celebrations... They dressed up and had fun. The catch with the Storybook day was that they were allowed to dress up only if they had a book they were associated with... Let's just say... The boys had a blast... Bryen was a Zombie... his book Zombie Zone from A to Z Mysteries. Braeden was a Pirate... his book was Pirates from Magic Tree House the companion book to Pirates at High Noon. Mikey was BumbleBee from Transformers... Can you guess his book? His book was Transformers Animated... What fun. I volunteered in the Library and was from the book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs... An egg on a Tree :) I know cute right :) I would go to class rooms and ask them What book am I from... and they all said Green Eggs and Ham... :) but only thing was I wasn't green :) Those are our costumes for Halloween. Bill will be Bacon. yea I know... cute. Together we are Bacon and Eggs :)

Now to sell off the Dog stuff we still have, and start saving for christmas. I'm hoping to visit Katy in New Mexico for Thanksgiving but still waiting to hear about her work schedule. I'm gonna start on my book. Continue to look for work and volunteer at the school. I hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween :)

Swine Flu?! Oh yea that... We got it too

Well, Here I thought we'd be able to miss this whole Swine flu thing. Well, not so much. Mikey shows up with Swine Flu, Friday night, Yea I know.... I sent him to school with a cough... that's it.. no fever, nothing, just a little cough. Well, he comes home from school and just sits on the couch. Not talking, not moving, looking miserable. I go check on him and he is burning up. I check his temp... 101.4 I send him with Bill to the Dr.'s office right away. I'm thinking we'll still get a date. It's just a cold. No biggie right... NOT so Much. I get a call from Bill. Poor thing has H1N1... So they get his cough medicine and are sent home. And I'm told that he can't return to school for a week. R U kidding me... Well, okay. No date night. No enjoying the beautiful fall weather on Saturday... And no going to church on Sunday to find out who the new Bishop is. I'm still home with Mikey, who by the way as of Sunday... has no fever at all. barely a cough... I would love to send him to school on Monday... He seems fine. But Bill informs me that the CDC says that he has to stay out of school a full week. Ugh.... So this week, No volunteering at the school. No Cubs... I'm hoping I can go Visiting teaching... I'll leave Mikey at home. This stinks... I'm praying and hoping the other two don't come down with it. As the coming saturday is Halloween... and it would totally stink if they had the H1N1 on Halloween. I'm becoming a little psychotic about washing their hands... but it's the best defense against it. oh well, Do I go shopping for costumes yet? or wait. I guess that is the question. Do I also buy candy for Halloween? I'd hate to get stuck with all that stuff... Hmmmm What to do......

plugging along

Well, we are plugging along, we went to the Zoo last week, it was very nice, but cold outside, I feel like I live in the Dr.'s office these days, Bryen has had a skin infection on his eye... celulitus of the eye.. (sp?) He had to get an IV for heavy duty medication, and we had to go back three times for doses. Braeden hurt his arm on the playground and needed X-Rays. (he's fine nothing broken just bruised). And then today, Bryen got hurt playing wall ball at school with his friends. He's fine, just a little bruising on his arm... He'll go back to school tomorrow. Mikey is the only one so far that hasn't needed any medical attention in the last two weeks. (Cross my fingers it stays that way) I hope they stop getting sick and hurting themselves. I'm running out of Flexben. i need it to last til the end of the year, with Bill and Bryen's meds. We are in the process of selling our house in WV. It's getting appraised this week, and then it will be listed. We have decided to short sell our house. The current renters are looking into purchasing the house. :) I hope they can. It would be awesome. Bill is doing well, He and I both need to exercise more... we're working on it. Joi is going to be going back to the breader within the next two weeks. We have tried to train her and she just isn't doing well. We have decided to not have another dog for a while. We need a break. We still have our cat. He's doing well. I finally got a calling at church on sunday... I'm now a Cub Scout Den Leader - Wolf's :) yeah. I'm excited and overwhelmed at the same time. this is a great Cub Scout Program. I hope I can do it justice. We will only have 2 boys in my den for most of next year and the rest of this year. But hopefully it will grow after that. We are going to be traveling back to WV for Christmas, We are looking at driving ( I Know crazy huh:?) Well, it's too expensive to fly. I hope the weather cooperates with our drive... I don't want to get stuck in Wyoming or Colorado. Depending on which way we travel. i'm hoping i can visit with some family for thanksgiving. Either my cousins if they arn't going home from BYU, or visit with my sister in NM. I haven't spent a thanksgiving with my family in 11 years. I think its time. We had a great Conference weekend. We drove around and listened to Conference on the Radio. it was really nice. WE stopped in Park City and walked around in between sessions. On our way home we found an AWESOME authentic NY Pizza joint in Sugar Hill. It's awesome Este's is the BEST... outside of NY that is. Great atmosphere too. I've been canning somemore too ... I helped can about 14 dozen jars of applesauce. I got to take home 5 dozen :) The boys like all the canning and stuff I've been doing here. It's been really nice to learn new things and have the time to learn them. I am still missing my friends in WV, Helen, Jovan, Carolyn Hall, Erin Whitcome, Janea Barnes.... just to name a few. I'm trying to make friends, but everyone here seems really busy and already have friends or family close by so I'm kindof not fitting in very well. When we went to the Zoo, we ran into one of our friends we made in Indiana... The Blanchards (Doug and Debbie)... They are awesome people, unfortunately they live down in Spanish Fork, about 1.5 hrs away. :( I hope we can visit with them soon. I'm still looking for work, and collecting unemployement... but i'm not in too big a hurry to actually get another job. I am trying to enjoy being home and available for my family. And since I don't have a degree yet... I'm pretty sure it will be a long while coming finding a job. Even though I have a TON of experience. I don't have a degree so I've been told that due to the lack of education, I'm no longer a candidate. oh well, that has to wait too. :) Bill is loving working from home and we are enjoying him being home. :) i hope he keeps his job. He just got his 10 year award from work. :) It's hard to believe he's been with AOL that long. thru all their ups and downs. :) I hope we can continue to work with them. We love them and think they are an awesome company to work for. I really enjoyed working there too. :) Well that's what's going on here. plugging along and staying strong :)

Catching up

Boy, I guess it's been awhile since I last posted. Things have been good, crazy and fun. We've had good times and bad. It's been a whirlwind for sure. Let's see where do I start. Bill has been really enjoying working from home. The kids started school on August 25, 2009. They really love their teachers. Bryen is in 4th Grade and has Ms. Bagley, Braeden is in 3rd Grade and has Ms. Turnbow, and Mikey is in 1st Grade and has Ms. Lindsey. They are doing very well. I still have not found work, which is ok. I'm enjoying being home. I've been doing a TON of canning. I've made several kinds of jellies, and canned peaches and pears. I'm working on Salsa and green chili's. My father passed away Aug. 11, 2009 in Temple Tx. So we had to make a trip there. Bill's grandmother just passed away, he is currently in WV/VA. He returns Monday, Sept. 21. Joi is doing well, she is getting so big... Still a puppy, but you wouldn't know it looking at her. She is getting so big. I've made a few friends, which is nice. Still no one like in WV... But I'm hopeful. I've been active in the Ward Choir. I have a solo part in an upcoming performance at church. it's a small part ... with the choir. But I'm trying to be brave. It's Love at Home... I love that song so I should do ok. We sing in Church on Sunday... Master the Tempest is Raging. It's a hard arrangement. I just pray the angels are singing with us. We still mess up on a few parts. When I was canning some peaches two weeks ago with a couple of sisters in the ward... WE canned 216 jars of peaches in one day... crazy huh? yea I know we're nuts. But my friends peach tree runneth over and she didn't want them to go to waste. Braeden just loves them. He eats peaches almost every day. I ended up with 3 dozen quart jars full of peaches from that day. and about 5 other dozen from my other canning days. :) I learned you can make jelly out of the peach pits. It's called peachstone jelly. It's yummy and has a beautiful color. I am thinking I didn't cook it long enough to thicken the way it should have, so I ended up mostly with peachstone syrup. :) which is still yummy. I need to find a use for it besides on pancakes.. I'm thinking of mixing it with peaches in a peach cobbler. I will have to try it and let you know how it goes. I love being out here with all of the case lot sales. Lots of great deals on cases of food. I've been able to build up some of my food storage easier here than before. They even sale things at walmart in the Food Storage section in Bulk.. like Big 50lb buckets of cocoa, flour, sugar, wheat... etc... #10 can's of dried fruit, freezedried meats and veggies. It's awesome. The people in our ward are awesome. The scouting program here is awesome, Bryen got is Bear this last week and Braeden got his wolf. We are so happy for such an active and involved ward/scouting program. The school is a Gold Medal School. Columbia Elementary is so good, we couldn't have asked for a better school. We still miss our family and friends in WV... But we are grateful for the blessings it has brought our family living here in Kaysville UT. I hope to visit with my cousins now that they are back at school in Provo. Hopefully we can get together for sunday dinner soon. We have even taken a few trips, one to Antelope Island, and to YellowStone National Park. It was so cool. Bill's parents came to visit us. We drove thru the Teton's as well. It's been so much fun this summer. We are thinking of trying snowboarding and skiing this winter since we're here in Utah, with the best snow on earth. :) That's the download of what is currently going on. I'll try to stay in touch better.

So Far

Well, lately it's been interesting trying to get into a schedule with the kids. We started chore lists this week. Some days are successful others a flop. The boys had Cub Day camp on Tuesday which they absolutely loved.. We found a theatre that has dollar movies on Wednesdays in the AM for charity. The boys have started making new friends, and are enjoying the multiple parks around our house. It has started getting hot here. So staying hydrated and covered with sunscreen are our priorities. For Fathers Day Bill wanted to go to Antelope Island and explore, so we drove there after lunch and church. It was a nice day. We saw Bison and antelope, and put our feet into the Salt Lake, It was yucky... But we did it anyways. It was really low when we went. Bugs were everywhere. and the brine shrimp were smelly... Other than that it was nice. We posted a few pictures to our facebook accounts. We are in a great ward. We are starting to get to know a few people. but it's hard breaking into a new area. So far so good.

A new day

So here we are... Our first Sunday in our new ward. It was very nice. We met alot of people. I can't remember everyone but luckily we have a map as to where every one lives. Our ward consists of 3 streets. Crazy huh?! It is kind of neat. Some one handed Bill another ward list and then people preceded to point out which house was theirs. So we have a name, a house and a map. I still can't remember who everyone was that came up to us. I'll get it over time I'm sure. I'm grateful to be so close to so many members. I remember back to my days when I lived in Provo and our apartment complex had three wards during the school year and two during the summer terms. It was great being so close to everyone. I hope it will be as fun as it was then. Just with less transition. We have I think like 1 part-member family in the entire ward... and maybe even one non member family. It's definitely different. It is a great opportunity to be surrounded by so many members. We are looking forward to also being so close to the temples. We can go at least once or twice a week. (that's my plan anyways). Bill needs to still apply to Weber State for the fall semester, before it's too late. We need to register the kids in school here, and figure out what summer programs there are here so the kids have stuff to do during the day while Bill is working from home. Our ward has primary/Relief Society/Priesthood first, then Sunday school, and finally Sacrament meeting. I like it better that way so that we have no excuse to miss the sacrament. The kids really had fun in Primary too. It is going to be a great ward. WE are so excited to be here and for these experiences. We have been so blessed. It's amazing how far we've come in a year. This time last year we were gearing up for Bill surgery and I was worried about our future. I'm grateful for the blessings the Lord has showered upon us. All in his due time.

What a rollercoaster... is it time to get off yet?

ok, ok, i know it's been a while since I've posted last. Possibly over a month... so lets see what I can fill you guys in on what's been going on here. Lets see...

About a month ago my friend Jovan Hernandez had a baby girl... She is perfect. I was able to be there at the delivery and help her thru it... it was an amazing experience. Her name is Ava-Miley. She weighed 6 lbs. and 1 oz... a week later they moved into our home as we were getting ready to move out. They moved in May 20th... We didn't leave the house until June 4th and WV until June 6th... Busy busy house. We worked together as best we could and I don't think it was too bad. We all survived. We stayed the last two days with my in-laws at their house so they could spend more time with the boys before we left.

The boys finished school and are doing well. Bryen has now been diagnosed with ADHD and Bi-Polar. What fun!!! more meds and doctor visits for that. But is seeming to do much better off the Anti-depression meds he had been on since Dec. He's now on a ADHD med and Bi-polar med that are making it easier to handle him. We'll see how long that lasts. I need to still schedule him with a Therapist and Psychiatrist here in Kaysville or close by. Braeden is doing well and got a principle's award. Mikey graduated from Kindergarten.... All are looking forward to their new school year and their new school.

Bill's job allowed him to work from home full-time. Yeah!!! He was able to order new equipment and have it shipped out here to UT. He has off until June 15th then starts working here at home full-time. YEAH... I just now need to get him a nice desk and chair since he'll be doing alot of time in the basement. He is enjoying the time away from work, even though it was a tough move in 3 days here to Utah.

Oh the move... you want to hear about our move... ok, let's see. We packed the truck on June 4th with some help from the missionaries and brother Hall for about an hour... Then Vinney Hernandez and Us finished loading the truck... oh yea did I mention... IN THE RAIN?! yes it was rainy when we loaded the truck... what fun that was. Then we left it in the drive way while we went over to my in-laws and slept there. While there we tried to rest on June 5th but had alot to finish and do before we could leave. My brakes needed checked out (since we were going a long distance and over mountains). WE had to make sure we had everything from the house. Get Joi groomed(so she didn't stink on the trip). Drop off our bed to my brother who bought it from us... He was sleeping with his new wife on a twin bed... they needed it really bad. tried to see some friends before I left(didn't really work out :(, ) Then when we got home from running around like a chicken with it's head cut off... Bill's parents wanted to go to a movie with everyone before we left. So we saw UP... It is such a cute movie... I want to own that one. We get home around 9:30 10:00pm... then have to make sandwiches for the trip since we were limited on funds... and pull together all of the stuff the boys had pulled out of the suitcases and run laundry... we didn't go to bed until 1:30am.. We were to leave by 8:00am... didn't happen... We needed to say goodbye to Bill's parents... then my mom called and came over we didn't leave my in-laws until 10:30ish... then Bill remembered we didn't have the hand truck for the appliances.. that we rented so we had to pick that up from Jovan and Vinney's house. By the time we got there... Sock's the cat pooped in his kennel and it needed cleaned out (it's only a 15 min ride there). So we cleaned the kennel, Got the hand truck and thought we were ready to go... Bill left the cat out in the cab of the truck... not 5 min on the road... the cat climbed on Bill's lap and pee'd on him. LOL... right... it's just funny... Bill was upset... but it was funny.... :) so we pull over on the side of the road, get Sock's in his kennel, and Bill changes his clothes in the back of the moving truck, all the while, people stopping to see if I need help... One guy stopped by and asked if we had any cigarettes. We said no and he went on... funny right... So finally we get back on the road. We are heading out of town.... we have to pull over several times to either let the boys go pee or the dog go pee.... The truck went only like 35 mph up the mountains in WV.. so it took us 16 hrs to go from Martinsburg WV to Decatur IL... That was our day 1... we got in VERY LATE... luckily we crossed over in to the Central Time Zone so it was like 2am instead of 3am... again we wanted to get a early start on the day... didn't happen...we get in... I can't keep my eyes open.. Luckily my mom called at the right time and talked to me until I got to the hotel. It was sooo hard. I am so grateful for my mom and her inspiration.... All the while my youngest sister is in the hospital having a baby in TX... So my mom was on the phone with her and me on and off during the trip. So in the morning we're up by 8am... so we can get going... we get down to breakfast so we can eat before we go... that takes about an hr with the boys. Then Bill want's to print out the directions for the next leg of the trip.. .we clean out the car, feed the animals and have them go potty... We don't leave again until around 11amCST. sigh... deep breath... nothing I can do about it. We arn't on the road more than 4 min when the boys and the dog are having to go to the bathroom. We pull over and let them go... the dog pee's a little then wants to play... the boys piddle a little and want to play... I'm exhausted... So Bill and I get in a little tiff about not stopping every time someone says they have to go potty or the dog whines (which is her way of saying she has to go). And we need to get on the road.. Mind you I'm following Bill's Yellow Penskie Moving truck... Going soooo ssssllloooowww... I'm even more tired I just want to get it over with... So While I'm waiting for him to take his time getting ready to go... I leave and get on the road... I get a call and he tells me that I'm not being a team player and how dare I leave without hime... I am so at the end of my rope... So I pull over and wait for him.. another 5min or so... then pull in right behind him. We finally pull off and I drink some 5 hr energy drink... yucky stuff... but it worked. I was able to stay awake... much better. We finally pull into North Platte, Nebraska from Decatur, Illinois... It was another long long long trip... Nebraska is never ending... trying to out run tornadoes and thunder storms... the kids were freaking out with all the tornadoe warnings and watches on the radio... what fun... we out run luckily the tornado stuff and things start clearing up... we get in LATE... like at 1 or 2 am again... they ask if we want a later check out I told them no that we had to get back on the road and make it to UT... We missed breakfast... but we got out of there by 1030am.. then stopped at sonic for breakfast... then got back on the road to finish driving thru Nebraska and Wyoming....and finally Utah. We got in here after a LONG LONG LONG LONG LONG drive in the dark on whindy, construction thin roads from 80 to 84 to 89 in Utah... We went about 35 up mountains... Hit snow in Wyoming at 8945 feet elevation. Rain and threats of hail... what a trip. We got in around 3am Mountain Time. FINALLY EXHAUSTED... we made it... We fell asleep and that's all we could do... We got up around 7am to try to unload the truck... we went and got breakfast at McDonalds and then came back and started unpacking the truck... We got about half way done when neighbors started showing up around 12ish, 1230.. They helped and finished it getting unpacked in like 30 min...no more than an hr... Amazing... We met several people from our new ward, which by the way is like 5 blocks.. Our church building is 7 blocks from our house... All of our neighbors are members except for a few that are inactive or non-members. I can't wait to meet them. The boys had Cub scouts 5 houses down... Choir practice on Sundays is a few doors down the street... I'm still amazed. They are full bore in to scouting here. They meet on tuesday mornings during the summer and have lots of fun things planned for the boys. Bryen's Class in the Bears has 10 boys in it... Braeden has several boys in his too... They've already made friends. YEAH!!! We are 2 blocks from a cool park and 7 blocks from a botanicals garden with fishing. (it's across from the ward building). We've started unpacking and I'm at a standstill until I can pick up some more furniture.(As we got rid of everything except a couch and the boys beds. I was able to find the Deseret Industries (DI) Thrift store and got a kitchen table with a leaf for $12. and a Baker's rack or $8. Still need chairs and other things. but it's a start. We are finding our way around pretty good. We have received about 7 ward lists from people coming by to visit. If it will stop raining I can actually walk the neighborhood and walking path right by my house with Joi. We have a great yard and awesome view.. I'll post pictures soon. That was our "fun" trip (term used lightly). We have been blessed with safety and peace. We'll keep you posted on our life here in Kaysville, UT... if your ever in the area... look us up and stop by for a visit. Miss everyone in Martinsburg and VA. All our best.

clarity in chaos

Here i am living my last two weeks with my good friends the Hernandez family. We have an extra 7 people in our home. We've moved out of our room and are all sharing one room, my kids and my husband and I. We are grateful for the opportunity to share this time with our friends. So here in this chaos we are still calm and certain in our decision to move to Utah. We are so grateful for the Lords blessings in this decision. We are excited about the new opportunities that await us there in Utah. It almost seems as if it can't come soon enough... we love our friends but are so excited we can barely stand it. We will miss all of our friends in WV and VA, If your ever in UT please come and visit us. We love visitors. 

busy busy bee

I've been so busy,... trying to pack for our big move. Helping my friend with here three kids while she's in the hospital having #4. And trying to be there for her since she wanted me there at the hospital for her for moral support. Bill has been amazing thru all of this. He has been helping a ton with the kids and with meals and all that.... I couldn't have accomplished all that has been done with out him.!!! THANKS BABE! I LOVE YA!

My friend had her baby on May 13 at 2:31 am. 6 lbs. and 9 oz. the most perfect little angel. She is such a good baby. I never hear her cry. Her name is Ava-Miley Cecilia Hernandez... she is the sweetest. Now that the baby is born... I've been hard core packing. all laundry has been washed... except for the blankets and I've started on those. The kitchen, living room, and front room are completed, boys beds taken down and moved to garage, toys boxed, clothes starting to get boxed up, couch in the garage. Its starting to look like we're really moving.

While I've been a crazy packing machine. Bill took the kids to the beach to spend some time with their grandparents. They left on Thursday this week and got back tonight around 830-

9ish... come to see my husbands HORRIFIC sunburn... blistered, purple looking... aweful!!! I'm certain he needs to go to a burn unit... he insists that he's fine. Hey people can die of skin cancer can they not?! but I can't carry him kicking and screaming to the dr's office. He's too heavy. So I try to put some aloe on it... screaming occurs... so I try to see if a friend has any antibacterial burn ointment.... to no avail.... so now we're still home no meds, miserable. trying to see if he'll let me drive him to the urgent care tomorrow morning... Well, that was my fun crazy week. I hope you had fun. :)