I love Janette!

I love Janette for so many reason's. I thought I'd list just a few ...

1. I love her for our laughing at BIG shadows (this is going to sustain me for a really long time)

2. I love her for not making me feel like a freak even when I know I am

3. I love her for being willing to talk with me when even I get tired of hearing from me

4. I love her for her blog. I've never read anyone who writes just as she talks. I laugh every time

5. I love her because I feel like I can tell her anything and it's safe

I love Janette!

Free Car Friday, continued ...

So I've been asked multiple times about the turn out for "Free Car Fridays". Of course it fluctuates each week, but in general, there is probably around 200 applicants each week.

You know what is funny, even when we don't win (which we never have yet), you still feel like you've won! Everyone is happy and chatty and it feels just like a big, happy party. It's a good way to spend an evening.

Did I mention that the food (hot dogs, soda, last week Baskin Robbins was handing out ice-cream) and the music and people are FREE?

Bragging Rights ...

So I want to take just a moment and brag a little bit about one of my little bits.

Landon is in kindergarten. He doesn't get as much attention right now as his other siblings, mainly because Colbey is a teenager and we're dealing with all the angst that accompany that time of life, and Ryleigh is potty training.

Well, two weeks ago, he brought home his report card (which was stellar by the way) and a certificate informing us that he had made it on the Honor Roll. I was shocked!!! I remember sitting on the couch looking at him thinking, "Is this going to be my genius child?" I couldn't believe it and am SO proud of Landon.

Then to top it off, he brought his behavior chart home at the end of April with absolutely NO MARKS on it! He didn't have a single incident for the entire month and if you know Landon with all of his energy, that is not just a minor miracle, but a gargantuan miracle!

He is this weeks "Star Student" in his class.

GO LANDON!!! My little miracle worker!

Free Car Friday

So I don't really want to list this posting, but maybe I'll be blessed by sharing this with others?!?!?

Nissan of McKinney has been doing Free Car Friday for the past 4 weeks. Scott and I make it our weekly date because, hello, it's free.

You show up between 6pm and 7:59pm to enter your name into the drawing and wait around. You get tickets for free hot dogs and soda and then chill. Every so often they draw a name out for a gift certificate and it feels just like a block party. Everyone is happy and excited. It's great people watching too.

Scott and I bring our camping chairs and play cards while we wait.

So tonight is our date, and maybe we'll see you there for your date night with your other half. Someone is going to win a free car, it might as well be me!

Money, money, money ... I want the pie in the sky ... (think 80's song)

Nissan of McKinney is on the corner of 75 and 121. : )

The Confessional

There have been times in my life that I've been exposed to more information about individuals that I felt I should have been or wanted to be. I grieved when it wasn't my grief and judged when I didn't have any right to judge. That being said, I am now warning you that this will be very personal information about me and if you feel so inclined not to be burdened with my admissions, leave now ... or forever hold your peace. : )

This past weekend was orchestrated just for me. I was in a situation Saturday morning to have an unexpected counselling session that although I didn't necessarily agree with everything said (when have I ever totally agreed with anyone????), it did indeed prick my mind and heart.

Then Saturday afternoon, I was confronted with another situation that again pricked my mind and heart.

That evening, Scott and I had a very open conversation about some of my feelings that I had been covering for too long.

Then a bomb was laid in my lap Sunday morning during our Special Conference. My mind and heart that had felt the prickling of the past 24 hours finally burst and the words spoken by a general authority were spoken to enter into my heart and heal and institute change within myself.

I've been welling up all weekend and continue to well today. (What a sap! ) : )

Several truths have been finally exposed to my reluctant brain. I am not the wife I imagine I am. I am not the mother I view myself as. I am not the daughter or sister or friend that I've imagined I was for so long. I have had such a huge understanding (obviously not a perfect, but definitely a very strong understanding) of the Saviors love for me and have never doubted that one day I would be back with Him and my Heavenly Father that I got caught up in the "Big Picture" and ignored the steps to live a path that the Lord would be most pleased with.

I'm getting bogged down with trying to walk on egg shells so I'm going to stop and just say what I'm trying to say.

I've been blessed with a deep knowledge of many things spiritual. I feel that a good portion of that is a gift from God specifically for me because of the many trials He knew I would go through in this life and the rest was taught to me through my parents. I find the spiritual side in nearly everything I see, do and read. That's just how my brain works and regardless of the intent of the person or things that are happening and the expectation they have, it all boils down to spiritual knowledge to me. I am grateful for this quirk of my brain and honestly feel bad for those that don't view life the same way as I do. I can't tell you how many times people have said, "Really? I didn't see that at all!" when talking about a truth I gleaned from some random thing.

Anyway,I'm also extremely stubborn. I decide on a plan and follow through because I've already decided it's the best course of action. I generally don't bother asking Heavenly Father if this is His will because it makes sense to me. (I said I was stubborn, not smart! Don't be judging me just yet! : ))I've been content with my lot and the rough road that I've been traveling because that's just what this life is about, right? WRONG!

After this past weekend, and then beginning to read Dave Ramsey's book "The Total Money Makeover" last night (Sorry Janie it's taken me so long to get to it, but now I'm devouring it!)I see that I've been bringing a good portion of the "rough road" on myself. This is not God's plan. Yes, we are here to learn and grow, but He doesn't wish to cause us the ultimate pain for the ultimate gain. If we can learn with little pain, all the better and it's up to us to make the decision which way we are going to learn ourselves.

We've been living with debt for so long, and although the debt is less than some, it is definitely more than other's and in my mind, excruciatingly crippling. I didn't think there was a way out of it and it was just part of our life. A trial we were meant to go through. I have been SO WRONG!

I'm angry with the collective body of the population for not teaching me otherwise and even more angry with myself for not working at figuring out that this was a huge lie that I could disprove and live a life so much better than I ever imagined possible in this existence. So much time has been wasted!

Just this past month I was speaking with some church friends (people who are not saddled with my same money issues at this time) and said that I was OK being poor. What an idiot I have been. When is it ever right to be OK with mediocrity?!?!? That is by far the most gleeful moment Satan has had with me in ages and I didn't even realize it. How sneaky and insidious; that old serpent had entered my soul. How grateful I am to finally see his downward pulling fingers!

When the church has counselled that we be out of debt, I always thought that was a dream that could only come through some dead rich relative, a stroke of extreme dumb luck or some lottery jackpot (which we don't play). I couldn't see how we could do that on our own. I have been left without the knowledge of how to help myself as so many other people find themselves. But there is a way. A Christ-like way that is available to everyone regardless of their race or creed, financial situation or religious background.

I CAN NOT ADEQUATELY EXPRESS HOW MUCH THIS NEW KNOWLEDGE IS CHANGING ME IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS!!! When it comes to money matters, PLEASE, please, please, check out this man's work. DAVE RAMSEY - He's not of my religion but truth is truth, no matter where it comes from.

As far as the other truths brought to me this weekend, I have the knowledge and the change is being worked out. I will become the wife I dream of being and the mother my children deserve. I will live to my full potential for my earthly family and friends and for my heavenly family. I have a clearer picture now and that knowledge is power.

I will never be able to thank the Savior enough for the healing power of the atonement. For the ability He has provided for me to forgive when I couldn't imagine being able to forgive. For the forgiveness He offers me when I couldn't imagine being forgiven.

This has been a weekend of intense pain and growth and joy but a weekend I wouldn't want to have missed!

I Really Like Him ...

So we've been receiving a lot of emails about the "End of the World" and the preparations that need to take place to be prepared. I'm taking those suggestions seriously and figure, even if it isn't the "End of the World" that's imminent, it's better to be prepared than caught with my pants down.

As such, we've been working very hard on collecting a year's supply of "every needful thing". I've taught myself how to make bread and am very happy to announce that we have not bought store bread in over two months. Not only that, but my family is now completely wheat tolerant, which if this is a foreign term to you, means that we've built up the internal systems to handle pure wheat in their diets. You must start out with small amounts of wheat and build up to greater amounts gradually. The young and old are susceptible to death if given too much wheat too quickly. The rest of us in the middle just end up on the "porcelain god" for a good while.

Anyway, I've also been getting links to video's about the words of the prophets with regards to this type of preparation. My favorites are by DavidKat99. His video's are touching and profound. The music is amazing and the artistry is amazing. Here is the most recent video I've received ...



Of course, you can always take a look at all of his amazing video's on You Tube.

Vocapeople

So Ryleigh and I have listened to this three times in the last 15 minutes. We both love it!

Be sure to turn the volume down on the blog music or just pause it. ENJOY!!!

I asked and it came ...

Thank you to all my family and friends who guided me through the technical waters of "blogdom"! And thank you to those who offered consolation when they couldn't help me with the "higher echelons of geekdom".

I love you all!!!

Needing Some Help ...

How do I get my "Friends" blog updated titles on the right hand side of the page? It would be SO much more convenient than just clicking on EVERYONE to see who has updated their blog!!!

I'm looking for some TIME SAVERS!!!!

Been A While

Yes, I know ... I've been slacking in the update arena, but that doesn't necessarily mean I've just been slacking! O.K., so it does mean I have been wanting to slack off but the world hasn't seen fit to grant me the time to do so. Oh, so cruel!

I did kidnap my sister's blog because she has been sooooo terribly boring and even more slacking than me, and strangely, I find it more fun to update hers than my own. I must lead a boring life. That's not really true, I've just been leading a crazy busy life and not really wanted to talk about the "fun things" I've been blessed to deal with recently.

In short, the boys will be staying home next year and we will home school, again. Colbey spent a good portion of 5th grade at home so this is old hat for him. Of course, having an 8th grader AND a 1st grader together is sending shivers of pure panic down my spine, but I figure if I prepare for the absolute worst, things will go well. Cross your fingers!!

Easter was wonderful! It was nice and quiet this year and we had the most beautiful eggs ever! I finally read the directions on the dye package and realized that to get the vibrant egg colors, I should be dipping them into vinegar instead of water. We dipped 24 eggs in 12 different colors and they turned out gorgeous!!! Landon found 15 of the eggs on Sunday morning, Ryleigh found 6 and Colbey dragged himself out of bed long enough to find 3. (I think he thinks he's too old for such childish revelry.) Dinner was fantastic and I even was able to get out of a good portion of the clean-up. Thank you Scott!

In more current news, I've pinched a nerve in my back while I was at the gym yesterday. Dang those twist crunches!!! Give me nice heavy weights any day, but leave the twisting to someone else! : )

Otherwise, all is the same here on the home front. Scott is still gainfully employed which is a wonderful thing (even if he hates his job) in the current economy. Of course, they can't afford to fire him as he is only one of three in the US, and does more than the other two, maybe even combined. Several companies have asked that he be "Theirs" and that makes Scott feel good. Thank you to Burger King, Glaxo-Smith-Kline (or however you spell that) and several other smaller companies for loving my guy almost as much as I love him. If you'd like to love him more, stop being idiots and hire technically advanced employee's that will cause Scott less headaches! Just a suggestion. : )

I am busy with Ryleigh during the day and the house, the boys (oh, those boys) in the afternoons, and all the activities that accompany the three, and just rarely, I get some moments in for myself. : )

Colbey has finally brought his saxophone home and I'm excited to start playing duets with him. Landon has completed his Kindergarten Musical, which believe me, I was just as happy for it to be over as he was! Amazing what parents will clap for!!!

Landon and Ryleigh have built a castle in the backyard and can be found playing in it nearly everyday! Ryleigh is now in the process of building herself a throne. She feels it's only right since she is the "Princess". It really is pretty cool. They built it out of bricks, wood and these giant blocks. Every now and then, they use the hammock as a roof or flag. I love how creative they get! (The below picture is what they are going for.)

Scott fixed my bird feeder that the wind tried to spirit away and this morning was it's maiden voyage into the backyard in over a week. YEAH! Ryleigh and I both love to see the birds and recently have been excited to see rabbits in the backyard also. Some may say they are pests, but we don't have a garden, so for us, they are just cute, cuddly bunnies that are spending some morning moments with us. We love them!

I'm off to clean the bomb site Ryleigh calls a room and then more rest for this decrepit back. Oh, how I hate aging!!! : )

PS - We love the book "Monster Mischief" from the library and my weekly bread making is at total wheat flour now. I know, totally geeky to be excited about a children's book (although it really is great) and bread, but I am. What can I say, deep down, I'm a geek! : )

We are also loving the show "Castle". But then, we've always loved anything he's been in. Of course, if I were kind and thoughtful, I'd tell you his name, but I don't know it off the top of my head. We still love him, though!!! Thank you Fox for having the episodes online!