Playing Catch Up

I found some funny pictures on my camera that never made it on the blog so it is time to play catch up.

First, Tiffany came over a few nights ago to give the boys haircuts and poor Aspen was sooo tired he was falling asleep in the chair. It was just funny and Dallas hasn't seen these pictures so here you go.

Secondly, one Sunday afternoon while I was at choir, the kids got together and put on a fashion show. Here are the final products. Can you say black mail?

Third, I am trying to upload a funny video I found on my camera. For whatever reason, blogger is having difficulty with it but hopefully I can get it on soon.

I have the best husband! Even though I was out of town for our anniversary last weekend and we didn't get to see each other, Dallas thought of me. I was having a busy day running errands with five children on Monday and I came home to the most beautiful flowers. It made my day! Just knowing he was thinking of me meant the world to me.

It has been almost a month that he has been working out of town and I have seen him for about a day and a half during that time. The novelty has worn off and I am starting to miss him. We know it is for the best and are so extremely grateful that he has a job in this market that I would never ever dare complain about him being out of town. The time apart just makes me all the more greatful for the time we do get to spend together. I am one very lucky girl.

(#1 Dallas)

Mom's Surgery

Mom had her shoulder surgery yesterday and all seems to be going well. The doctor was not able to correct things orthoscopically so they ended up doing it the old fashioned way and cutting her open. Once he got inside her shoulder he noticed there were injuries suffered a while back and the fall was kind of like the last straw. Her muscles have been torn for some time now without her knowing it. That makes sense though, because when she leads the music in sacrament meeting, her arm always hurts by the end of the meeting. She assumed it was arthritis but now we know it has been her torn muscles that were hurting, not her joints.

Mom came home yesterday afternoon and has been drugged up ever since. A medical supply company came and delivered two machines- an ice and compression machine and an electrical stimuation machine. She goes back into the doctor on the 17th to have her arm examined and to have the stitches removed.

In the mean time, she is still in a lot of pain. She is on some strong tylenol with codine and is supposed to take it every 4-5 hours but she starts hurting at about 2 and a half. Last night she was pretty miserable and slept sitting straight up in her recliner as any other position hurt too bad. This morning she is sitting on the couch and looks a little better but plans on sleeping most of the day away (at least until the pain wakes her back up anyway).

Poor thing. I wish there were more I could do for her. She is in good spirits though and is confidant this surgery will help her gain more movement in her arm. Tonight will be better than last night, I am sure and as the week goes on she will only get better.

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, phone calls and visits. Even though she isn't always awake when someone calls or comes by, it does make her feel good when I tell her a friend or sibling called.

Favorite Scripture

As a mother, there are two scripture stories that are my all time favorites. One gives me strength to face impossible challenges and one gives me strength to keep going day after day in teaching my children about Jesus Christ and the principles he lived.

First, the story of baby Moses. This story holds a tender place in my heart when I think about the heart wrenching decision Moses' mother made to send her baby floating down the river in hopes of saving his life. How many prayers must she have sent up in behalf of her son! She certainly was torn by the fact that other babies- her friends' babies- were being killed. I imagine she was moved to tears when her daughter came to fetch her to nurse Moses after the princess found him in the reeds. While she was able to raise him and care for him, she still couldn't have him all to herself. I can't imagine what it must have been like to hand over your baby to another person to raise. Moses' mother gives me strength to know that I too can overcome impossible paths with God's help and I can remember that everything happens for a purpose, even if I can't see it at the moment.

The second story keeps me going on days when I just can't wake up early to read scriptures or when I mess up and allow teachable moments to slip away because I wasn't listening to the spirit to recognize what my children needed at that particular instant. The story is about a group of 2000 young men who agreed to go to war. (see side bar) None of them had ever fought before but they were confidant that if they were faithful, God would protect them. When asked how they knew that, they replied that their mothers had taught them. They leaned on the testimonies of their mothers until they were able to stand on their own. Then when they did stand, they were strong and valiant warriors! Am I as good of a mother as those mothers? Are my children strong enough to be warriors? In my mind, I could always do better, try a little harder, go a little further. I always make mistakes, but in the end, I hope my children can look back and say their testimonies are strong because they learned about Jesus Christ at home with their mother.

Aspen's Birds and the Bees

Just a funny story...

We were on the way home from Vegas this past weekend when I put in the movie Milo and Otis for the boys to watch. My mom asked what it was about and Aspen said, "It is about a dog and a cat laying babies." I know what he meant but it was still funny.

Another funny little comment made while we were on our trip was by Aiden. We were leaving the church and Aiden saw a piece of trash on the floor so he picked it up without being asked and threw it away. When he was finished he turned around and in his best English accent said, "Why, I'm a jolly good chap." I have no idea where that came from but it hit me funny when he said it and gave me the giggles.

Wedding

My mom, the boys and I all went to Las Vegas this past weekend to see my nephew Kyle get married. It was a fast trip- up on Saturday and home on Sunday but it was fun. Kyle's new bride seems very sweet and I think they will be good for one another. We were also there to see Trista's baby, Barrett, blessed by Curtis in church Sunday morning before we left. It was good to see everyone again.

Gotta Love Kids

If you are a parent, you know that when you hear a ton of laughter at a time that you wouldn't expect laughter, there is usually some sort of mess being made. Tonight at our home was no different. I had told the boys to hit the showers after soccer practice and playing at the park. A few minutes later I hear uncontrollable laughter eminating from the bathroom. I walked in to find Ash singing "This is the Be-st Day E-ver". He had gotten into my cotton balls, soaked them in the water and was tossing them onto the ceiling in the shower then both of the boys would laugh themselves silly.

I told him to get dressed then clean up the mess but he obviously couldn't reach the cotton balls already stuck to the ceiling so I was helping him sweep them off. Of course they couldn't just fall to the ground. Oh no. They were so filled with water that when I swatted them down with a broom (12 foot ceilings= me on my toes, swinging a broom wildly over my head) they splattered onto the wall causing even more uncontrollable laughter.

Some of you may remember an incident similar to this a few months ago. When I reminded the boys about it they corrected me saying "No Mom, that time we used toilet paper. This time he used cotton balls." Silly me for confusing the two.

Halloween Party

We went to our ward Trunk or Treat party this evening. We had a blast! Our costumes turned out great and the kids ran around with all their friends all evening. I am so glad we have a good size ward filled with fun and active people. It makes church and socials things to look forward to (not that you go to church only for social reasons, but it makes it nicer when everyone is friendly and outgoing).

I am officially in the egg business now. We went to Superstition Farm today and sold our first batch of eggs. If you haven't been there, it is a cute little dairy (little? it has 1000 cows) with cows and other barn yard animals. All of my daycare children were able to feed the animals and walk around the farm. The staff is super friendly and we all had a good time. There is a quaint country store there with all sorts of farm themed products and NOW it has eggs from the Brimhall family. Well, our chickens anyway. No matter how hard I squeeze them, I can't get eggs out of my kids.

While I was there Casey, the owner, told me he and a buddy had just opened up a new ice cream and dessert store on Warner and Val Vista called Udder Delights. We haven't tried it yet but it sounds fun.

http://www.superstitionfarmtours.com/Tours.html

Alexis, Alma the Younger and Obama

I was in the car with Alexis today after taking my daycare children home and she asked me, "Mom, can people change overnight or does it take a long time?" Unsure of why she would ask a question like that I said it depended on the person and the type of change. I reminded her of Alma the younger and his friends who were going about trying to convince others that Christ was not real and causing a lot of trouble in their city when an angel came down and struck them to the ground. I reminded her that those men were changed in an instant after a visit with the angel but there are others of us who struggle with the same personal trials throughout our entire life because we can't change our habits.

Alexis thought about it for a moment and said, "I don't think even an angel could change Obama." hehehe. I must be doing something right....

Weekend Update

Whew! The primary program is finally over. If you were there on Sunday, I think you will agree with me that it was great! All of the kids were amazing- they sang, they remembered their parts and they were reverent through the entire program. Quite a feat considering there were 150 kids ages 4-11 sitting in the choir loft without their parents. I couldn't be prouder of them and we received numerous compliments that just made my day.

Dallas is doing good at the mine. He now has access to the internet so I will let him write his own posts about all the happenings there.

This weekend we worked on Halloween costumes. Alexis' turned out perfectly. She came to me last week and told me she wanted to be a toilet. A toilet?! In the end we cut a hole in a box for her head and painted it white. I then bought a toilet seat and toilet handle at Home Depot. We got a white pillow case and glued it to the bottom of the toilet seat so when she lifts the lid people can drop the candy in the toilet. It turned out pretty cute. Aiden is going to be a headless ghoul, Aspen a puppy dog, Ash is Frankenstein and Amanda is going as a man. I am going as a fat old lady with a puppy dog stuck between my backside cheeks. There is a Lost Dog sign that I carry too. Pretty funny!

Other events coming up:
We can't wait for the ward trunk or treat party. It is a chili dinner and should be a lot of fun.

On Saturday the boys and I are going to Las Vegas with my mom so we can be there for Kyle's wedding. It is always fun to get out of town but I do wish it were a different city we were going to. I hate Vegas. However, Kyle has found a wonderful girl and I am so happ for them! I wouldn't want to miss the wedding.

Of course, we can't forget Dallas and and my anniversary this Saturday. It has been twelve years that we have been married. What a lucky girl I am!! Kind of funny that he stays home while I go to Vegas on our anniversary, but that is just how it turned out. Sorry hun. It doesn't seem like we have been together 12 years, I guess that is a good thing. He is the sweetest husband ever and I am so blessed to be married to him.

Last but not least, my birthday is on Saturday! Yahoo!! Break out the cake! hahaha.

56 Men

Freedom is not free! Watch this short video to be reminded of what the 56 signers of our Constitution sacrificed in order for us to have the right to vote this November. http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1352578267?bctid=1749436976

Truck Driving it is

Dallas went on his first ride along in the trucks yesterday. He said he didn't think anything of it- didn't scare him, worry him or anything. That's my man! hahaha. One thing he did tell me was that if you agree to drive a haul truck they pretty much assign you to that because not many people are willing to do it. So, unless something drastic happens, that will be his assignment for the next six months.

If you haven't ever seen one of the trucks, this may give you an idea: The driver cannot see the first 35 feet in front of him, 150 feet to the right and he can't see behind the truck for 50 feet. There are designated roads only the haul trucks can drive on for safety and if there happens to be a haul truck in another part of the mine, the haul truck ALWAYS has the right of way, simply because he can't see you to wait for you.

My boys are so excited to hear he is driving the truck and can't wait to go see it. There is a lot of coolness factor in it for a little boy to say "My dad's truck can crush YOUR dad's truck!"

Wendyology

My friend tagged me with this so here you go:

* * FOODOLOGY * *
What is your salad dressing of choice? Italian normally but Thousand Island when I splurge
What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? YC's
What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? Cold cereal
What are your pizza toppings of choice? pepperoni
What do you like to put on your toast? my homemade strawberry jam

* * TECHNOLOGY * *
What is your wallpaper on your computer? Hu?
How many televisions are in your house ? 1
What color cell phone do you have? Red

* * BIOLOGY * *
Are you right - handed or left- handed? Right
Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Kids
What is the last heavy item you lifted? weights
Have you ever been knocked unconscious? No

* * BULLCRAPOLOGY * *
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? Yes, and everyone I love would be invited to be there.
Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $ 1000? Yes

* * DUMBOLOGY * *
How many pairs of flip flops do you own? 1
Last time you had a run- in with the cops? a few months ago on my way to Heather Solomon's house to deliver hot dogs to the scouts
What did you want to be when you grew up? Veterinarian, astronaut, teacher, Radio City Rockett
Last person you hugged? Haley

* * FAVORITOLOGY * *
Season? Fall
Holiday? Thanksgiving
Day of the week? Saturday

* * CURRENTOLOGY * *
Missing someone? Yes
Mood? Good
Listening to? the kids playing
Watching? the kids playing
Worrying about? Finding Dallas a place to live

**I tag all my family & friends!! **

Housing Needed

Dallas and I have been looking for a place for him to live near the mine now for a week and have not had much luck. There have been a couple places who have availability but the owners have had piercings in their lips, the apartment has no running water or other oddities. We have one more week to find a place. If anyone knows family or friends in Safford, Thatcher, Morenci or surrounding areas that would like to earn a little extra money by renting a bedroom to him, or might know of other openings, please have them call Dallas. His cell phone number is (480) 326-9194.

Thanks!

More Chickens on the Way

Yesterday I posted that we had extra eggs and today I ordered 25 more chickens. Am I crazy? No. I met a man who runs a country store in Mesa who is having difficulty keeping enough farm fresh eggs in stock and he is looking for another supplier. He told me he would purchase as many eggs as I could supply for him. I don't really think I will be making a whole lot on the deal but I have just really fallen in love with chickens and enjoy raising them. It has been an entire year now and the novelty has not worn out one bit. I find myself staying out there longer than I should every day, avoiding the chores that await me inside the house. Normally my chickens are a pretty quiet bunch (now that the rooster is gone) so when the weather is nice I enjoy just sitting on the wall outside their coop and watching them walk around, eat and lay their eggs. My newbies will be arriving November 19th, perfect timing because that is about when Tom is coming inside for Thanksgiving.

Eggs Eggs Eggs

We got rid of our rooster this past week and moved one of the turkeys to another pen. Those two must have been stressing my birdies out because today I went out to find 12 eggs! I can't keep up with the 7-8 they were laying a day before and I KNOW I can't use a dozen eggs a day. Throw in the fact that I want to buy some Auracanas (for the blue eggs) and I am going to be swimming in eggs.

If anyone would like to start buying my extra eggs that would be great! I think the going rate for fresh eggs is $2.00 a dozen but if you have coupons for the store, I will take that price too. Right now I would like to start selling about 1-2 dozen a week. If I find I am still overloaded I will sell more. Any takers?

Pantry Swap

I know it may sound weird, but I LOVE the look of a full pantry. Knowing that my family is prepared for the lean years or emergencies brings me peace of mind. When Dallas was out of work for a while we were glad we had chosen EARLIER to follow the prophet's council to store a year's supply of food. Throughout this past year we have had to pull from our storage a LOT, giving me a chance to see what my family will and won't eat from our storage. (No, they won't eat cracked wheat, no matter how often I serve it to get used to the taste, powdered milk is stricktly for baking- not drinking, and you can NEVER mask the taste of flour from the cannery)

With that in mind, I wonder if anyone else who has a food storage would like to trade a few items. Perhaps we have things you need and you have items we want. Here's my list:

I have extra of:

wheat, red (yes, I know you are supposed to save it. But honestly, we have more than enough)

wheat, white

quick rolled oats

dried refried beans (these are yummy!)

Potato Pearls (I can eat them in an emergency but I prefer fresh so mine aren't getting rotated)

Rice

Dried Carrots(cannery)-no trade required. No date stamp on them and I don't want to try them.

Dried Onion (cannery)- see comment on carrots

Bottled Tomatoes

Tomato Sauce

What I would like:

Canned vegetables

Canned fruit

Canned tuna

Shortening

First Day on the Job

Dallas completed his first day at the mine today. I spoke with him after work and he said all went well. This first week is just orientation and on Friday he will actually go into the mine for the first time. After this week he will spend the next three months training for the different positions within the mine, finally deciding on a position by the end of the three months. They allow him to decide what he would like to do and match that with needed positions within the mine.

As for housing, a friend of ours has graciously allowed him to stay at his apartment for a couple weeks until he can find a place to live. There are a few different options he is exploring and we should know more later.

We survived okay without Dallas here the first night. Aiden got to speak with him on the phone this evening. We are excited to see him again on Friday.

Photo Shoot

It was a long time in coming (five years), but we finally had our family pictures taken. For whatever reason, Aspen and Ash didn't ever like their pictures taken so would kick and scream whenever we tried. Then when Amanda came she wouldn't stand near us or smile for photos so we have just avoided the camera for the past five years. Happy day now though because we had them taken last night and everyone is still friends, I don't have bruises on my shins from getting kicked and the photographer still has her hair. :-) Take a look at the side bar on the right for a few of the shots (I know some still need to be cropped so just use your imagination).

Are the planets aligned or what?

For those of you who REALLY know our family, I have to tell you about the biggest shock to hit us this week or even this year. Just moments ago Dallas came into the kitchen to tell me he needed to go to the parts store to pick up some things for the van. Amanda heard him and asked, "Can I go?" My mouth literally fell open (luckily she didn't see). ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?! She willingly asked to go in a car, alone, with Dallas to the store- knowing full well there wasn't anything in it for her, knowing I wasn't going, knowing they weren't going to do anything else fun or anything. She simply WANTED to go with Dallas to the store. OH MY GOSH!! This is huge! This is definately a different girl than we brought home from Ukraine two years ago. THAT girl didn't trust Dallas enough to sit in the same room as him, she wouldn't look in his direction or acknowledge when he spoke to her. Days like this make me think we are getting somewhere and that this may actually work.

Fall in Phoenix

I live for this time of year! The weather is so incredibly nice that we feel compelled to spend as much time outdoors as possible, especially when the kids are out of school. Yesterday we went to the park with some women and their kids whom I met through PTO. Today I am thankful for good friends and good weather.

Phoenix Zoo

My favorite time of year is the fall because the weather is so beautiful. We kind of have a tradition of visiting the Phoenix Zoo every fall when the weather changes. Yesterday I took the kids and we had a great time. They have a new playground area with a cave, waterfalls and slides. It was a perfect day.

Vacation

I spoke with Dallas last night and he said they were having a great time on vacation. They went fishing on Wednesday and caught some crawdads. Even though they didn't catch any trout, the kids had fun on their first fishing trip. Each child had their own fishing poles. Aspen and Ash got the cool poles that are like guns, shooting the line out into the water. FYI- they break easily- don't buy them. Aspen called to tell me he only got to shoot it twice before Ash broke both poles. Amanda caught most of the crawdads. I will post some cute pictures of the fishing trip on here when they return home.

After the fishing they drove up to the ranch and stayed the night with Grandpa and Grandma. Dallas' nephew, Carson, was there as well. He has a couple weeks before his mission and wanted to see Grandpa and Grandma before he left. Our kids always have fun at the ranch- just running around, collecting pine cones and indian pottery, playing with the pigs, petting the horses, getting dirty- things all kids should do during the summer. Grandpa is putting up a porch on the back of the house and asked Dallas to stay and help him an extra day but I haven't heard if they are going to or not yet.

Dallas did say the kids have been really really REALLY good on this trip. There have been no fights and they have played and enjoyed each other the entire time. The most amazing thing to see has been Amanda and Aspen becoming friends. Dallas said it is almost like they are buddy-buddy. He told me he can't count the number of times Amanda has said, "Aspen, look at this!" or "Aspen, do you want to play?" It has been reciprocated from Aspen as well. The two of them have become good friends. Isn't it amazing what a simple family vacation or fishing trip can do sometimes?

You may think I'm harping

If I offend any of my friends with this, I am sorry, but I feel strongly about prop 102 and I have a few more things to say about it.

I found a video that does a good job of explaining how same sex marriages WILL affect the average family in America. You may want to watch it. http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1352578267/bctid1784521903

It is no longer a matter of "what happens in your house will not affect me." If same sex marriage is legalized, it will then follow that schools can teach it as normal in schools. I personally do not want my children learning that with my tax payer money!

It also threatens religious freedom. In some states, the Catholic church has been forced to discontinue their adoption services. The gay rights groups have demanded the Catholic church quit discriminating against same sex couples in the adoption process, so, rather than adopt to same sex couples, NO adoptions will be perfomed through this reputible agency. How horrible! NO children will be adopted through the Catholic Adoption Services because other people have differing lifestyle views? What will be next? Will they be forced to allow gay priests into the clergy to avoid discrimination as well? Will they be forced to recognize and perform same sex marriages? I think of my own religion and temple. The wedding ceremony is so simple and beautiful as a man and woman kneel down across from one another at an alter. To imagine it desecrated by two men holding hands over it or two women being sealed together makes me physically sick to my stomach. We can't let that happen. Please spread the word.

If this were a simple matter of allowing gay couples to have a wedding ceremony, I would not be concerned. However, when THEIR behavior begins to affect MY children's education and how I want to worship, I have a big problem with that.

Ash learning about the penny

I forgot to post a funny story that happened at parent teacher conference. Ash's teacher said they were learning about the penny one day when she showed them the front of it and asked, "Who is this?" Someone said "Abraham Lincoln". They talked about him for a little while then they turned the penny over and she again asked, "What is this?" Ash boldly shouted out, "That's the Mormon Temple!" The teacher said there were other LDS kids in the class and they all started talking "Oh yeah, it is!" or "I went to the temple to see the Christmas lights." and "I saw the Easter Pagent" then "My sister got married in the temple", things like that. She said all the LDS kids got talking and comparing stories and she had a hard time getting the class back on track enough to tell them it was not the Mormon Temple but the Lincoln Memorial. Thanks for the disruption, Ash. I guess my religious training of the kids has overshadowed the American History training. Oops, one more parenting skill I need to brush up on.

Grandma Bond Fell

This morning about 7am, Aspen came in the house and casually said, "Mom, Grandma wants you." I asked where she was and he told me she was sitting on the driveway holding her arm. Then he ran off to play as if nothing were wrong. I ran outside to see what had happened and sure enough, my mom was sitting on the driveway crying because she had fallen and couldn't move her arm. She told me she tripped and fell and had been out there for about ten minutes face down and couldn't even roll over. Her biggest fear was that one of my daycare parents or one of my children would find her lying face down on the drive way and think she was dead. Her second biggest fear was that she had broken her brand new glasses. Isn't it funny what runs through your head? By the time I reached her she had been able to sit up but that was all she could do.

I called 911 and an ambulance and firetruck showed up a few minutes later. They checked her out and decided to take her to the hospital. I left most of my daycare children with Dallas, Amanda and Alexis while the baby and I followed the ambulance to the hospital. They ran tests and took some xrays. Thankfully, nothing was broken but she is very very bruised up and extremely sore. She can't move her arm a bit, she sprained a rib, banged up her knees and hurts everywhere. She completely fell-literally- flat on her face so everything just hurts all over.The doctor sent her home with some pain medicine and told her to lay off the high jumps and limbo for a while. I am just glad she is okay.

Fun Weekend

This past weekend was completely crazy busy but it was also a lot of fun.

Friday morning Alexis and Aiden both received awards at school. Aiden received "High Honors" for getting 90-95% on all of his school work and Alexis received a citizenship award along with "Principal's List" for receiving 95-100% on all her school work. Way to go!

Friday evening Aspen went to a birthday party for a classmate. I went a few minutes early to pick him up and noticed the poor dad was running around doing the party alone- the child's mom wasn't there. The dad told me the mom was in the hospital because she ust delivered a baby that morning. They didn't cancel the party because they didn't know who the boy had invited. He had just handed out invitations at school. I began talking to another gentleman there and found out he lives in Safford and works at the same mine Dallas just got a job with. I had an interesting conversation with him. They also know my aunt, uncle and cousin who live in Safford. Small world.

Saturday we had soccer games. Aiden scored his first goal of the season. They won 9-1. Alexis was voted player of the game. Awesome!

After soccer we raced to another birthday party at Polar Ice in Gilbert. What fun! Alexis had a blast with her friends and while Aiden and Ash didn't get to skate, they enjoyed the Zamboni. What boy wouldn't?

Aspen enjoyed the day fixing the car with Dad. He loves working with his hands and figuring things out. Dallas does too so they are great together on things like that. The highlight for Aspen was going to the salvage yard. What a treat!

Sunday Alexis and I decorated cupcakes to look like cats with fishbones on their bellies. I think they turned out adorably. What do you think? They were a lot easier than they look.

Today we are packing the kids up because they are going to the mine with Dallas tomorrow. After he is doing with his testing and meetings, they are going fishing and whatever else they can find to do up in the mountains. They won't be back until Thursday evening. YAHOO!! I get three days to myself. Anyone up for a girl's night out?

Yes for Marriage

There is an Arizona constitutional ammendment on the ballot coming up that is very important. It is a clear and simple proposition (only 21 words) that will ensure judges do not end up defining what a marriage is. We NEED this ammendment passed to help protect marriages from being "redefined".

This proposition only defines marriage. It does not grant tax benefits or anything else for anyone- it simply allows us as Arizonans to define marriage instead of leaving that up to the judges. Unfortunately, California passed numerous laws protecting marriage but 4 judges came in and wiped all that out by claiming their constitution did not define marriage. They took it upon themselves to define marriage as a union between any two people who love each other. What's next? Any three people who love each other? Any ten people who love each other? Any adult and any child? Any person and their dog? We can't let that happen! We need to ammend our own constitution so a few judges can't take on that responsibility themselves.

One thing we have learned in having Amanda in our family is the absolute need for children to be raised with a loving father and mother. She has so many inner struggles with relationships that I cannot even begin to put them on this blog. However, one trend we have noticed is that without growing up witnessing a loving father and mother, she has been left unable to form healthy relationships with both men and women. Don't misunderstand me, children can grow up to be good members of our society with only one parent (I did). But for society as a whole, children need both a father and a mother to keep them balanced and happy. It is more than needing two people who love you. It is about having a male role model and a female role model, working together to compliment one another's strengths, the way God intended it from the beginning.

Once again, I am not eloquent with words so please check out their website for more information. Even if you don't agree with me, check out their website and see for yourself just what this ammendment will do and what it won't so you can make your own decision. yesformarriage.com

Parent/Teacher Conferences

It is Friday! The thing that is making me the happiest about today is the fact that we are almost through with this flu bug that infected my family. Aspen, Aiden, Ash and Dallas have all been sick this week. I keep waiting for Alexis to get it-should today or tomorrow if she follows the pattern. Luckily the next two weeks are fall break so we can all recoop.

We had parent/teacher conferences yesterday. Everyone had great things to say about out kids- Aspen is friendly and encourages his table to be quiet, Alexis is quiet in class and is getting straight A's, Aiden is a big helper and great in school and Ash is, well, I was was told Ash was a "free spirit". hmmm.. A free spirit? What exactly is a free spirit? His teacher told me he is completely respectful, kind and sweet but that if he doesn't feel like following directions he will do his own thing very calmly and quietly. For example, if the kids are supposed to be writing his numbers and he doesn't want to, he will just color. When called on it he is sad he got in trouble but will continue to color. Also, this week it was his turn to be the helper and review the calendar with the other children. He knew all his colors and shapes perfectly. Yet when the teacher called him to test him one on one, he said he didn't know any of the shapes. Again, very polite but simply said, "No, I don't know that one." Finally, when he was counting to 100 for her, he decided to stop at 59 (he CAN go all the way to 100). She asked him if he wanted to try to go on and he quietly said, "No thank you. I am finished." No amount of prodding could get him to go to 100. It is as if he just doesn't see the value in "performing". If he doesn't want to do it, then there IS no reason to do it. Taking a test or proving that he knows something is not reason enough for him to do something.

On the upside, that is a great skill to have when it comes to high school peer pressure. Hopefully he can use his natural personality for good.

The Jungle Book

Alexis has been practicing for the Queen Creek's production of The Jungle Book. She plays a hillbilly elephant. (They added a scene to the elephant march song to include different tribes of elephants. Alexis' tribe is the hillbilly elephants). You can see them practicing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZZRIk6TJI0 Alexis is the one with the hoodie on. You can also see Amberlee Call in the red shorts. The performances will be on November 14th and 17th. Also, the elephants will be performing their part of the play at the opening of the new Queen Creek library opening ceremony.

If you are interested in seeing the play, tickets are on sale now through QCPAC.com.

YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish I could shout in a blog! We are on cloud 9 right now because Dallas has been offered a position at the Morenci mine. He reports on Tuesday for his physical and new hire meeting. He can start the day after his physical and drug test come back clean (2-3 days). So, within two weeks he will be down at the mine with a full time job!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has prayed for us and a HUGE THANK YOU to Robin and her parents for giving us the insider's scoop on how to get in with the mine. We couldn't have done it without you.

Funny to me

This may not be as funny to you as it was to me but I wanted to share it anyway.

Aspen is learning to read and his teacher has taught him that you can look at illustrations to figure out what the words say. Yesterday Aspen brought me this book and was reading the words of the title but got stuck. He read "Junie B. Jones is...(long pause, looking at the picture) a thief!"

Just one of those small moments as a parent that makes me giggle....

Grandparents Day

My mom is probably one of the best grandmas around. She is always doing things with and for her grandchildren. It may be teaching them to sew, going to ball games or just visiting with them, but she is always playing a role in her grandchildren's lives. It is a sign of a good grandma when her teenage granddaughters come visit her on a Saturday evening instead of going out with their friends. That is just one small example. My mom is an awesome grandma.

Last Friday QCE had Grandparents Day. Grandparents were encouraged to come eat lunch with their grandchildren, take a tour of the school and have their pictures taken. My mom went with our kids and said she had a great time. Thank you, Mom, for going. It meant a lot to our kids to have you there.

I Passed and Aspen is sick again

First the good neww- I passed my NET (nurse entrance test) today. I didn't have any problems passing it but the test itself was a beast- just shy of 3 hours long. They asked questions from biology classes I took three years ago. I needed a total of 60 points in two different sections. The first section I scored 89 and I finished the second one with 79- not too shabby. Now I am just waiting on my fingerprints to come back clean.

Last week Emma, one of the children I tend went home with a fever. The next day another child became ill. By Monday morning I received word that four of my daycare children were home sick. Aspen complained about his feet hurting but I sent him to school anyway. Long about 10:30 the nurse called to tell me Aspen had a fever and that it was going up. The poor kid- by 4:30 his fever was at 103.5. His silver lining is that he doesn't have to go to school tomorrow.

Wasn't that always the best feeling to hear your mom tell you you were too sick to go to school? Along the same lines, I remember always wanting to have my tonsils taken out because when Cindy Brady got her tonsils taken out she got to eat all the ice cream she wanted. I also wanted her lisp, curly ponytails and teeter totter. Lucky girl.

Soccer Games and frustration

Alexis and Aiden had their soccer games today and they both played their vey best! Aiden had some amazing stops as goalie and Alexis improves with each game. I told the kids that if they scored a goal they wouldn't have chores for a week. Aiden came so so close but he will still be cleaning his room and all his other chores this week. His team started at a disadvantage because the team they played has been together for years and has been in this division for three years. They were huge! They scored twice on Aiden by kicking it into the upper corner of the goal both times- an area Aiden can barely reach. While he was on offense he looked like a little kid playing against a bunch of giants. Alexis was on defense the entire game so she didn't get a chance to score but next week she should get a chance.

Now for the frustration... I have been getting notices, class CDs and emails giving me information on my microbiology class starting on Monday the 22nd so I have had that date stuck in my mind. I went to the website yesterday to check on my English class because I hadn't heard anything and was horrified to realize it already started! I am a week behind.

Then this afternoon I drove into Tempe to take my entrance exam for nursing school (the only location that offers the test) and was told the test is only offered Monday through Friday during normal business hours. Ugh!! Now not only do I not get to take my test but I need to take off work to do it next week. I hate calling my daycare parents and telling them I need time off or that someone else is going to watch their kids. It is not like I can just call in sick because then I put five families in a bind at the last minute-not cool.

Finally, I went to the bookstore to pick up my books so I can cram for my first English test on Monday evening. Again- frustration!! They told me they are sold out of English books and will not have any until sometime after 3:00 pm on Monday. What?!?!

So, I am headed to Tempe on Monday afternoon to take a 3 hour test, get my English books and speed read four chapters before my test is due at midnight. Did I mention yet how much I love school?

On the brighter side, we just ordered pizza for the kids and as soon as it gets here Dallas and I are going on a date, to Wal-Mart of course.

Violin Lessons

Hey, is anyone interested in violin lessons for their kids? My niece, Tiffany, is going to be teaching violin lessons at my house on Saturday mornings at 9am for kids ages 7-18. She is an amazing teacher and is currently working as the music teacher for the Higley school district. Alexis and Amber Call take lessons from her and LOVE it. If you are interested at all, here is the quick run down:

$10 per hour lesson (HALF the price of private lessons)
10 students per class

If the 9am class fills up she will open up a 10am class. It is going to be a lot of fun. You can call me or email me with questions.

More school photos

Here are Aiden's and Ash's latest school photos too. I will post Alexis' when we get it.

Like Mother Like Son?

What do you think- do Aspen and I look alike? Aside from my post P.E. hair, do Aspen and I look like we are related?

Troublesome Ash

I am at a loss as to what to do with Ash. He got in trouble at school AGAIN today. First it was the box cutter incident, then another day he wrote on his desk. A third day he wrote on some math instuments, day four he wrote on the rug and today he had to move two sticks for talking and being disruptive (equivalent to getting your name on the board with a check mark for you older folks). I really don't know what has gotten into him. Last week he told my mom that he didn't like her anymore because she wouldn't buy him a new toy. This is all so uncharacteristic of him! Where has my sweet little boy gone? I keep promising his teacher that he is a good kid and then he gets in trouble for something else. Any suggestions?

The Interview is Done

Dallas had his interview at the mine this morning. He is still there right now but he called to say it had gone well. We won't know for sure the outcome for 1-2 weeks, during which time the mine will be doing a background check.

If he does get hired, it sounds like he will really enjoy the work. He will first go into a general labor pool where he will spend two weeks in each area of the mine. After 8-16 weeks he will be assigned to a specific job. They consider what area he would like to work under in addition to what areas need workers.

So, keep those prayers going up for another week or two. We aren't out of the woods yet but we are getting closer.

Blog changes, boring post

While I want to remember 9/11, I couldn't stand that backdrop anymore. Too dark for my taste and hard to read so I am back to a fun backdrop. With so many choices to choose from, I like to change it up all the time anyway.

Also, in case you haven't done it, check out the link on the right titled "free rice". It is a website that asks trivia questions. For each question you get right, 20 grains of rice are donated to third world countries by sponsors of the website. If you are looking to kill a few minutes on the web, it is a great website.

Dallas has an interview at the mine in Morenci on Friday. Please pray for him that things will go well and that he will get a job. It is a 4 hour commute so he would need to live there during the week but the pay is good and I think it would give him a much needed emotional boost as well. We also need him to get this job because within a year or so, I will need to cut back my daycare hours so I can do my clinicals. Any extra prayers you can offer up would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully I can post how it went on Saturday.

Remember

Last night I watched a special on the anniverary of September 11th. I remember it like it was yesterday, just as I am sure you do- remember where I was (home making breakfast), remember who told me to turn on the television (my mom), remember hugging my children closer than ever (did it again last night). I wish I were eloquent or mighty with the pen to write a fitting tribute to that day but I am not. All I can do is remember those who lost their lives that day, remember what we are fighting for, and pray for their loved ones who were left behind. They have now missed 7 birthdays, 7 Christmases, 7 anniversaries and countless mornings to say "I love you". May God bless them and bless us as a nation as we remember what we lost that September day.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDh_pvv1tUM

I am DONE!!

I am excited to announce that I have finally finished the last prerequisite to nursing school and I can officially be on the waiting list now. It has taken me three years to get to this point by doing a class here and there when we could afford it. Now comes the fun stuff! Who knows if it will help or not, but I noticed that the director of the nursing college is a woman who went to my church while I was growing up. I went to school with her children and she was even with me with I had Aiden- an emergency c-section after a full day of labor. She is wonderful. I am going to call her once I am registered and ask if there is any way I can get bumped up on the list. Doesn't hurt to ask, right?

So, I have two weeks with NO SCHOOL. Anyone up for some late night partying, trips to Bahama Bucks or TPing, give me a call because I am FREE! Yahoo!!

A New Aspen

A year ago when Aspen started kindergarten I was worried because he would never tell me his colors or shapes let alone numbers or letters. When he colored, there was no recognition of anything he was trying to draw and staying in the lines was out of the question- just scribbles all over the paper. He wouldn't sing songs for me like other Sunbeams and he was constantly going into these little, sometimes not so little, fits where all communication was lost and he would either cry or simply ignore me. All this after two full years of preschool. I often wondered if I was just comparing him to his older siblings who benefited from their mother being an over zealous first time mom who was convinced that her children needed to read, write and have all the classical composers memorized before starting kindergarten (embarrasingly enough, that isn't too much of an exageration) but after having him tested through the school, I realized it wasn't just me. He was actually intellectually behind other children his age. There was nothing medically wrong with him mind you, he had some amazing skills in other areas but the typical school work just wasn't clicking in his brain.

Fast forward one year and I can't even believe Aspen is the same child. He has made a 180 degree turn for the better. Not only does he know his letters, numbers, colors and shapes, but he is reading and writing! It is amazing what one year in all day kindergarten school has done. With his new found skills, his communication ability has improved as well. He still has a few tantrums now and again but no more than any other child. Above is his latest paper sent home. I can actually read what he wrote and can tell he was drawing people at the bottom of the page! We couldn't be prouder. Thank you, Thank you Ms. Matthews!

Its for real this time...

Some of you may remember Ash telling me he got sent to the principal's office on the first day of school. He didn't get sent to the office on the first day but he DID get sent there today.

During recess Ash whipped out a box cutter to show one of his friends. A playground aide saw it, confiscated it and sent Ash to the office. When his teacher picked the kids up from recess she noticed one of her children was missing and another teacher said, "Oh, it must have been one of your kids who was sent to the office for bringing a knife to school." Ms. Okonowski, his teacher, told me that she looked around and saw all of her trouble makers in line and couldn't figure out who had been sent to the office. Ash never came to her mind.

Ash told me the psychologist asked him to draw a few pictures for him. He drew a couple pictures of Dallas making bikes for the kids, he drew our family taking turns on the swings and he drew one of a boy in his class. Later the psychologist told me he spoke with Ash and thought he was a nice kid who simply didn't know it was wrong to bring a box cutter to school. (Really?) They spoke about how it was wrong to bring those kinds of things to school then he was sent back to class.

Ms. Okonowski said as soon as he got back to class, his thumb went in his mouth and he fell asleep for half an hour. Incidently, she said he does that every day and is super hard to wake back up. So much for my idea of peer pressure convincing him to quit sucking his thumb.

Knowing Ash can be kind of tender, I chose to pick him up from school instead of having him ride the bus home. At parent pick up I thought he would be a little sad about what had happened but in his typical happy go lucky self he runs up to me and says, "Today is my lucky day! I found a quarter in the grass!" Then when I asked him about the principal incident he blew it off by saying "I just drew some pictures then they sent me back to class. "

Dedication

This post is dedicated to a special visitor I had tonight. She had a um... slight accident with her tan in a bottle and we had a lot of fun at her expense. Throughout the evening my neice and I kept trying to document the incident with photos but cell phones don't take the best quality pictures. Besides, she swore revenge if she saw any of the photos on this blog. Since she took two of my children home with her, I thought it wise if I deleted the photos. Instead I am dedicating this post to her to thank her for the good time (and the good ice cream) we enjoyed. We love her with white skin, orange skin, striped skin or blotched!