Gratitude Challenge Day 8 & 9

I have been grumpy this week. Granted, I have had good reason. But I need to remind myself that life is pretty dang good and I have a lot to be happy about. So, I'm going to knock out 2 lists of things I am grateful for! Oh, yes, I am!

10 Modern Inventions I am Grateful For:

1. Computers! I'll even include the internet and great stuff like blogs and blurb.com and skype in this one. I love how it allows me to keep in touch with family and friends.

2. I'd normally say my van, but I'm not feeling the love right now. I am glad we have cars and can travel vast distances so much faster than the Pioneers could!

3. Refrigerators/Freezers. Can you imagine trying to plan menus and feed your family if you didn't have a fridge or freezer? Yikes! I love my freezer meals and my fridge is usually at max capacity unless I'm overdue a grocery trip.

4. Digital Cameras! I love love love taking pictures! I love looking at pictures and having pictures. I love that I no longer have to take a roll of 36 pictures and mail them off and wait a week to see what my pictures are. I love that I can see them right away and delete what I don't need. I love that I can upload and share them in minutes. (That's a lotta love!)

5. Washing machines. I am on my 6th load of laundry today. Whew, am I glad I don't have to wash my hand!

6. DVR- We just got DVR capability in January. Wow! How awesome it is to not have to worry about when a show is on. Church meeting that night? No problem! I can DVR Survivor and watch it later.

7. This is less a modern invention, and more a delight in what modern inventions have given me. I am so grateful that we can see General Conference this weekend. When I was a kid, sometimes we could hear it on the radio. We could go see it at the chapel most of the time too. But now, I can sit in my own home and watch all 4 sessions! We use to get it on TV, but here we have to settle for the internet. Still, how awesome is that?! People all over the world can listen to it live, or whenever they want!

8. Kindle. Now, nothing beats holding a book in my hand, but it is awfully nice and convenient to have several things to read all ready and waiting for me in a small, easy to carry device. It is especially good for those times I have to wait at the drawbridge or somewhere else.

9. Electricity. Living here in hurricane central has given me a renewed appreciation for electricity. I live in fear of it going out, partly because it is annoying, party because the temperature is well beyond what normal people should ever consider living in, and partly because I never know how long I'll be without it.

10. Which leads me to something I am incredibly grateful for being invented. Air Conditioning!

10 Foods I am Grateful For:

Um, I could totally do 100 things right here. To make this an actual challenge, we're going to make this list 10 CHOCOLATE foods I am grateful for!

1. M&Ms- Regular, peanut and peanut butter kinds. Yummy! I like to gross Dan out by putting a handful in my mouth and letting them all sit in my cheek till the chocolate is melted and then cracking the candy shell and eating the melty chocolate before crunching the rest. And I like them a lot on long drives when they help me stay awake!

2. Almond Roca Candy. Oh the tastiness! My dad use to give my mom a can of the stuff for Christmas or her birthday or Mother's Day and after she got tired of sharing, I'd sneak in and steal some. Sorry Mom!

3. Chocolate Truffle Pie. Oh the way it melts in my mouth...

4. See's Candy. The Scotchmallows, the caramel squares, the chocolate truffles.... the deliciousness!

5. Harry and David mint chocolates. Oh, so yummy. Their candy bars are rather addictive too.

6. S'mores. Does that count as chocolate? It does for me!

7. Cocoa Pebbles cereal. A great evening snack when I want something chocolaty, but want to pretend it's kind of healthy!

8. Hot cocoa. I haven't had much of it this year; it's way to hot down here. But Grandma has a tasty homemade recipe and I really really like (and really really miss!) Safeway's brand of white cocoa.

9. Blue Bunny's Triple Chocolate Cake ice cream. Oh. My. Goodness! I discovered the Walmart here carries it and now I can't shop there anymore!

10. Brownies. Either Miranda's dark chocolate homemade recipe or a good box mix. And then one must add chocolate chips and chopped up chocolate bar to the batter before cooking. Ahhhhh..... heaven!

I'm having a Day.

I'm having a day. And not a good one either. My positive attitude can only take so much!

Yesterday my van died on the way home from picking Dan and Joshua up from the airport. That all worked out okay, and Dan waited for the tow to take it to the dealer. Today the dealer called to say they couldn't find the problem. Actually he didn't say that. He said it was an "internal issue" which really means they have no idea what's wrong. And since they can't fix what they can't figure out, I need a whole new transmission. And that's going to cost $4466.21, plus taxes.

Awesome.

Then I called to try to sort out my allergy shot issue. They say I can come in this morning. I'm happy. Then they call back and say so sorry, your allergy shot stuff is still in downtown New Orleans- about an hour drive away. I'll have to go there. I should have clarified if they meant I'd always have to go there or just this time? Either way, it means a lot more time and hassle for me and I'm grumpy about that. Whatever it is out here that I'm allergic to, is killing me.

Double awesome.

I stepped outside to see how hot it was. Sadly, there were 2 more baby birds on the porch. Yes, dead. There's a nest under the balcony and those tiny featherless corpses are the 4th and 5th casualties. So sad. I need to dispose o them before Callie gets home. She insists on proper burials.

That's just sad and depressing.

I headed off to Walmart because we are out of wet wipes, and hey, way more fun to go all by myself while the girls are at preschool. Plus there are a bunch of other things I need. As I arrived at the store and was just walking in, my cell phone rang. Preschool was calling to tell me that Rylee had puked up all her lunch and was feeling quite warm.

Yeah, I'm so having a day today. (On the plus side, I did not have to clean up all the vomit!)

I Heart Family!

We've had an exciting week. Less exciting for you to listen to, so I shall not bore you with the ...ahem, boring, details. I shall regale you with the wonderful ones! If you want to see my 2 newest nephews, click on the Fox Flash link and check out my mom's blog. Both my sisters had babies on Thursday! I am so happy for them! While the 2 of them were in the process of replenishing the earth, I was driving out to visit my brother, Andy and his family. It was just me and the 4 girls.

They had a marvelous time. I like that Andy lives close enough to drive over to without too much duress. I love that the kids are getting to know some of their cousins. You may consider yourselves lucky that the camera battery was about dead and I hadn't brought the charger. I only took 10 pictures, and there were so many more I'd have loved to have taken. It really warmed my heart to see the girls playing so well with their cousins.

I looked out and saw these 4 just sitting on the curb. So cute! They had moved by the time I dashed out there with the camera, but were pretty good about sitting back down for me. They each have a leaf, er, I mean a map, courtesy of Delaney and her fervent imagination.

What a face. The best moment (for me, not necessarily for Rylee!) was when Rylee came crying to me and piped out, "I pushed Yaney and I falled down and hurt mysewf." Ha ha ha. That's what you get for shoving your sister!

Delaney showed off her mad tree-climbing skilz. Fortunately, no one fell out of the trees this time!

We went to a super-fun park. The kids spent an hour or so here, digging in the sand before we even made it to the playground area. It was awesome!

Callie and her cousin dug a marvelous tunnel in the sand. You can see Rylee is gleefully getting ready to stomp it. She stomped everything she could and was fairly indiscriminate about it.

This was awesome! Marian wanted to be buried, so the kids helped cover her with sand. Her cousin decided he also needed to be buried, but had fewer helpers to bury him. But you can see everyone having a great time together.

We also went to the Children's Museum. It was fabulous! The kids had so much fun running from one thing to the next. I was impressed. But it was hard to keep track of 9 kids with only 2 moms. Here are Marian and Katie. Despite her expression in this picture, Marian loves Katie and they play really well together.

I really wanted a group shot, but I suffered from a severe lack of cooperation. You can see Rylee on the far left. She's crying because she wants a penny. Delaney is on the far right and I have no clue what she's doing, but it was pretty funny. And I think Charlotte was running away. Sigh. It is still a great picture! I LOVE all the different expressions!

We had an excellent time with them and I'm so glad we went. I'm not sure how Kera felt about it, but I thought it was a wonderful trip. Thanks Andy and Kera for letting us come and visit!!

Gratitude Challenge Day 7

Yeah, yeah, I know. I too was hoping for a more exciting post. However, my camera battery decided it did not have enough power to even let me download pictures. So you will have to wait to see and hear all about my truly entertaining week! But I will give you a sneak peek and tell you that BOTH my sisters had babies on the very same day (they were due 2 weeks apart). I am so happy for them! And I am excited to have 2 new nephews. That makes me an auntie 28 times- 9 times from Dan's side of the family and 19 from mine. Yep, we like that "multiply and replenish" stuff! But today's gratitude list is not about families or sisters or babies, or nieces & nephews. Instead, you get to know the

10 Places on Earth I am Grateful For:

And yes, while I KNOW this is suppose to be an exercise to get me thinking about the other 500 places or things I am grateful for, I have a hard time writing lists like this. Since there really ARE 500 places I am grateful for. How do I narrow it down? Do I go with places that have personal meaning? Specific places or general ones? Places I have lived (cuz there are at least 10 of those!)? Places that are beautiful? Places I want to go? I certainly am grateful for them all. And I feel that some order is ... er.... in order. Maybe I'll just be daring and go completely random. Yeah, that'll throw them off!

1. The Mara. I think that was the single most beautiful place I have ever been. I could not get over how gorgeous it was. I wanted to move there just to see that view every day. I think I could come up with 10 different places on the Mara alone that I am grateful for! Kenya was amazing. I am grateful for Kenya, and especially grateful for the Mara.

2. Colorado. I liked Colorado, but the church there was pretty awful. I am grateful I lived there because it showed me that I can be happy wherever I am and I will go to church no matter if I am alone and no one else cares if I am there. I am grateful for the things I learned in Colorado.

3. An I'm going to cheat, and piggyback off Colorado. I am grateful for The Garden of the Gods. So beautiful! I got to run (and hike later) through there at our family reunion a few years ago and it was humbling and amazing. I am grateful to see something so impressive.

4. BYU. I am grateful I had the chance to go there. I believe every LDS youth at some point needs to go or visit. It is so great to learn that you are not the only one trying to live righteously. I am grateful for BYU and the strong LDS students that go there. And fine, I'm grateful I got my Mrs and my BS there, although it was not an easy road to either!

5. The ocean. I'm not a huge fan of the beach or swimming in the ocean, but I love the majesty of it. And I am incredibly grateful that my in-laws organized a get together for us all 2 years ago at a beach house. My children still remember how much fun they had and they rated it waaay above Disney World! I am grateful for the beauty and memories the ocean has given me.

6. Okuma. For you non-military, Okuma is the "resort" on Okinawa. Going there with my family when I was a teen has special memories. It kind of represents the fun that being together was for us- painful and squabbly, but so much fun! I am grateful my parents dragged us there and we got to watch horrid movies because it was raining!

7. The Temple. Pretty much any temple. I have a special fondness for Los Angeles (you know, because because that's where we got married), and Provo (because that's when I had the chance to go every week for a while). But I love them all and am grateful we have so many. I am also grateful we are less than 2 hours form one right now.

8. Mom and Dad's house. I am so grateful that I can always go home. I am so grateful that I always feel loved and welcomed whenever I go visit my parents, whether it is for a week or a holiday or a summer. I am the kid who keeps returning and every time I show up, they seem happy to have me.... and whatever grandchildren I have with me!

9. The Thrift store. I am definitely grateful for the thrift Store! Do you know that when we moved here, I discovered that I could pay $12 a piece for school uniform shirts brand new.... or I could go to the thrift store and pay $2?!! Sorry, no contest. With 3 kids needing uniforms, $2 is the clear winner! I love saving money. Dan might argue that with all the stuff I lug home, we may not be saving money, but its good for my soul as well! I love having a place I can bargain hunt and find things cheaper.

10. Wherever Dan is. As Dan teases, "Wherever you are, it will be Zion to me!" And it is true. I can go wherever the Marine Corps sends us and I can be happy, as long as we are a family. I am grateful to have a home, and to have Dan. And maybe that doesn't count as a place, but its my list and I say it does!

Josh rocks!

I'm woefully behind on blogging. I have lots of excuses, mainly I've been crazy busy, and haven't taken time to download pictures. Sorry.

Joshua had his Pinewood Derby a week or so ago. His scout leader decreed that this year the boys would be doing their cars with no outside help and without power tools. It was nice for me because nothing was required from ME! Joshua did his car all on his own and he was pleased with the results.

Yeah, other boys in the stake made some stinking awesome cars. The bobsledder guy was my favorite, I confess. Joshua's is the red one on the top right. You can tell who had assistance and who did not!

These were the cars that the oldest group made. I wanted a picture for future reference! Check out the guitar shaped car!

Here's my boy and his car!

Anxiously awaiting the race.

Joshua's car finished a respectable second in nearly every race. They did a good job running the race. With about 15 boys/cars, they ran about 15 heats, so the boys got to race a lot and most of them had the chance to finish well at least once. Joshua won once, came in third twice and ran second the rest of the time. He was pleased. I was happy he had a good time.

Marian's Birthday

Well, this isn't so much about her birthday as it is about her cupcakes. Marian really, really wanted to bring cupcakes to her class. And she wanted to have confetti cupcakes. So we made cupcakes and frosted them. But this was not enough for her birthday! She wanted CHEETAHS on top of the cupcakes. I told her there weren't any cupcake toppers that I knew of that were cheetahs.

Undaunted, she made them herself. She made 30 of them.

Yep. 30 individual little cheetah drawings. She colored them too. Click on the first picture to enlarge it and you'll see that each cheetah is different, too! Then she taped toothpicks on the back and poked each one in a cupcake.

Here are the adorable finished products. I was really impressed with her work! Marian proudly carried them into class and shared them with her classmates and teachers. Such a great girl! She's 9 now.

Gratitude Challenge Day 6

I am grumpy today. Tired and grumpy. So I guess today's challenge is more of a challenge! And a blessing, because now I can focus on the good stuff. Well, once I get thinking....

10 Things about Today I am Grateful for:

1. Joshua reading a book and listening to it on audiotape and being really excited about it.

2. Delaney being so silly and making me laugh. She just told me, "I'm going to be silly every day!"

3. Dan being awesome and hanging out with the kids all day long while I was gone.

4. Being a part of the oldest and largest women's organization in the world! Happy Birthday Relief Society!

5. Getting to go to the stake center to make 200 backpacks to fill with sundries for homeless shelters. (And the backpacks were super-cute!)

6. Cupcakes at lunchtime!

7. Getting to stop by the thrift store on the way home.

8. No dishes in the sink- at least right this very moment.

9. Friends to sew with and chat with and laugh with.

10. Quiet time to sit down and read a book.

Gratitude Challenge Day 5

10 Things about Nature I am Grateful For:

1. Gerber Daisies.

2. Beautiful blue skies with clouds so perfect they look painted up there.

3. Sunshine.

4. Green grass. I especially love the smell of fresh cut green grass!

5. Mountains.

6. Those perfect crisp days where the sun is out, and there's a little chill, but it still feels great to be outside.

7. Trees with lots of branches for climbing.

8. Running on the levee in the fog and you can only see a little way in front of you and the moisture isn't quite rain, and actually feels good.

9. The Ocean. I'm not a fan of swimming in it, but I love to watch it and hear it and see it.

10. Sequoia- those magnificent trees are amazing!

Gratitude Challenge Day 4

10 Deceased People I am Thankful For:

Honestly, I'm not a fan of the people lists. It seems unfair. And I do have lots of people I'm grateful for. How about categories? 5 groups of people I am grateful for:

1. I'm grateful for the founding fathers of our nation.

2. I'm grateful for my ancestors who made it possible for me to be where I am today and who I am today.

3. I'm grateful for the pioneers and all they went through to allow me to be a part of the church.

4. I'm grateful for the prophets who wrote who words of scripture we have today.

5. I am grateful for writers and authors who have given us classic literature to enjoy.

Delaney

Delaney is an entertaining child. And lots and lots of fun! I sent her off with a plate of cookies to take to her friend Mikey's house the other day. She was gone for nearly an hour. When she came back, she grinned and said, "Mikey's mom letted me eat 4 cookies!!"

The next morning, as I was ushering Delaney out the door to go to Story Time at the library, she stopped for a minute and looked at me and said,"Um, remember when I said Mikey's mom gave me 4 cookies?"

"Actually, it was five!"

Gratitude Challenge Day 3

10 Living People I am Grateful For:

I can come up with quite a few people I am grateful for, but I am actually not really comfortable posting that publicly. I mean, the no-brainer route is to mention my parents, all my siblings, my sweet husband, my children.... and I'm over 10 right there! That doesn't even count my extended family and in-laws, which I am also incredibly grateful for. If I discount all people I am related to, there is no way I can come up with a top 10 list. So, if I know you and you are reading this, you are probably on that top 10 list. I am grateful for all the friends I have had. I am grateful for all the people who have helped me through difficult times and through the good times as well. I am grateful to have been able to talk to you and share my life with you. I am grateful to have learned from you and to have gotten to know you. I am grateful for you!

Frog or Toad?

This afternoon Callie moved the paving stones in the front yard and found a new friend! No not Mikey, look by Callie's feet.

Everyone was excited to see him, although he was a little less enthusiastic to be shrieked at and dropped by the little kids.

Meet Callie's new buddy.

A very good new buddy!

Er... maybe too close, buddy!

Actually, she was trying to remove him, but he was hanging on with that little leg, swinging like Michael Jordan from her nose, looking to all the world like a giant mutated booger.

Yes, yes, much more acceptable. Delaney was pleased to be instructed on proper frog holding techniques.

Rylee looked like she knew the drill. Unfortunately, for the frog, as soon as Rylee had him in her hand, She screamed gleefully and tossed him in the air. Fortunately, for the frog, he landed on his feet.

Marian came out to play and discovered 3 toads hiding under the paving stone. A handful of toads is not easy to hang onto!

Yep, a lovely day to be a toad. Well, a lovely day to be a toad with a death wish.

No frogs or toads were permanently harmed this afternoon. Possibly traumatized for life, but they were all alive when I made the kids put them down and walk away.

Gratitude Challenge Day 2

10 Material Possessions I am Grateful For:

1. My Van. Love my Sienna!

2. My elliptical machine. We get together frequently and I love it.

3. The computer.

4. My kitchen table- it fits us all and fits in the house.

5. My 12" skillet. I cook everything in it!

6. My running shoes.

7. My food storage buckets of whole wheat. I go through a surprising amount of it.

8. So I love, love, love and and incredibly grateful for my wheat grinder.

9. Books. Books in general, the books on my bookshelf, the books on my Kindle. I an thankful to have books in general and to have the ones I own.

10. My Young Living Essential Oils. So glad I have them.

Gratitude Challenge, Day 1

In the Dec 2011 Ensign there was a challenge to come up with 100 things you are thankful for. I thought maybe I should get cracking on that. They did break it into 10 lists of 10 things to make it easier to do. So today is:

10 Physical Abilities I am Thankful For:

1. I can run. I can even run while pushing a double jogging stroller.

2. I have 10 fingers and 10 toes that all work.

3. While I am incredibly inflexible, I can bend and stretch and nothing hurts when I do.

4. I can drive a car.

5. I don't much like it, but I can ride my bike.

6. I can swim. I love to swim. I can't wait for the pool to open!

7. I can give piggy-back rides.

8. I can fold laundry.

9. I can run up and down the stairs in our house.

10. I can hold little hands and carry little bodies in my arms, and I can give and receive hugs.

83 Degrees Outside?!!!

Yes, it was 83 degrees last week. Not just once either. We were over 80 for several days. There is just something wrong with it being that warm the first few days of MARCH! And for those of you in nice dry places like CA, who think 80 isn't too bad, the humidity was icky as well. Nothing like walking out the door of your air conditioned house and needing fins to walk to the park. Ug. I hate humidity.

The girls thought it was time to bust out the swim suits, so I dug around till we found them. We also risked the wrath of Housing and moved our hose to the front porch for the afternoon. Callie, Delaney and Rylee had a marvelous time playing in the sprinkler together. I had a marvelous time watching them! The pictures are not very good because they were much more interested in playing than in slowing down to get me the perfect shot.

More Fun than a Barrel of Monkeys

I got to take Rylee and Delaney to the dentist this week. The only thing that would have been more fun would have been trying to wrangle all 5 children there! Fortunately, I have learned some skills. I took the 2 youngest while the big kids were in school. I went myself the next day while the 2 little girls were at preschool. And I have scheduled the 3 older kids later this month when they have a random day off school, but the little girls still have preschool. See, I am smart!

I also thought I was really smart because we talked about going to the dentist. I told the girls what to expect, and we acted it out, and they seemed excited and ready for it. And they were, right up till we walked into the office. Then Delaney clung to me like a spider monkey and whimpered enough that Rylee decided maybe she should be afraid as well.

I got Delaney into the chair and had to hold her hand while they got the x-rays.

After the x-rays, she decided this wasn't so bad!

Then they started the cleaning. She was rocking the shades, but was not pleased about the scrape-scrape nor did she like the icky stuff they brushed her teeth with. There was more drama than I expected. I should have expected it. Really, I should.

After the cleaning, she was happier, and she loved having her teeth "painted" with flouride.

And then it was over. And she got a cute bag with a toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss. Oh, and she got a prize out of the prize bucket!

Yes, I did say that Rylee also had an appointment. No pictures of her because she was terrified after seeing Delaney freak out. I had to sit on the chair with her on my lap. I got to spend Rylee's check up laying head down in the dentist chair, holding onto Rylee and trying to soothe her. Fun stuff, I tell you, fun stuff!