He Heard me.

This week was a week of miracles. Life has been really good in the most important ways but also very hard for us in other ways for the past 7 months or so. I had begun to struggle a little with having hope that things would ever be easier for me and my little family. To fear that is very overwhelming and depressing. It seemed I'd rush through the day in a happy blur of activity and then at night when I actually got to sit down with my thoughts I often would just worry and pray and pray and pray for our welfare. I often felt the Spirit promise that everything would be taken care of but I was beginning to wonder how long we'd have to go on faith alone.

Then this week came. It was a busy busy week and I was going on it on not much more then faith and lots of hard work. I was stressed and praying a lot. And then things worked out so perfectly that I could not deny the Lord's hand in almost every step of my days. It was such a tender reminder to me that my Heavenly Father loves me very much and cares about my worries. I was reminded that when I need it the heavens will open and poor down blessings upon me. It was humbling and really comforting to know that sometimes we have to wait longer then we would like but the relief comes and blessings seem to magically appear. I am so glad that our Father in Heaven is kind and loves to give good gifts to his children.

I wanted to document His hand in my life this week when He took the time to remind me that He has heard every prayer I have whispered. I am so grateful for everything, absolutely everything.

A Change, a Return

There has been a big change in me the last two weeks. I have energy and drive again. Last night I told Stewart, "Remember when we thought the house would never be clean again and now look! It has been "clean" for two weeks now!" I'm back! I am so happy to feel more like myself again - sure I still feel pregnant and rather handicap but I feel like Emily. And with that it is official, I am totally nesting. This entire pregnancy I kept saying we aren't doing a thing for the baby until after Christmas but now I am stressing about my million item list of things to do that haven't been done that I cant help myself from starting now. But I am sure with all the holidays, running my business, starting another business, babysitting weekly, and keeping up with my house and the kids its a good thing to start now and do like one thing a week for the baby.

Yesterday when my doctor informed me that I needed to come back in three weeks and then I would be coming back every two weeks I sort of freaked out. I am getting to that point?!?!?! This pregnancy has been long but really fast too. I have this fear that she will come early like Angie and so I am wanting to be on top of things just in case. Also, when I look in the mirror I always do a double take besides the fact that this is my fattest pregnancy ever....my tummy is getting big like there is a ball in my shirt big and I sort of wonder how I got to this point already.

So there you have it! I am pregnant but have energy again and thus I am starting to nest!

The End

Just Another Manic Monday

I wanted to capture a Monday in my life so that is five well, maybe more like ten years, I can think of how much time has changed things and remember this fun busy time of life. So here is my rather boring but still very telling play by play of my manic Monday. :)

PS I am having problems with blogger so I apologize for the funky formatting!

6: 50 am - say hello and goodbye to the husband and process his request to do some budgeting - do budgeting, not completely depressing, we have a plan it isn't the greatest plan but it nonetheless is a plan.

- check my Facebook, leave a comment and call my mom to make sure I am spelling a lady's name I am using in the comment correctly. We make fun of me for doing that and then I get to hear the update on life at home. It makes me feel homesick.

- get clothes on, say hello to Angeli as she jumps on my bed, ask her to help me make pancakes.

- make pancakes since we are out of milk and cant have cereal, I make them from scratch even with homemade buttermilk syrup - yes, think wow! ;) Say good morning to my groggy eyed boys. Have fun with the kids as they take turns pouring funny shapes on the griddle.

- eat very yummy pancakes with the kids. They all seem to be in heaven as they devour their food and exclaim, "This is the yummiest breakfast ever!"

- start to do the dishes when Benjamin picks up Bridger's plate as they are fighting, over who knows what, and he inadvertently pours syrup all over his head and blanket. Give him a big hug as he feels humiliated that he did such a thing when he was trying to be cool in front of his big brother and sister. Help him into the bath while the big kids decide they want to jump in too.

- Start the laundry...sort, load.

- finish up dishes

- get kids out of bath and have them do their morning chart: dressed, brush teeth, brush hair,... feel impressed with how self sufficient they are getting and how cute they look when all groomed.

- get the kids up to the table to do their homework. Benjamin has a break down because he doesn't have a folder too. I realize he needs his daily dose of Tylenol since he is in fact teething and rather miserable. Get him a folder and then deal with the melt down that the folder is not a blue folder. Tell Bridger and Angeli to be extra nice to Benjamin today because he wants to be as big as them but still has a little bit of baby in him and because he is feeling sick. They show signs of sympathy and agree.

- Finish kids homework, start another load, and talk to a girlfriend on the phone about not making it on our group walk thing this morning. Try to help Benjamin understand that I have to wash his blanket because it is sticky with syrup. Give up and put Nemo on to distract him.

- 10:13 start this blog post and decide what I am going to do next....I decide to start my dreaded sanding. Have Benjamin ask if he can paint his nails as he sees my red nail polish sitting on my computer desk next to me as I type. I tell him no so he starts to complain so I talk to him about why I said no. Doesn't help things. I pull out the cool Halloween snacks I bought and have been excited to give the kids to distract him. This only works until he is done with his snacks and he comes back in to ask for more and sees the nail polish again. bummer. let him paint one nail. then he screams at me when I wont let him hold the nail polish. I Explain why not and he just cries. I cuddle him.

- get a call about my babysitting job I do on Tuesday and Thursdays. Make a few more calls sorting out babysitting and the doctors appointment I have tomorrow while I will be babysitting.Get asked to babysit on Friday for two people and I except.

10: 50 am - realize I now cant sand because I have to get Bridger to speech and preschool. Load the kids up drive 2 minutes up the hill. Drop Bridger off, say hi to the super cute ladies that run the school, and head back home.

- unload the kids. marvel at the beauty of our Fall weather. It rained all yesterday so everything is sparkling and fresh.

-Decide I will take pictures of the kids.

-Decide to pick the weeds out of my flower bed.

-Play in our leaves.

-See our leaf bug that has been living at our house lately.

- Feel really really happy sitting in the leaves with the kids.

- Give Angeli a job to help me prune my flowers. she loves it and does it so carefully, as only a little girl would.

- the pictures: (these would have been better but I didn't realize that the kids had gotten their little finger prints on my lens. I kept playing with the settings to see what was wrong... I should have known.)


That pink flower was the little seedling Bridger grew in preschool and gave me for Mother's day. Look how big and beautiful it is now!

Here is our pet leaf bug that has been living in our yard for over a week now. I think he is missing a leg and so he is staying put. I keep not raking our leafs because I am afraid I might kill him on accident.

-Switch the laundry. Check some emails I need to check. Send emails I decide I want to send. Worry about when I will get to do my glucose lab test this week.

12:00 - Set up my sanding. Realize it is time to feed the kids lunch, then wonder if I will ever get to sand. Make them wash their hands and then settle the fight over who gets to say the prayer.

- Run to the restroom for the fortieth time this morning realizing we are down to our last roll and add it to my shopping list for today.

-Check the laundry.

- Finally head outside to sand. Say a prayer it goes fast! I have got to get us to the store and back before Bridger needs to get picked up.

1:00 - finish my sanding quickly. :O) load my kiln and get it firing. Change my clothes and freshen up. Load the kids up as fast as possible into the car and head to do my errands.

- Run to Target realize they don't have what I want and so I buy things I wasn't planning to. darn.

-Run to my girl friend's house to lend her my baby bouncer and barrow a Halloween costume for Angeli. Love having great friends.

- Then run to Walmart and buy a few essentials plus our FHE treat of caramel and apples so we can make that fall treat after our lesson and game. Pick up the prints to put in our frames on our family room wall to replace the new born pics of Benjamin. Race to get Bridger.

3:35 -Pick Bridger up ten minutes late. That is one of those things that really makes me feel like a bad mom. He was the last one to leave the school grounds. ugh. hate that. Set a goal to not do it again if I can help it.

- get home unload our shopping bags, realize I will have to run to our used kids clothes store to see if they have a better deal on the stuff I bought at Target because I know Stewart will want me to return all of it. Think about how I hate being this poor. Clean up after lunch and get the dishwasher loaded.

- Put on Angeli's new bedding set on her bed, decide it was a good deal off of the clearance rack. It looks cute and now I want a set for all the kids. I remember how I always thought toddler beds were so lame and realize I am now committing to having three of them all at once! I realize we will have to buy our fourth crib mattress before this baby comes. FOUR! Who has four crib mattresses?!??! Life.

- Start feeling really tired. Wonder what on earth I will do for dinner and Family Home Evening. My veins are hurting and I realize I should lay down and put up my legs but I am afraid if I do I will fall asleep. So I plan dinner instead and get it going.

- 5:45 Stewart gets home. The kids greet him with squeals and hugs. They show him Angeli's new bedding set, Bridger shows him the Yoda he made out of an apple and paper towel (really good actually). I show him what I bought the kids and he gives that look.

- Then I get dinner all finished: chili, corn bread, and salad. Sit up and eat. I realize I made way too much corn bread - Stewart is dieting so he fits in his old mission suit for his residency interviews. Way to go Stew! But seriously what am I going to do with all that corn bread.

- Put the new prints in our frames on our wall. Realized I should have gotten to it like a year ago since the pictures I am replacing the older ones with are over a year old. Whatever! I have hanging picture issues. Stewart tells me he likes them. It makes me feel good.

- Then we get the kids ready for a nighttime jog and we load them up in the stroller decked out with hot chocolate and blankets to keep them warm. Stewart and I do our 1.7 something run around our neighborhood. While we run Stewart tells me all about his day. I realize I am getting slower and he is getting faster. Benjamin totally falls a sleep, poor guy never got a nap today.

- Then we do our FHE about being obedient like Nephi was in getting the brass plates from wicked Laban. The kids love it and Bridger and Angeli perform several made up songs about doing what is right. It is pretty adorable.

- We all gather around the table for our FHE treats. Only Dad and Angie eat the apples and caramel and the rest of us opt for left over rootbeer floats. I can hardly walk I am so tired and hurting.

- Then I do the dishes while Stewart gets the kids ready for bed. We say one last prayer and get them all in bed and I realize I never read to them today. Shoot. But they aren't asleep yet so I can squeeze it in. I guess that is good.

- I read them Snow White and can hardly keep from yawning every two minuets.

- Now I am feeling like I might die of exhaustion while I am typing this up and I face folding the four loads of laundry that are sitting on my bed to be folded. Maybe that can wait until tomorrow. :)

Well, there you have it! A day in my life, just another manic Monday!

Starting Preschool: Bridger and Angeli

Our little Elementary School's preschool had a later start this year and so the kids finally got to start school this week. I am really excited for them. I am grateful they get such a great preschool experience and that it is FREE. Major blessings. Bridger gets to go four times a week and Angeli gets to go twice - having good relationships with teachers and secretaries really pays off when there is a long waiting list. ;) I was a little nervous for them with it being such big change of pace but they jumped in so well and are loving it.

Here is our big boy on his first day.This is his superman pose. ;) Oh, it makes me laugh.

We sure love this kid. He loves school and I think it is mostly for all the social interaction he gets there. He adores his teacher and will do almost anything to please her. With Angeli coming along now too he feels like the big kid on campus and takes great care to teach her how things go at school. I hope this year he gets all ready for Kindergarten next year. He is not one to want to memorize anything! He hates it. He much rather be off playing some imaginary game like Star Wars, Narnia, prince and princess, or what have you then much anything else. I hope his teacher can motivate him to care a little bit more about letters and numbers. With him it has always been as easy as pie if he cares, if he doesn't care it just wont happen. I'm hoping this year he will start to care little bit more. :O)

And here is our little lady on her first day of school.

She has been growing up so much lately. I am so excited for her to have all these new experiences and see what she does with them. I think it will be so good for her to go outside her comfort zone and be pushed a little to learn new things in a completely new way. Having her big brother there is such a comfort for her when she feels shy. Thank goodness they are so close together - they are the perfect balance for each other.

So there you have the cutest kids that ever starting preschool! I love them like crazy and I am so grateful I have them as my own!