TODAY'S FIVE

1. My calling. I teach the 4th Sunday RS lesson and really enjoy it. I love reading conference and getting to teach the talks!

2. Books. I love reading and love being able to relax with a good book....especially Mary Higgins Clark

3. Warm fuzzy socks. My feet get so darn cold!

4. Hot Water. Have you ever been without your water heater for a day or two? I have and it was awful!

5. Computers. This is a love hate thing. I hate how testy electronic equipment is but you can't live without them!

MY FIVE

My sisters are all posting 5 things they are grateful for each day until Thanksgiving. What an awesome idea! So here is my 5 for the day.......


Today I am grateful to live so close to several temples! Dave and I decided on Tuesday that we were going to go to the temple on Wed. I changed Brandon's vision therapy apt. so we could attend a session that would get us home in time to put the kids to bed. We arrived at the AF temple about 4:30 PM. As we came around the corner Dave said, "We pick a good day. It does not look crowded." We then realized that there was not a single car there and it must be closed. We decided that we said we were going to do a session so we would just drive to another temple and off to Draper we headed. We arrived at the desk at exactly 5 PM. We found out that that temple does sessions on the hour so we would probably have to wait until 6 PM. We decided to just do sealings. One of the workers then came running to us and said they are holding the session and we needed to get dressed fast. We asked where the clothing rental was since we each needed one item. Only to find out that this temple did not rent clothing. At this point we decide that this is not working out for us and we would have to come another day but then another temple worker said, "NO, we will find you what you need. We want you to stay." Almost 20 min late, we walked into the session and I realize I REALLY need to use the bathroom. I was in such a hurry, knowing that people were waiting on us, that I forgot to go. NOT GOOD! I have the smallest bladder known to man! I say a prayer and the session begins. We must have really needed to be there because we faced several obstacles and each time a solution was found. We had a wonderful experience!

I am grateful for Dave's job. So many people are without work and we are hanging in there for now! I feel very blessed.

I am grateful for Carnation instant breakfast. I am not a big breakfast eater but know I should so I drink this every morning. It is so YUMMY!

I am grateful for Dr Price, Brandon's eye doctor. Many of you know he has 2 disorders that make reading and comprehending very very difficult for him. This is something that neither glasses or surgery would fix. He needed vision therapy. After 4 months of the program, I cannot even begin to explain how much better he is doing! He likes school for the first time and is actually doing well. This program is very expensive and our insurance would not cover it but once again, the Lord provided a way for Brandon to receive the help he needed. I will forever be grateful for this man....he gave Brandon a future!!!

I am grateful for my 5 sisters. I really love them all so much and cannot imagine going even one day with talking to one of them! I guess that makes me pretty grateful for phones too!

PHOTO SESSION

Can I just tell you that taking family photos is NOT a bonding experience! By the time I figured out what we were going to wear and made it to the Riverwoods, I was already cranky! My sister Kim took the pictures and the poor girl got to see my snippy side! It only happens once in a while but that was the day! Thank goodness we only take these once a year! It doesn't help when the boys in the family hate to smile.....you'd think they had a miserable life! (well, they probably DID think that at the moment) I am pretty happy with how good many of them turned out! I think this one on the bridge is the best.

ONE YEAR DOWN!

Well, this is very late but hey....that was my Mom's way of doing things anyway! October 11th was the one year anniversary of my Mom's death. The anticipation of the day was far worse then the actual day and for that I am grateful! The 11th was a Sunday but Mom actually died on Saturday so the 1oth was a pretty hard day for me. Ashlee had a soccer game that morning and I did not go. I just could not go sit on the same field I was the moment I found at she died at the very same time I found she died. It was just too much! Sorry Ashlee!!! Later that afternoon we went to the temple. I was very excited that my friend was getting sealed to her husband and 3 kids that day. It was a REALLY good day for me to go to the temple. I made it through the sealing fine but lost it as I walked out of the room. I am not sure why, at that very moment, the emotions suddenly hit me, but after a good 15 min of hard crying I actually felt much better, very peacful. I think it was almost cleansing. Sunday the 11th was actually a pretty good day. We decided to make the day a celebration. All the family which included my 5 sisters and their husbands, all the grandkids, my Dad, and Uncle Paul met at 5 PM....no matter where we were! Some were in Idaho Falls and went to the cemetery and those of us that lived in different states went to a park or outside in their yard. We all wrote letters to Grandma, put them in balloons and sent them up to heaven...at the exact same time.... for Grandma to read. We were all on speaker phone together. I could hear Kim and everyone in Idaho and Katie in Georgia at the very same time. It almost felt like we were together. The decision to make the day fun and more like a celebration of Mom's life really helped!!! Here a few photos of us at the park waiting for everyone to be ready to launch our balloons.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY....

"Common sense is not so "common" these days!"
-Oprah

Isn't it the sad truth?!?!

I AM.....

Outside my window..... rain. I love the rain! It smells so good and it cools down the air. I makes me think of my Mom....not sure why???? I think I will spend the evening on my porch tonight.

I am thinking.......that the month of October is going to be awful for me! I am already feeling a lot of anxiety over the upcoming anniversary of my Mom's death. I feel a lot of guilt and have not been able to get past that. My mom called me 2 days before she died and asked me to come help her paint a preschool room for the kids she did counseling for. I told her it was not a good weekend because Ashlee and Brandon had their last soccer game that Saturday morning and I did not want to miss them. That was the morning she died. I should have gone home! I missed the darn games anyway! What if I had gone home? What if I had not been so selfish and had been there with her? Maybe she would still be here. Maybe we would have stayed up late painting and then playing gin or something and she would not have died. She died at 4 AM. Did I ever tell anyone that I was up at 4 AM that night??? Nat was here, her baby was sick, I was putting blankets in the wash that had been thrown up on. Why did I not "know" something was wrong??? I am just thinking......

I am thankful for.....See's chocolate and long baths! Don't laugh!!! A long, very hot, bath can make anyone feel better. Sometimes I am sad...sometimes I am tired....sometimes I am just in a darn bad mood but put me in a bath and I feel better. Add some essential oils and See's dark chocolate truffles and I am transformed! Don't know how it works but why question it!!!

I am thankful for my friends. So many people have really tried to bring me comfort this past year. The funny thing is not a single one REALLY knows what I feel or what I am going through but that doesn't change their sincere desire to BE THERE for me. I found out I had friends I did not even know I had! I know I have not been a good friend in return......I have even "pushed" them away by wanting to just be left alone but no one has given up on me. I am very lucky. Someday I will be my old self again.......Anyone have a crystal ball that can tell me WHEN that will be??? I am anxiously waiting! Actually I don't think I will ever be the same again.

I am thankful for Steel Magnolias....you know, the movie. My sisters and I all LOVE watching it. Weizer is such a smartly and she really reminds me of Mom. I have watched it several times since she died and it can always make me laugh. I just can't watch it past the scene where Shelby collapses on Halloween. That is just too sad for now. But the rest is a hoot! I think Mom and Weizer may have been best friends in some other life.

I am thankful for Rosie....my mom's sister. I wish I could see her more often but I get to talk to her about once a week and she makes me happy. She is one of the few people who understands the deep sadness I feel. I don't have to try and explain every little thing....she just knows. I love her!

I am wondering......Just how many tragedies we have been spared from? Have your really ever thought about that? Everyday I kneel in prayer and thank Heavenly Father for my blessings. Usually I am specific about things I am grateful for. But the other day I realized that I need to be thankful for the blessings I do not even realize I have received. Like the day one of my kids just may have darted out in front of a car and did not get hit or the day they were playing football and did not get injured or the day they got through dinner without choking. I wonder if my sisters have been protected every time they have gotten on a plane and come to see me.....the plane is delayed for hours and we are complaining......is that the Lord making sure we were not in harms way? When we ask Heavenly Father to "watch over and protect us" do we really then thank him for doing so or do we "forget" since nothing bad happened? I am just wondering......am I as grateful as I should be????

I am wearing..... walking shorts and a red V-neck and, of course, flip-flops. What would I do without my collection of flip-flops???

From the kitchen.....banana bread! There is nothing better on rainy, fall days then baking. Today the item of choice was two loaves of banana bread......which came out of the oven 5 minutes ago and one is already gone!!

I am creating..... Nothing special right now. I have made a quilt and learned to make those....ever so popular.....watch bracelet things but other then that I have not been creative at all. Are you kidding......it is a good day if I just create a "clean" house!

I am going..... to football game after football game!!! Tyler is every Thursday night. The HS varsity team plays on Fridays and we usually go as a family and Brandon plays every Saturday. Ashlee also has a soccer game every Saturday morning. Go, Go, Go!!!

I am reading..... Now that is a good question! I just finished "My Sister's Keeper" and did not love it. I really prefer mystery/suspense type books and am anxiously waiting for Mary Higgins Clark to publish a new one. I have a long wait though.....she is only doing one a year right now (aside from the ones she co writes with her daughter) and that always releases the first Tuesday in April. I guess I need to head over to the library!

I am hoping.... I have the courage to use my chocolate fountain at my Christmas Eve party this year. 2 days before my Mom died, she called me. We talked about a lot of things but one was this awesome chocolate fountain she got for a great deal from some company going out of business. It was a catering company of some kind so the fountain is supposed to be pretty good. She and my Dad spent her last Christmas here with my family and helped me with a get together on Christmas Eve. It was GREAT. She bought the fountain for me. She wanted me to use it on Christmas Eve. I just couldn't do it last year. It is put away....I haven't even opened it. I am trying to convince myself that I can do it this year. Didn't I just say chocolate makes everything better????? We will see.

Around the house.....Don't ask! It is a mess and here I sit on the computer.

One of my favorite things.....talking to my sisters. Thank goodness I have 5 of them. If one is busy I can almost certainly get ahold of another. It is a rare thing for me to go a day without talking to someone from my family. I feel VERY lucky to be one of 6 girls!!!!

A few plans for the rest of the week..... clean the house, stock up on the caselot sale items, clean the fridge and football games!!!

A picture to share.....

This picture of Ashlee makes me laugh......the preteen in her is really beginning to show. She is beginning to really pick up on Alyssa's silly attitude but a twist of her own! We just love her!

HOMECOMEING!

We are off to take Alyssa over to some friends to swim and BBQ. Why is she going to swim when most everyone else is going to the Homecoming dance????? It's not because she was not asked. She was actually asked TWICE. It's not because she doesn't have a dress! It is not even because her parents wouldn't allow it. It's because she is not 16 for 3 more weeks and SHE decided not to go. She told Manny no and THEN came home and told Dave and I about her decision. She even got a little emotional because she really would love to go but she said no anyway. I am so proud of her. We have always tried to teach her how to think for herself and make good decisions. This week was the first time she was really tested. So you go and have a lot of fun tonight!!! We love you Alyssa!