Sunday, January 27, 2013

New Beginnings is over...YAY!! It was lovely and the only thing that really was a problem was that when you leave girls to decorate things by themselves it sometimes looks a mess. But, then you send older girls in to help and it turns out just fine. I also had a glitch with my part of it, but that's just the way things go with technology. I had pulled up the video I wanted to use and had it down in the task bar waiting, exactly where I wanted to start. Then Trish handed me the cd to use for prelude music. That's great, I put it in and didn't think about it at all. When I went to start the video, I pushed resume expecting it to start my video where I had paused it, but nope...it started playing the cd again...ARRRGGGGHHHH!!! So then I had to find the video again, forward it to where I wanted it to play and then it was ok again. Sheesh! But, it was ok, because we had a scroll to hand out to the girls and we were trying to decide when the best time to do that would be and so Shelly did it while I was futzing with the computer, so it worked out fine. I just hate it when stuff like that happens...I try to be so prepared and have everything lined up, but sometimes it just doesn't work out. Since I already had windows media player open for the video when I put the cd in, it just used the media player to play rather than itunes opening like I figured it would. Hopefully I'll remember that next time and open itunes first. Live and learn I guess...my problem will be recalling what I've learned when I need it again. But, I think it was a successful night and the girls did a really good job with their parts. I thought it before at camp and I was reminded again of what a good girl Peyton Garner is. She was the only one out of all the girls and the leaders that stayed until the end of all the clean up with Trish and I. Katy had to go get her kids so I understand that one, but the others helped for a bit and then left. I'll never get that, I guess it's just not in my nature, but as a leader I would think you would feel a little responsible to help until it's done. Oh well. Good News!! Dad had his "end of radiation" test done and it's good news!! The two tumors they were targeting have shrunk AND the other tumors have not grown! In the past couple of months there has been no growth which is far beyond what they were expecting. They only gave him 4 to 6 months to live and so they were expecting massive growth and spreading and none of that has happened. He also has had no symptoms yet...no coughing, no shortness of breath, nothing which is more good news. He's drinking two different types of tea, eat blueberries, staying away from sugar, and taking frankincense as holistic approaches since there's not a lot modern medicine can do for him and something seems to be working. We'll take every day we can get! Spencer seems to be completely better now. He hasn't said anything about headaches or other symptoms from his concussion, so I'm assuming that has healed. He is working hard and getting along with his companion and members in both of his wards, so that is good news as well. I seem to have hit my limit of attention I can give to this today :)

Sunday, January 6, 2013

I have been working on my personal progress and one of my projects is to get organized and another one is to work on my family history. I have chosen to catch up on the boys mission letters and blog posts, that took about 15 hours of 20. So I have been thinking about what I could do to use up that other 5 hours and I just couldn't work on my scrapbook. My original goal was to do some scrapbooking, but I just haven't been able to make myself do it. I think catching up on my own journal counts as history, so this is what I am going to do for the rest of my time. It's hard to believe that I was so far behind that it took me 15 hours to catch up, but I had about a year of letters from Doug to print off and put in his book, then 9 months from Spencer, plus all his blog posts from about the last 3 months. His blog is what took up so much time! I had it all set up the way I wanted it and then for some strange reason it would go wonky on me and have some different font with a white background...it was weird. And the strangest part of it was that it wouldn't happen every time. Sometimes it would be just fine then others it would be messed up. I spent most of the 10 hours just working on his blog. I think I'm going to just have to write as the ideas come this time because if I try to catch up any other way I'll never remember everything and I'll think I'll be able to remember to say something when the time comes but I'll forget. I think I would be a much more insightful person if I took the time to write more. The inspiration I receive as I ponder things out loud and on "paper" really does outweigh just doing it without thinking about it, but I just can't seem to put the time into it. Maybe that's just Satan's way of making it so I miss out on those spiritual blessings and insights and keeping me from becoming a better person. I also get a complaining feeling when I write a lot. I don't like to be a complaining person and I feel like writing down my problems and struggles so I can think through them gives me a whiny feel. It should't be that way I suppose, but I really don't want to have my kids read my journals after I'm dead and have the impression that all I did was complain. So my challenge is to work through things, get my inspiration...revelation, and do it in a non-complaining way. Not a problem! First of all, I can't believe my Doug has been home for 4 and a half months! The two years he was gone felt so long on one hand and yet a blink of an eye on the other and the same can be said for the last few months he's been home. He is such a good kid and it is so much fun to have him around. I love having him home with us at night and he is always so positive about everything. He comes home from a full day at work (he's working with Jack at Wendy's doing maintenance) and says his day was great and he likes his job. Very rarely does he complain about anything. He helps out around the house without any complaining and takes care of his financial needs without any prompting or reminding from me. He listens to counsel from his parents, is kind to Trevor....he is just a joy to have around. We're trying to get him to go out on a few dates now and then, but he's not very interested right now. I'm sure the time will come, but I'd like him to have a bit of a social life so he at least will put himself in a position to meet the girl he wants to marry. He will get there and he'll marry a wonderful girl, it just has to be in his own time, not mine, and I have to remember that. He bought a wonderful little car, it's a Ford Focus with heated seats, heated side mirrors, a moon roof, bluetooth, and all other kinds of cool things. It's a fun little car that I wouldn't mind having myself. Plus it's front wheel drive which is nice since it's winter now. I don't worry about him like I do about Trevor driving the truck in the snow with it's rear wheel drive. Trevor is in the last half of his Senior year! My baby is almost out of school and it's time to celebrate! I guess we should get him graduated before we start throwing the party, but it's close enough I can taste it. I'm hoping his grades will be good enough to make it so he won't have to do any more online school than he's already doing. He had his US Government class online right now which he needs to finish up really quickly. He's doing a pretty good job juggling work and school, and dating. He is also a fun boy to have around. He is very little drama, even for a high school kid. He likes to be happy and is rarely unhappy. It's funny how easily you can tell he's upset or had a bad day but how hard it is to get him to open up about what is making him unhappy. We had a talk one night on the way home from work after he closed. I could tell from the second he got in the truck that it had been a bad night, but it took me almost half way home before he would tell me what happened. Such a good kid, but sometimes I wonder how much he keeps inside, or is he just that happy all the time. I hope he's just that way and doesn't keep things locked up. He has his license now and has been driving himself to work the last few weeks. It has been nice not staying up until midnight or later, but I also miss spending the time with him. We've had lots of good talks and fun singing and being silly together on the way to and from Syracuse over the last year. After the snow melts and icy roads aren't a problem we'll get him driving the mustang just in time for him to leave on his mission. Well, he'll have the spring and summer to drive it...and depending on when he goes, maybe some of the fall as well. Which brings me to his mission. The church lowered the age of missionaries to 18 for boys and 19 for girls this past October! What a huge thing! I think he had a mini panic attack when he heard, but it didn't take him very long to adjust his thinking and be ok again. The nice thing is that now they can go when they are ready, they don't HAVE to wait until they are 19, but can go when it works for them. We told Trev that as long as he was gone by the time he was 19...or at least had his papers in...then whenever he left was up to him. We'll get him graduated and go from there. I think he'll try to be gone by September..or at least his papers in by then. We'll just have to see what happens.