Sneakin' one in!

Well we are home from our southern alberta trip...actually came home a couple of days early because I missed my hubby so much and discovered that he had been very busy while we were gone and re-did our bathroom! I'm talking new floor, tub, tub surround and toilet! We need to paint and change out towel racks but he did a fantastic job! Thanks honey!

I had lots of fun at the wedding...even though my cousin Ryan did hold me hostage at the reception for awhile and I popped my dad's shoulder out while we dancing - a case of me going one way and he going the other and not letting go of hands. Oops! And then I cried my eyes out over it. Silly silly me.

I don't have too much fun to report...just that I love my family and miss them tons. It was nice to see them all and to have a few days off from real life!

Rhett came down with the flu the day we left and still seems to be trying to get over it...hopefully it won't last much longer and maybe we'll all be healthy for awhile.

Anyways, here's some pics...

Somehow I managed to get pictures of everyone but the groom! Lots of us cousins, Ash dancing with her brother Ryan, even Ryan's little girl with her Opa (my uncle Eddie) but none of Ash and Tom. Oops. Good thing I wasn't the photographer! It really was a great day and we wish them the best!

Interesting to me

The past couple of days have been a roller coaster of emotions for me. I've been thinking and brooding and questioning a lot of the happenings in my life.

Last June I started on a journey to lose weight and I've been very successful at it. People that I haven't seen in a long time don't recognize me. I feel great, look great, and for the most part I behave myself and eat a lot better, and exercise a lot more. I feel that I lost the weight in a healthy way and that I'm doing a good job at maintaining it. What started out as a weight loss goal changed a lot of things and although I had a size and a mental image in mind, my main motivation changed from my pant size to creating a healthier me and staying the healthier me to bless my family and my lives. So, the big question that has loomed in my mind lately is how I can supposedly be the healthiest I've been in years and yet am sustaining these attacks of pain and still producing more liver enzymes than is normal. Cliff and I have even joked around that maybe I should go back to being 200 lbs since I seemed to have less health issues then (of course that's not true and NOT an option but it made us giggle) I don't have any answers as to why this is happening and it's really thrown me into a funk today. I knew it as soon as I woke up today. Have you had one of those days? When you wake up and you feel like a big, ugly, gray and weeping rain cloud is your hat for the day. You're hoping and praying that the sun is going to break through but as the hours past it just seems that the cloud gathers more and more mass and you have to struggle more and more to put on a front of normalcy. Yep, that's what I felt like this morning. So, how do you get rid of it? It's taken me almost all day long to get rid of it and has disappeared in steps and degrees. I had a good cry. Not necessarily about anything in particular but tears are wonderful things. Kind of shrinks the cloud a bit. I had good talks with my wonderful hubby Cliff and also with my mom. .I had a great nap with my kids. (Zane has an upset tummy and with my emotional state what it was today we opted to stay home today). Poor Cliff was left to his own devices for 2 hours. I broke out a book of wonderful church piano solos that I haven't played in years and went through most of them. One of them was the song Infinite Worth by Janice Kapp Perry and as I played it and remembered some of the words I felt my soul being cleansed of the lingering cloud. What a wonderful blessing music and the gospel is in our lives. The two combined have always been so special to me. I truly believe that there are times the veil is thinned and that our spirits are allowed to glimpse and remember what life was like in the spirit world with our Father in Heaven.
Being in a funk is no fun. But in some ways it serves as a kick in the butt and I'm looking forward to starting tomorrow with a new attitude and jumping back into my life. I miss being me - the non sick, not so stressed out me. I've decided that I can act sick or I can healthy and I choose healthy. This week will be busy and full as we get ready for me and the kids to leave on Thursday to southern Alberta for a week. My cousin Ashley is getting married on Saturday so it should be a fun trip.

The wait is Over!

We have been waiting all winter to have the perfect snow for a snowman and it finally happened! Not only did it finally happen, but Cliff was home to help us!

It was the perfect day yesterday to be out in the snow with the kids and we had so much fun building the snowman and then having a snowball fight. Cliff dominated the the fight and all was good until Rhett accidentally got one lobbed right into his face and chest. Half of it went down his coat and shirt and he was done. Oh he was mad. Poor kids. I was laughing so hard that I could hardly carry him into the house. But we got him in, stripped down, and cuddled up in a blanket with some juice and mom. He was asleep 20 minutes later!

We also went and walked through the Stars showhome here in Sylvan. It was soooo beautiful and the kids did great. I was a little nervous about bringing them with us but they didn't touch anything and did really good at listening. We braved one more house since they were so good and Zane loved it. He was really disapointed today when we didn't go and see any new houses today.

I'm hoping that since we are starting to see grass in some places that maybe spring is on the way....could we be so lucky?

promised pics

Well I'm a little later than I thought at getting these pics up....but they're still cute. (At least I think they are!)

Life here has been pretty much the same old same old until last night when I had another pain attack like the one that put me in the hospital 2 weeks ago. We decided not to go to emerg because by the time we got there the pain would be over and all they would do is make me sleep in emerg for the night and do blood work. I already had an appointment booked for this morning to get blood work done for a different thing so this morning we got a hold of my doctor and he told us which other boxes to check off on my form he gave me on Tuesday. I'm really hoping that we're going to have some answers tomorrow. But I have wonderful visiting teachers who are going to bring me supper tonight and if I can convince Rhett to have a nap I'll be following close behind.

On another note....I can't believe that it is valentines day already. We don't usually do much for it - maybe a nice dinner or something. That's kinda on hold right now. But we did call and sing happy birthday to Auntie Kizzy today! Zane is very dissapointed that we don't get to be there for her cake and presents. Poor kid. He had a blast at preschool today. They had a valentine day party and he has been buzzing all week waiting for it.

Rhett's a little crabby and has a low grade fever as he got his last immunizations yesterday (at least until his 4-6 year old ones) I always delay my kids a little bit - not such a fan of everything entailed with immunizations but that's another issue altogether. Anyways, Rhett is 32.4 lbs, 35 3/4 inches tall. Puts him 97% for height and 95% for weight. Nice and healthy. Not that we thought any different.

So if you remember keep your fingers crossed that the doctors will figure out what's wrong with my body and we'll keep you posted!

So much Fun!

I think I have a new favorite website: cutestblogontheblock.blogspot.com I found it on Mindi's site (thanks :)) and decided to try it out! I like this one....some of my older posts have colors that I'm not wild about but I'm too lazy to go through and change them all.
My kiddos were both very grouchy/whiney today. Made for a very long day but they have been in bed for almost a whole hour now. Whew. One more day down!
I'm so happy that it's warming up. I'm very tired of the freezing cold and can't wait for spring and summer to get here. I am not an outside winter person. I prefer to hibernate, bake, eat, read, play board games with the kids, watch movies...yep, I'm a regular winter phobic. I only venture outside when I have to. When mom was here last week we did have a really nice day and we took the kids out in the backyard to play. They were getting bored fast (the snow wasn't sticky so not much to do but kick at it) so I pulled out a memory from my childhood and grabbed a couple of buckets of water, some food coloring, some spoons and whoila - colored snow. What a hit! They had soooo much fun making colored snow - just like me and my sisters did when we were little. It brought that warm gooey feeling inside as I realized that I was passing on something that brought me joy as a kid.
And yeah, that's it for now. I've got some pics that I need to put on the computer but I'm being lazy today....I'll try for some more tomorrow!

I'm still here...

Well...it's been an exciting week in our household. I went to the ER last Thursday am in a lot of pain and ended up being admitted with pancreatitis. Not fun. My pancreas, liver and kidneys were not very happy...docs think it was due to an errant gall stone that has now cleared my system. So I spent from Thursday 'till Monday night in the hospital and am very happy to be home. Thankfully my wonderful mom came to the rescue to take care of my family (thanks mom!) And sadly is leaving us tomorrow. I've been tired for the past couple of days but seem to back to normal today. My liver is still not quite doing what it is supposed to do so I go back and see the specialist in March...will keep you posted!

Now for the fun stuff. I've read tons of mommy tags and wanted to do one too! Thanks Susie for the ideas!

mommy tag
Typical time of wake-up:
Kids anywhere between 6 and 7....Rhett's usually up first. Sigh. Depending on the day Backyardigans and chocolate milk buy me an extra 45 mins or so of sleep!

On a good night when you/kids go to sleep:
Kids in bed by 8 and I'm usually there by 11:30...hard to give up the time with my hubby!

How long you have been a momma:
Closing in on 5 years. Wow...time has sure flown!

How many times have you been a new mom:
Two

How old were you when you became a mom (is this to personal?):
I was 22

Favorite Kids show: Backyardigans...Bo on the Go....Super Why....Einsteins....love the ones with music and learning combined. Boys really like Diego but he's not my favorite

Least Favorite Kids show: I'll second Barnie...and Rollie Pollie Ollie is banned in my house - I can't stand the baby talk

Favorite chore: Laundry, dishwasher

Least favorite chore: Bathroom....I loathe it and seem to leave it until I just can't stand it then it takes me 15 mins to do and I think, gee that wasn't so bad. Still it hasn't changed how often I clean it.

Meal you cook most often: Chicken with baked potatoes, homemade chicken noodle soup with buns, stew with buns, spaghettie....I try to change it up and try new things

Kids favorite meal: Bun, apple, cheese and chocolate milk. Both kids love it and it's a staple in our house. Zane likes turkey with it to but not on his bun....that would make it a sandwich and he thinks he's allergic to sandwiches. Rhett likes peanut butter on his bun sometimes but tends to just stick his finger in it and lick it off.

5 things that make you smile when you are being a mom:
1. The way Rhett follows Zane everywhere....especially when Zane says "C'mon Rhett" and they take off on some high adventure
2. Rhett getting caught doing something he knows he's not supposed to do and trying to turn it into something helpful - ie climbing on the counter to get the phone, turning it on and then giving it to you like he just did you a big favor
3. Snuggling between the two of them and reading stories
4. Singing with them and watching how excited Rhett gets and how well Zane knows the words and actions now
5. The things that come out of an almost 5 year old's mouth....I told Zane the other day that a friend was getting married....he said, oh I know what happens when you get married...you have babies! When's Grandma going to have a baby? He was quite disappointed to learn that Granmmie is done having her own babies. Some thing obviously got lost in translation!

Favorite thing your husband does with your kids:
All the boys things...wrestling, watching sports, BBQ....Zane has declared daddy the outside chef and mommy the inside chef! No one can make the boys giggle and laugh like their daddy! He's the best!

Last time you went out with no kids:
Couple of Fridays ago I got a sitter during the day and we went show homing. It was a lot of fun to see all the new houses and pick out what we like and didn't like! Had a fun date planned for last weekend but being in the hospital kinda' kyboshed that!

If you could take your kids anywhere where would it be:
Hmm...we plan on Disney Land when they're all older....but now just somewhere warm away from the winter!

Favorite pastime/activity with kids:
Stickers, dancing crazy, soccer in the hall...

1 thing you said you would never do when you were a mom:
Sleep with them, wipe snot with my bare hand, put something in my mouth that was just in their mouth....should I keep going? I've learned that a lot of things aren't as big a deal as I thought...

If you had an afternoon to yourself what would you do?
Ummm...I'd like to say something that would be really productive but I think it would probably be napping or blogging!

1 thing you do that your mom did & now you do:
I sing my kids a lullabye every night

Favorite quality of your own mom:
We come number one...no matter what....she taught me so much about being the best mom I can be and she's my constant sounding board!

Favorite kids book: We're going on a Bear Hunt, Red is Best, The Sneetches

Best advice for a new mom:
The first six weeks are the hardest....you know your baby the best so do what YOU think is best

Scariest or most heartbreaking moment as a mom:
Scariest - not hearing Rhett cry after he was born....
Heartbreaking - seeing Rhett in the SCN for the first time and not being able to hold him....walking floors with both boys when they were really little and had ear infections and the drugs weren't working!

Most joyful moment as a mom:
The first hold....any first. I love watching them hit each milestone...especially the first time they say I love You!

Last time your child told you they love you:
Just before supper...Zane ran up and gave me a kiss and told me he loves me....and I think Rhett means he loves me when he says "mommy! and then continues on with jabber I don't understand!

Last time you said I love you to your kid:
This afternoon...and in about 20 minutes when I get them in bed. Yes, we're a little behind tonight!

Tag anyone who wants to do this!

Hmm...it's been awhile!

Does anyone know where January went? I can't believe that here we are at the end of the month already. I've gotta quit blinking!

We tried finger painting the other day - as i'm sure you figured out by the pictures - Zane really liked it and Rhett really wasn't thrilled. I had to actually put his hands in the paint for him. It was rather comical because he just wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with the paint on his hands....maybe a few more months.

I also included a picture of my "just because I love you" roses from my hubby. Sigh. How can you not love a guy like that? The've been blooming for over a week now and I just love them. And yes, I'm spoiled.

We haven't done anything exciting - too busy hiding out from the blizzard and the bitter cold. Brrrr!!! I HATE the freezing temperatures. I told Cliff that after we've flipped enough houses we can buy a nice little house down in Huntington Beach so when it's like this here we can go on vacation to our nice "warm" house. He just laughed at me. Well it's a nice dream at least.

We've decided to put our house up for sale this spring....probably April. We have a lot to do before then! Finish painting trim, stain transitions, figure out where to move half of our furniture....big list but it will be worth it. And then it's on to the next project.

I went to a baby shower on Friday...oh the sweetest tiniest little girl. She was born at 34 weeks and is just over 5 lbs....so little and fragile. I got a nice long hold and yes I was definitely thinking that we need a pink one while I was holding her. Everyone brought clothes and of course the majority of them were pink! Everytime the mom opened one the whole room would chorus "ahhh" as she held up the newest and of course cutest addition to babe's wardrobe. It was fun to be out with the girls. I got to see lots of friends that we don't see very often and had good chats with everyone.

I'm busily trying to finish a baby blanket for one of my friends so I can start on a couple more. So many good friends are having babies this year....hard to keep up with them all! Good luck to everyone...can't wait to meet all the new additions!

And that's really about it. I'm not feeling anything profound....just happy the sun is shining brightly today....maybe it will help me get over my winter blahs!

Technology

I have decided that one of the loves of my life is technology. You can unraise your eyebrows all those who are thinking about how UN savvy I am when it comes to technology. I'm not talking about being the first to know how to use something or being right up to date on everything...I'm talking about loving how it blesses my life and makes things easier for me. I have said it before but I'll say it again - I would not have made it as a pioneer or a woman in any earlier time than widely used indoor plumbing and electricity. Me and dirt and outdoor toilets are just not friends. But I'm getting off on a tangent. Here's a list of things that I love: (the obvious electricity, plumbing etc) Internet, ipod, van, DVDs, convection ovens, digital cameras....and my new favorite is USB ports and the zMate Pen that I bought for it. (There are lots more to list but you get the idea). Back to my new favorite...my CD burner on the computer has not been cooperating and I've been having a really hard time getting all of my pictures off of my hard drive and onto something for a backup. I have everything printed but I'd be devastated if I lost my pictures. It finally dawned on me that the pics are stored on my computer as info so I should be able to just transfer them to something else and I was right. I got a great deal on my zMate Pen so I bought 2 and was able to transfer a whole years worth of pictures onto it and wipe them off my computer in 20 minutes! It was fabulous! I'll never go back to burning pics on CDs again. Oh, and if someone knows a different name for my USB thing please tell me. I'm assuming that the zMate Pen is just the brand that I bought. Again, I'm so not savvy to these things...just like it when it works to my advantage.
Other than that things here have been pretty quiet. Cliff and I went out with some friends to a fantastic Italian place in Red Deer. I'm not even going to attempt the name of it because I always get it wrong. It was so much fun - great food, great company, wonderful music and no kids. Perfect night . Oh, and I got a great pair of dress slacks for the date and a few other things coming up.
Cliff has also convinced me to buy an electric smoker. We borrowed one from Trail (perks of having a hubby in the business) and smoked some pork loin on Sunday. Oh so yummy! And so easy... I think. Cliff did all the work for the meat but it didn't seem like he was overly strained by it! Anyways, you can do just about anything you want in it. So we're planning on one but not too soon.
Life is good!

My Bigger, Deeper, Post

Happy Birthday to me....Happy Birthday to me.....Hmmm...two birthday pics a year apart. I'm thinking that my 27th year is starting out a lot better than my 26th! But I shouldn't knock my 26th year....I did a lot of things that I'm very proud of and experienced a lot of new things to. I flew for the first time, got a second honey moon with my hunny, we bought a house, I lost 60 lbs....yep some pretty good highlights if you ask me!

As most people know I am not terribly subtle. So when thinking about what I wanted for my birthday (always tricky as it's so close to Christmas) I decided that what I really wanted was some time with Cliff and no kidlets. This ended up working out great 'cause Grammie S came home with us after Christmas and was kind enough to watch the boys. So with the boys taken care of I booked us a temple session and off we went to Edmonton to do a session. Now here is where my confession comes in. We have lived in Central Alberta for 2 1/2 years....and this is the first time that I have been to the Edmonton Temple. I've attended quite a few sessions in that time but always in Cardston. It was very exciting to me...almost like the first time I went through the Cardston Temple. But anyways off we went. I was really surprised by the size...I knew it was a small one but I've only ever been in Cardston and walked around the LA one and both are huge. However, as soon as we entered the doors the same sweet spirit filled me and I was still so excited to be there. We both really enjoyed our time there and after the session we headed for lunch at Montana's. (Easily accessible and courtesy of gift card!) We had a yummy yummy lunch (ate sooo much but enjoyed every bite) and lots of good conversation. I had made a promise to myself that I wouldn't discuss the kids...only other things and I did pretty good. I think I slipped a few times but I was really proud of myself. We were supposed to finish off the day with a trip to Ikea, but we missed the exit - Cliff thought there was one more a little further up but there we were on the hi way headed home. Sigh. Next time.
My mom was leaving Saturday morning so we just hung out Friday night and watched a movie - lots of fun. Oops....forgot to mention that we made the yummiest stroodles on Thursday. Yum. Just thinking of them makes my mouth water. Thanks again mom!

Saturday after Grammie left me and the kids just hung out and had fun together. Leslie and the kids came out for the afternoon and then Dave joined us after Cliff got home. We had supper together, put all the kids to bed and enjoyed some couple time. Very nice. Zane was so funny all Saturday - he'd come running up give me a big hug and kiss and wish me a happy birthday. He's such a sweetheart. He even made me a birthday card which he shoved under my door while I was changing out of my dress on Friday. He makes me giggle.

So Cliff bought me some wonderful books from the LDS bookstore for Christmas and one of them is Stragling Your Husband is NOT an Option by Merrilee Browne Boyack. He said he bought it because of the picture on front - hubby with a remote staring around his wife while she stands in front of him with hands on hips. It's actually a book about improving marriages and I have loved it! Now neither one of us is worried about our marriage or anything like that - Cliff was a little concerned about how I would take it - but I figure since we're in this for eternity I'll take all the advice and tips I can to make our progression quicker, faster and less painful. The author has a wonderful sense of humor and I'm re-reading the last 3 or 4 chapters because it is just filled with such good stuff. Poor Leslie and a few other choice souls have had to endure me reading them random paragraphs and such because I have loved it that much. Did I mention that I love this book?

Changing directions a little bit...I have been blessed with several wonderful spiritual experiences lately and feel so blessed to have the life that I have and to married to the wonderful man that Cliff is. I am excited about some of the things that I have been told in the Temple and in blessings and know that this coming year is going to be just as exciting as 2007 was. I am so blessed to have the family and the friends that I have...thanks for putting up with me!

Working on it....

I promise I am working on a wonderful post in my head....the problem is that I have so many good and greater things to do every day. Today was our first day back to preschool routine and me teaching piano lessons - with squeezing in an extra one that missed yesterday. Plus getting a call for a meal for compassionate service (I was supposed to be tomorrow but the lady wanted to switch) and then the gal didn't even want me to bring it over after I'd already made a huge pot of stew...and I just made stew last week for my fam. They weren't terribly impressed. Oh well. At least I can give you a few pictures to enjoy until I'm ready to do a really great post! Oh and thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! I had a great one but i'm not giving details yet - that's part of the great post!

Keep Moving Forward

I know, I know. You all thought that I got on board the holiday train and decided never to return.....I considered it! However, here we are back in Sylvan Lake and slowly getting back to real life.

First a quick holiday summary: We left on the 21st for Barnwell and stayed there until afternoon on the 24th. Poor Rhett came down with the stomach flu the night before we left so missed our own Christmas (sacked out on the couch...poor kidlet) Anyways, we had so much fun with Cliff's family...ate so much good food...and got spoiled rotten with time, attention, fun and gifts by everyone. On the afternoon we packed up our still sickly kids and headed for Raymond. Shortly after we got to Raymond Santa Clause showed up and surprised the boys. The night was a little chaotic but lots of fun and the next morning we had everyone up except for Zane. Daddy went and woke him up and then the fun began. We had a great day opening gifts and playing with new toys and games and stuff. We just relaxed and played and enjoyed being with our family. Cliff left for home on Boxing Day and the boys and I stayed until the 30th. Then we brought Grammie home with us....and now she has the flu. Oh, did I mention that Grandpa Dooley got sick too? He never learns not to share his whip creme with Rhett when Rhett's not feeling good.

So now we're home and the gifts are put away, and the decorations are down and stored away for next year and we are on to a brand new year. I've worked really hard since June and the Thursday before Christmas I hit my 60 lb mark....yep, I've lost 60 lbs! I am no longer considered over weight and I really can't put into words the joy that day brought me. I was so proud of myself and happy for the results. I've gone from a size 16/18 jean to a size 6 or 28 waist. I've gone from a 2xx shirt to medium or large. It's really mind blowing some times and I'm never going back....I love my new body and am excited to reach my last goal....15 lbs to go!

And of course, with the new year and the new me I've been thinking about things that I want to do and improve on. I've really got quite the list and as I've been thinking about it a phrase from the movie "Meet the Robinsons" popped into my head : Keep Moving Forward. There are a lot of things that I have started recently and some not so recently that I want to keep going with. I want to keep moving forward in developing my sense of me....in becoming a better wife....a better mom....sister, daughter and friend. I want to keep moving forward in our real estate journey...I want to read all the good books I got for Christmas and apply the advice to my life and my family. I want to look on my failures as steps to success and see just how far I have come....not only in my physical health but also my spiritual and mental health as well. So that is what I am aiming for. Not a big to do list, or 10 new resolutions. Just the determination to keep moving in the direction that I feel good about.

We have lots of pictures....mostly from Barnwell as we video taped in Raymond...haven't chose my favorites yet. Maybe next post! Hope everyone is having a wonderful new year!

Christmas Fun

Did you know that for as long as I can remember I have been afraid of ice on lakes and rivers? I remember being furious with my mom once for letting Kinsey go ice fishing with a friend and of forcing myself to go skating on a pond once for mutual. I was telling my dad about this fear the other day and he said that my Grandpa Robinson used to tell us about one of his sisters falling through the ice and them almost losing her. I have no recollection of this but maybe that's where the fear originated? Anyways, I do have a point, I promise!

On Sunday we got invited to a Christmas party being held on Monday night here in Sylvan Lake down at the lake. The town has erected a huge Christmas tree out on the lake and has flooded the lake and ploughed it into different skating areas. The tree is all lit up and they have benches and picnic tables and stuff set up so you can get skates on and all that. I didn't realize that the party was being held on the ice so we readily accepted and headed out Monday night to join a bunch of friends. As we pulled up and saw all the vehicles parked on the ice I started having a mild panic attack. I tried to convince Cliff that we could just park at the top of the bank and walk down but that didn't work. My thinking was that we really didn't need to add the weight of our van to the ice with the rest of the vehicles and Cliff's was that it would be fine since there were already so many vehicles out there. To make a long story short we didn't crash through the ice and I actually was able to enjoy myself despite my fear of the ice. There were several different families from our ward who live in Sylvan out there that night and it was like being surrounded by family. I never had to worry where the boys were...Zane had a couple of 12-13 year old girls who mother henned him and another one who would take Zane and Rhett for rides in a sled out on the ice. They had so much fun. There was hot chocolate, yummy treats, and a feeling of love and friendship. I am learning to love being here in Sylvan more and more. I am so thankful for the invitation...I find that sometimes I get into my own little bubble of what is going on in our lives and I forget that there is life outside of my bubble. It was fun to step out of our bubble for awhile and feel of the love and friendship that is in our ward family. We stayed out on the ice for about an hour and then Rhett had had enough. We came home and cuddled under a big quilt to warm everyone up and watched some old Christmas movies on CBC...Rhett fell asleep and Zane soon followed in his bed. It was a lot of fun and hopefully something that we'll be able to make into a new family tradition.

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately as I've made lots of changes in my life in order to achieve my weight and health goals. I'm almost there and have had to add a few extra work outs in to keep my metabolism up and not just maintaining. Because of this I've had to say no to some things and activities that I normally would say yes to and it has caused me to think long and hard about the choices I have made. And this is what I have concluded : Emily Watts made a statement that says something to this effect, "If you add something into your life you have to take something out of it" . This is how I feel about the things that I have said no to in the last months instead of saying yes so that I could achieve my personal goals. I have decided to be selfish in certain aspects of my life right now in order to be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister and person all around. I have not only added exercise and a different diet but I have also been adding things in my life to try and increase my spirituality and the spirit in my home. It is hard sometimes to not feel as though I am being judged by others who do not know the whole story - only the part that shows me not going to an enrichment activity, or saying no when asked if I can accompany someone for something else, or hoping that my visiting teaching beat stays with three sisters and does not have any more added to it. However, I have a wonderful mom and friends who remind me of the things that I am doing in my family and in my home and that there is a time and a season for all things. I am so thankful that I don't have to do it all at once!
So Christmas is almost here. We are having our own little Christmas tomorrow night and then it's pack up and leave for Barnwell early Friday morning. We get to spend the weekend in Barnwell and head for Raymond Christmas Eve afternoon. Cliff gets to stay with us until Boxing Day but has to be back for work on the 27th. The kids and I are staying in Raymond until the 30th and then Grammie is coming home with us. We're making strudels (only the yummiest and most fattening thing in the entire world - it's not a pastry like most of you think. Some ethnic dish my Grandma used to make...oh the calories but it's worth it once or twice a year.)
I love this time of year...it's so full of family and fun and the spirit of Christmas and love and giving. We took the boys to see Santa yesterday - Rhett wanted nothing to do with him but Zane bravely marched over and sat on his lap and chatted somewhat nervously with him. After Monday's party he has decided that he needs ice skates and asked Santa to bring him a pair. Sigh. As I know what Santa is bringing him I've been trying to prepare him by telling him that it's fine to ask Santa for gifts but we don't always get what we ask for. However, Santa always makes sure it's something fun and something we'll like. I did have the fleeting moment when I thought about scrapping the Santa gift we got him and rushing out to buy skates...but I figure he's going to have to learn sooner or later that he's not always going to get what's on his Santa list.
So for those of you who read this before we leave please say a prayer for us that the boys will be healthy and that I will be healthy. Zane still is coughing and hacking, Rhett puked 4 times in an hour today and I am starting to cough. Grrr. We can't wait to see all our family and friends!
Merry Christmas!

Sometimes Time Flies...and Sometimes It Crawls

Eating chocolate pudding for FHE...it was a big hit! Also take note of the length of hair on these boys....especially Rhett. He got his first haircut with real clippers on Friday...and did really good! He just giggled through it and Zane did really good too. He's been deathly afraid of hair cuts for 2 years now and he hardly cried at all this time. Yeah for us!

The boys have been fighting colds for awhile and it finally hit full force this week...making the weekend a very long one full of coughing, puking and low-grade fevers. For the most part Zane has been in good spirits...just less energy and such. Rhett on the other hand has been absolutely miserable. Pick me up, put me down, cuddle me, don't cuddle me. Sigh. Like I said...a very long weekend. Cliff went to church and I stayed home with the boys today and then tonight he stayed home and I went into our Stake's Christmas fireside. I had a piano solo to perform and was second on the program. I like that because it lets me enjoy the rest of the program instead of nervously waiting for my turn. I was really pleased with how it went and really enjoyed the rest of the program. One of my favorite pianists in the stake performed a beautiful solo...I just closed my eyes and enjoyed every note. It was a medley of two songs and in the transition section there was a fabulous right hand run that just took my breathe away. I love music...uplifting and edifying music feeds my soul.

So that's all that we've been up to. I feel like my house is a disaster because I haven't really done anything in it all weekend...just loading and unloading the dishwasher. Tomorrow starts a new week and I'm hoping to get my house really deep cleaned this week so that there's not so much to do before we leave for Christmas. Wish me luck!

Construction or Destruction?

Wow, that's a lot of pictures...but we've been busy in our household lately. Zane is so into "making" Christmas stuff and begs me every day to do a new and different craft. I bought this set of Christmas cards from Usborne books that gives you a ton of fun ideas for easy crafts to do with kids and he is loving them. So far we've made snowflakes and a couple of versions of snowmen including our bouncing snowman as modeled above by Zane.

And of course a day would not be complete if my living room wasn't turned from nice, quiet, cozy room to full out fight arena. The boys and Cliff love to wrestle and get tickled, and chased and tackled. Daddy is definitely the preferred playmate...mom just doesn't do it right. Rhett is right in there trying to get his own two bits in.

Today we tried to construct a gingerbread house. It has become a tradition here in the Johnson household...I buy one of those nice kits and we put it together. The last two years "we" has been Grammie S and Zane doing the building and decorating and mom being delegated by Zane to Supervisor - from across the table. This year we had to build without Grammie's expertise....and we did really great until I had to move it off the table. We should have just had a picnic for supper. Sigh. But me, being who I am, figured I could move it over to the counter with no harm done. Wrong. The hole frame shifted and we lost our roof. Zane was absolutely devastated. So I have promised him that tomorrow we will make more icing and attempt to re-glue our roof back on the house now that the walls are dry. On the upside me and the boys had a great time decorating it and eating way too much candy and icing. Rhett's favorite thing to do was dip his finger in the icing bowl and feed it to mom! They both loved the fact that I was letting them eat the icing with their fingers out of the bowl and it was one of those warm, fuzzy mom moments when you just know that you've done something right and hopefully made a great memory that they will look back on when they're older and say something like : " mom was so great that day" or something else that's just as flattering.

We also watched some of the video we've taken of the kids in the last year. We got to watch Rhett crawl and walk and Zane be a great big brother. We also realized just how far I have come in my weight struggle. It was a real eye opener and I'm so thankful to everyone who has given me the support on this journey and continues to support me as I approach my goal.

It is FREEZING here and snowing and feeling very much like Christmas. I've been trying really hard to teach and remind the boys that the reason we celebrate is because of Christ's birth and gift and sacrifice for us. I think I'm making progress.

And the frustration of the day was playing organ in church today. Rhett was absolutely devastated that he couldn't come with me and screamed and screamed and screamed. Poor Cliff had to take him out. He would get him calmed down and come back in with him and Rhett would take one look at the podium and burst into tears again. Our bishop's shoulders were just shaking because he found this soooo amusing. We find it frustrating but know that he will outgrow this....hopefully sooner than later.