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 :)

Saturday, January 12, 2013

It's funny how I start thinking I want to talk about one thing and then don't make it to that subject. Last post I was going to talk about the week of the wedding and Doug coming home, but I never made it to that week. I did cover lots of things leading up to it, but not that week. Last summer was crazy though, so many things going on all summer. There wasn't a week that there wasn't something to do to get ready for the wedding or Doug. Thank goodness I had wonderful help from friends and family. I couldn't have done it without them for sure. Between Kate, Melissa, Karen, Kristin, and Kim, I kept my head on and got everything done. The biggest issue was that Sam was in Provo...good and bad to that....good that he and Natalya had not so much time to be together and have problems, but bad that there were many things that had to wait until he came up for a visit. And then his visits home were full of things he didn't want to do. Anyway, we spent Monday and Tuesday getting Doug's room clean and all his clothes pulled out, washed, and put away. The lawn mowed and yard cleaned up for Sunday, food cooked, and last minute things done. I'm sure there were more things to do, I think I've blocked most of it though out of self preservation. Wednesday we had a long list of things to do before we went to the airport and I think we got most of them done because I was geared up and ready to get my baby home. We picked up Natalya on the way down and then met Sam at the airport. Once we were there we went to the baggage claim area and found Sam. We located Doug's flight info and waited for his plane to get in. There was a huge group of people with balloons and signs waiting for their elders to get home which is always fun to see, but at the same time it was annoying. They were making it difficult for the people coming off the planes to get through and get to the baggage claim areas. So we hung back out of the way and I kept my eyes on the board waiting for it to say Doug's flight had landed. Once it did, I kept waiting for this big group of missionaries to come down the escalator, but they didn't come and didn't come. Plus, there were several planes that had landed close together so I didn't know when he would come and I kept expecting to have all the people in front of us see their missionaries first since they had been there long before we got there. All of the sudden there was Doug and one other elder half way down the escalator and I was clear on the other side of the room! I couldn't catch his eye, so I started moving over to get closer since there were so many people in the way. His companions family were there at the bottom waiting for them but it took me a minute to get over there. I didn't wait for the rest of the family either, I almost ran over there to get there as fast as I could. Finally he saw us and the relief was visible on his face. I'm sure it was only a minute or two, but it seemed much longer to me. After hugs for everyone except Natalya who got an awkward hand shake we got his luggage and headed back home. We had enough time to get to the house, bring luggage in, then head back to the stake center to meet with the Stake President. The traffic was horrible on the way home, but we were smart and took Legacy so we didn't have too much to deal with. Sam and Natalya were on the freeway and it was at a standstill for most of the way to Lagoon. Anyway, Jack decided to stay home and cook dinner (pizza of course) while I went with Doug to get released. Pres. Watson spent some time talking with Doug alone then he asked me to come in as well. It was heart wrenching to see my boy with tears in his eyes realize his service was over. Something that he loved with all his heart had come to an end. He was broken hearted at the ending of it and sitting in his chair happy to be hone and yet wishing he was still in Florida. Such conflict and emotion! Pres. Watson mentioned at least twice that it was time to take the name tag off, but it got ignored and other things were talked about for a couple of minutes, then finally Pres. Watson standing next to Doug's side kindly and loving reached over, took his tag off and tucked it in his shirt pocket. We were all crying at this point. It was so difficult to watch and yet in that moment there was such love and care from Pres. Watson it was almost tangible. I cry every time I think about it. I was so glad I was there to witness that. We came home and ate pizza, I think we played games...actually I think the boys played Risk and I watched a movie and fell asleep on the couch. It was hard to want to go to bed and say goodnight to everyone...I think we just wanted to be together as much as possible. Sam stayed at the house the rest of the week so that gave he and Doug some time to talk and spend time together before the wedding. Thursday was busy...welcome home Doug...now let's get your brother married! I'm not sure exactly what needed to be done that morning, but I'm sure we spent most of that day busy, busy, busy. At 4 we started loading up cars with stuff to decorate the gum and by 6 we were in full swing decorating and setting up. It took quite a bit of time to figure out how to hang the pom poms, balloons, and lanterns the way we wanted them. So that was a pain, but we got them up and then moved on to the tables and chairs. Karen, Baxter, and kids came, Kim and kids were there, Mom and Dad came along with Chuck and Heather. Conley and Daniel wanted to see Doug so they came over and visited with him while we decorated around them. Kate and Melissa were also there helping out like the super fantastic friends that they are. It took a couple of hours to get it all put together which was what I expected it to take so I wasn't unhappy when we left the church between 8 and 9. We had to be up early to get to Logan for the sealing so it was off to bed as soon as we got done. I almost felt bad for Doug getting shoved right into wedding stuff as soon as he walked in the door, but it kept him from going stir crazy from lack of things to do for the first week I think. He was busy from sun up til sun down the first 4 days he was home, so the transition back into regular life was easier than Sam's was I think. I think I'll save the wedding day for another day...lots to say and remember and after a long day at work I'm ready for bed!

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.

Monday, Feb 6, 2012

It's already Feb. and I'm still trying to get stuff done that needed to be finished in Jan. But I guess that's just the way it goes. Christen's shower is this Saturday! I wish I could say I felt good about where I am in the "getting stuff done" for it, but I'm not. I have made progress, but I'm sure Thurs and Fri will be spent doing nothing but shower stuff, that just seems to be the way I do things anymore. I am making these tissue paper pom poms that are so cute to hang from the ceiling. Melissa Andrus showed me how to make them a different way than I found on the internet and I love them. I'm doing white and different colors of pink. I'm also making different sizes to change it up a little and some small ones to put on the serving and eating tables. I think I'm going to try to come up with a couple of games just to have something else to do besides the quilt to tie. It should be fun. At least the food is assigned and taken care of..all I have to do is get some pink lemonade and the meat/cheese tray. I suppose I should shop for my gift at some point as well.
I have made no progress in finding a dress for the wedding. I have gone a couple of times to look, but it's still all winter colors so I have found nothing. I have also looked at some patterns since mom offered to help me sew something if I couldn't find anything to buy. I have had better luck finding patterns of dresses I like than actual dresses, so we'll see. Christen and I are going shopping on Wed. to see if we can find anything now that it's Feb. Hopefully the shops are starting to put out their spring clothes.
It also had worked out nicely to have Spencer and Christen go through the temple at the same time. They are going through Tues, the 14th! I can't think of a better way to spend Valentine's day! We are doing the 7 PM session, so we have to be there at 5:30. I'm not quite sure what to do with Trevor...maybe we'll leave him at Mom and Dad's house. But I'm glad that it worked out this way for Dad's sake. He is getting better and has managed to stay all 3 hours for church and he went through a temple session, so I'm hoping he will feel better enough to come.
Dad's radiation has stopped now as well as his chemo. He is still pretty sick and tired all the time, but he is improving. He's lost 45 pounds, but has kept his hair. His taste is still gone, but he is eating more each day. We haven't heard any news as far as whether or not his tests are clean yet. I'm not sure when those will come. He has an appointment Wed, so we'll see what they say. Here's to hoping for good news.

Friday, January 27, 2012

New Beginnings is finally over and I can breathe again. It feels good to have it done. The girls did a really nice job and I think the evening was a success overall. Our theme was the theme for mutual this year..."Arise and Shine Forth". We watched the video that they made with the song for the year and then one of L. Tom Perry introducing the theme. We had each of the Beehives take a part explaining the Young Women's program and Personal Progress. We decorated with lamps. We had all the girls bring their lamps from home and put them around the room on tables that had the value color tablecloths on them. We also had some luminaries in the closet that were in the value colors and we put those on the tables with the lamps and cookies. The cookies were sugar cookies with yellow and orange frosting and the theme in powdered sugar. We also told the girls they could bring something that they had done for Personal Progress to display if they wanted to. For the closing song we sang a song the girls were asked to learn for ward conference (this Sunday). We gave them each a battery operated candle to hold while we sang. I'm not sure what it looked like because I was behind them all and couldn't see, but they sounded good for the first time. We also didn't turn on any over head lights. The only light in the room was from the lamps the girls brought. It was really nice..Kate brought a couple of floor lamps to put on either side of the podium so there was plenty of light to see and read with. It was actually quite bright in there like that. The effect was nice though and it set a nice tone for the evening. It was also just the right length. We started a little after 7 and I was cleaned up and home by 8:45. It was perfect.
Now that's over I have 2 weeks to get Christen's shower going. Invitations are out and food assignments are made, now I just have to figure out decorations if any and how I'm going to get into the church that day. Maybe if there is a game that isn't too obnoxious, we'll do that. Alysa came over yesterday and we got started on the afghan so that makes me feel better about that and I'm getting close to being ready to backstitch on the cross stitch, so that's coming along nicely. We are sewing bridesmaid dresses tomorrow and hopefully we'll be able to finish those up. Thnigs are getting done and it's good.
We went shopping for Spencer last week. We got one suit, his long sleeved shirts, his slacks, socks, and belts. Yesterday we were able to go pick up his suit and slacks, it was fun to see him in them. We are now working on a date for him to go through the temple which is proving difficult. Between Sam's and Jack's schedule it is getting beyond ridiculous. It's time to get this taken care of. I'm calling the temple today and we're going to get it scheduled before I go to bed tonight. Christen is going through on the 14th, but Jack can't go then because of work, so we'll have 2 different sessions going probably in the same week for these two kids. Dumb, but the way it has to be.