THE POWER OF A KIND WORD

This past month has been a busy one.....well actually that is an understatement!!! I am still trying to figure out how to balance everything on my plate. I have been a bit surprised at the time my calling requires. I assumed that it could not possibly be more time consuming than serving as the ward RS president and I did that for 3 years while Dave was in the bishopric so this would be a walk in the park compared.....WRONG. It is busy. I'm not complaining....I LOVE IT.....simply admitting my ignorance regarding the needs of the stake is all. March also brought with it 3 lessons to teach in the stake, the woman's conference ( a HUGE event) the girls basketball state tournament, the girls basketball awards banquet which I was in charge of, the starting of the track season, taxes to file, financial aid deadlines, scholarship deadlines, etc. I was stretched thin and a bit stressed. I wondered if it is possible to give 100% to so many things. I doubted myself....ya ya, I know I need to practice what I preach. I talk about this very thing with the sisters in the stake all the time. But I am human too. Just because I have a leadership position doesn't mean I don't struggle with the very same things everyone else does. Satan doesn't discriminate.....he can get to everyone....regardless of your callings! So in the midst of this self doubting phase I learned a great lesson. There is POWER in a kind word! It is so simple but we rarely remember to do it. Within one week I had a sister come up to me in the hall at church, very emotional, and thank me for a talk I'd given. I received an email from another sister expressing gratitude for my example, and I received a card in the mail from a 3ed sister saying some very nice things that I desperately need to hear that day. I felt lifted up.....I felt renewed strength to face some challenging issues that very day. I knew my Heavenly Father loved me and knew of my struggles that week. These 3 sisters taught me something very powerful.....STOP and take the time to say thank you! SLOW DOWN and look for the little things people do and then tell them you appreciate it! When you think to yourself, gosh that was really great...I should tell her what I think....DO IT. It's the spirit whispering to you that someone needs to hear from you. I am grateful to so many people and I will do better at saying so out loud now!

I'M OUT OF HERE!

Last week Brandon was in some trouble and he was pretty angry at us....specifically his Dad....so he decided he was going to run away. Do you know what he packed???
1 pair of jeans
2 football jerseys
1 pair jammie pants
his pink football gloves (the ones he got for breast cancer awareness)
his ipod nano....which he NEVER uses.
When we asked about the nano....he informed us he needed to sell it for money. He knew enough to bring something to sell so he can buy food but didn't think to pack boxers or socks...hmmmm
I probably should be a bit worried about this but instead I find in quite funny!!!
I won't win any mother of the year awards this week.....LOL

HELP WANTED!

I have come to realize that I am officially behind on just about EVERYTHING! I need a maid, a nurse, a cook, a chauffeur, a personal secretary, a masseuse, and a therapist!!! NOT KIDDING! Oh and I need a author to come keep up on my blog! Since there is no way on earth I can catch up I think I will simply focus on the blog for today and highlight a few things from the past 4 months, well maybe ONE thing today...that's right folks it's been FOUR MONTHS!

The most significant thing that happened.....my kids gained a sister. For those of you that don't know the story, call me cuz I am not going to post all the wonderful details here. It will take.....oh say 24 years! For those that do, here are some pictures from Nichole's visit this fall!

Hanging out on my bed.....We really didn't have anything planned until that night so we just relaxed. For some reason my bed has always been the "go to place" Nichole fit right in! This is probably my favorite picture of the week!

SHE IS HERE! This was just precious to see! It was so exciting for the kids! Ty couldn't miss football practice and Dave had to work so they are missing....dang it.


Meeting my sisters Kim and Natalie. I don't know why I didn't have a picture of all three together.

Fall in Florida is VERY different than fall in Utah so we did all the fun fall things.....the haunted corn maze at Corn Belly's was awesome. I am NOT a haunted anything kind of gal and neither is Nichole but the kids all talked her into it. I think Tyler still has bruises from her grabbing him!

Meeting the Diaz side of the family.

A day in Park City was a must! It is beautiful up there! We went to eat, looked around the shops, got chocolate of course, and rode the Alpine Coaster. That was a first for all of us! It was AWESOME. I think Nichole spent the entire time on the phone...." I am riding down a MOUNTAIN on a COASTER!!" It was so fun to watch her. The colors were perfect that week....It was unseasonably warm so the day was perfect!

Tyler had a football game on Friday. Nichole actually cried. When I asked her what was wrong she simply said she never had a sibling to cheer for before. It was precious! She was Ty's good luck charm that night....they won!

Nichole and her "little" brother. Hmmmmmm

The WORST "see ya later" ever!!! It was hard to see her go through that gate. I am SO grateful that her parents are so wonderful and want to share her with us! We have grown by not just one but three. BJ and Walton are my heroes!

So ta ta for now.....I will post more in a few months....hehe

WHICH ONE???

We had family pictures taken a few weeks ago and honestly cannot decide which one I like best. I love them all but narrowed it to these two. My family is pretty divided so help me decided!

the road

the waterfall

THE DEMISE OF YODA!

As Lys and Tyler were getting old enough to get a divers licence we knew we had to think about a car. Because we live sooooo far out in the middle of nowhere, it was a nightmare to drive them to and from their sports activities all the time. We knew we didn't have a ton of money to pay cash but didn't want a payment either. A friend of our told us about a school district in central Utah that auctioned off their old driver's ed cars once they hit a certain mileage. The cars weren't lookers but they were good, safe cars. Hence the addition of "YODA" to our family. Yes, I said Yoda. When Lys and I drove down there to pick up the car, she saw it and said, "That thing is OLD". By the time we made the 2 hour drive home, she has decided to name it Yoda. Now since I have never seen Star Wars, I really didn't get it. But the rest of my family thought the name fit perfectly and the Lumina has been Yoda for almost 2 years now. They were pretty happy to have their own car. I was pretty happy to have a big, safe car for my kids that only cost me $250....yep $250....for a whole car, engine and all!!

Lys her first time behind the wheel of her own car! Happy as can be!

Fast forward 18 months......now I am REALLY grateful for an old beater with an ugly HUGE trunk and a "they don't build them like they used to" kind of frame! That car, along with some quick thinking saved my son's life!

notice how the trunk is now in the backseat???

so here is the story......Tyler texted me during 1st period and asked if he could be late for 2nd period. Tianna was sick and needed a ride home. I told him that was fine. At 9:15 I get a text that says....."we just got hit" What the freak?? What would possess him to TEXT me that? Well he wasn't exactly thinking and the second he hit send he realized that was a bad idea and tried to call but I was already trying to call him on his cell from my cell....at the same time calling Dave from the house phone. Dave had just left for work so I knew he was somewhere around the area Ty should have been. I got Dave on the house phone and had Ty on my cell phone....The conversation was a bit crazy...I ask Ty questions and then try to relay information to Dave so he can find him. It never occured to me to hang up and let Dave call him directly....I wasn't thinking striaght at the moment!

Mom, we have been hit by a dump truck

Dave they have been hit by a dump truck

Tyler....are you OK? Yes, mom....I think so.

Yes, Dave they think they are OK

Where are you Ty?

On the side of the road.

they are on the side of the road Dave

Where Tyler?

On the right side?

Dave they are on the right side!

Uhhhh, jenn, the right side WHERE?

Ty, WHERE....what road?

SR 73 on the right side

can you see this is going no where? I'm in panic mode at this time. He is talking...that is good but he isn't actually making much sense. Dave just gets onto 73 and drives...it only took 5 min or less and he tell me he is there. OK, I will hang up and let him go to him. I have 10 students arriving. I have to decide how to get them home. Dave calls me right back and says the car is bad but the kids are OK....just stay put. He would deal with the police and paramedics. That was probably a polite way of saying you will just panic, yell some bad words at the truck driver and construction workers so stay home please! A VERY TRUE STATEMENT!

almost 2 hours later Tyler walked through the door. The paramedics said they needed to be checked out but we could take them in ourselves. I hugged and hugged that kid! I have never been so grateful to see him come down the stairs! We drove to Tianna's house and she, her mother, Tyler and I went to the ER. We got checked in and they did xrays. I was shaking so bad that the Dr brought me a coke...which I don't even drink. I said no, it's OK...I'm fine and I was told to drink it anyway...by both the nurse and Tyler! Kinda funny....well not really! I was shaking pretty bad but I actually held it together pretty good...that is until the Dr said, after getting the details and seeing photos, that the kids should have been killed. My jaw dropped! Let me explain.....

There is alot of construction around the high school and surrounding streets. The road into Tianna's neighborhood was closed so they had to go out on SR 73 and take a different way. They were headed west and needed to make a left hand turn. He slowed to almost a full stop and noticed that the dump truck was not stopping. There is not turn lane set up in this construction zone (well there is NOW). He yelled at Tianna that the truck wasn't stopping and then held on tight and hit the gas. That action saved their lives! When asked why he thought to do that he said at the moment he didn't know for sure.....just that he recalled that he needed to be moving forward to lessen the impact. Later he remembered learning about that in his physics class! And who says you won't use all that crap they make you learn in HS later in life!!! The impact threw them forward into oncoming traffic but luckily the truck coming towards them was far away and saw what happened! Ty was able to control the car enough to steer over to the side of the road and check on Tianna. She was OK....scared but alert. They both had seat belts on! So back to the hospital.....I actually hadn't seen photos yet. I knew I needed to know he was OK before I saw what happened or I would be too upset. After the Dr said that....I finally looked at pictures. I was shocked to realize that the truck didn't actually "hit" them....it drove on top of them. The bumper is still in place......that scared me! That is why the Dr said what he said. There was no reason that truck didn't keep going and drive right up over the car and crush them. Well there certainly was a reason......THESE KIDS ARE NEEDED HERE! The moral to this story...... today I am grateful! Grateful that my kids drove a big clunker......grateful that a physics teacher decided to use a car accident as an object lesson.....grateful that I learned "better late then never" since the truck driver did see them at the last minute and slam on his breaks so he didn't hit them going 50 MPH.....grateful that there wasn't a backseat full of teenagers.......grateful that my son is a calm person who never panics.....grateful that the Lord saw fit to spare these two sweet kids! I won't ever drive the same again!

RUNNING RACES....

I've decided that life is like like running the 350 meter hurdles......you make it over one hurdle and breath a sigh of relief only to realize you are approaching the next one at full speed! It's all good as long as you keep going even when you biff it BIG TIME! I started a new race today....a personal one. I made it over my first hurdle. It wasn't a big one....actually more like a very tiny one but it was still an obstacle to hurdle. I'm gonna win this race I'm on.....I'm gonna do it!

PHOTO SHOOT

My in-laws had their 50th wedding anniversary a week ago and we put together a photo frame with all the grandkids as a gift. Here are some of the kids. I think they are pretty dang cute! The girls were quite cooperative but getting the boys to smile is another thing all together. What is it about boys and smiling??? I don't get it! When I let them know I had all day.....no where to go....nothing to do.....and I didn't mind sitting out by the tree for hours if needed......they perked right up and I got to see teeth. Mission accomplished in 5 minutes!