Girls Camp 2016

I spent the week with my Lovely daughter!  It was so much fun hanging out with the girls and getting to know girls from other cabins!! 

These girls made camp an awesome experience!! I can't wait to go back next year!

We learned camping skills, played games, sang, grew closer to Christ and endured a 5 mile hike.  It was a blast!!

One remarkable moment:

We attended a beautiful evening meeting, which was held in the pavilion so all the campers could attend. A spiritual thought was being shared and we were trying hard to listen but our sound system was not the best.  Just a few minute in the presentation four girls from another cabin came in and be can to talk quietly in the row behind us.  It was the most distracting thing ever. I was super annoyed and shushed them a couple of times. They continued chattering.  I even gave them the "angry" face but no luck.  The gentleman finished is comments and it was over. I was still very disappointed my girls miss out due to all the talking.  Then during testimony meeting one of my YCL's (youth camp leader) talked about this very experience.  She compared the meeting to life - the gentleman talking was things of God and Jesus, the girls talking - things of this world.  She said sometimes we have to work hard to focus on the words and things of pertaining to the Gospel and try to tune out things of the world.  This was amazing - the insight of an 18 year old girl opened my heart and mind to the Lord and allowed me to release the frustration I felt towards the noisy girls.  Because I was seriously holding a grudge, not because I had missed out, but because my girls were missing out.   

Coparenting - asking permission

This month, in the adjustment to co-parenting, I found it is a challenge for me to ask for permission.  I don't have to ask for permission for things in my life but if an activity involves the children, I do.  This week for example my brother and his family were going to the temple for the first time.  It was a super fun day! But I did not ask if I could take the younger kids with me.  I simply assumed it would be fine. However, I felt twinges of guilt for not asking him personally if I could have them for most of the day Saturday.  It was an important family event and they had every right to attend. He was kind and did not argue about it but Saturday was part of his week with the kids.  I am going to have to make a better effort at communicating my plans.  Co-parenting is tricky and has real challenges, but it is the best option for my kids.

Something new!

The new experience in my life is divorce.  It has not been an easy decision but it is the best option for me.  We are going to co-parent the kids. Co-parenting is shared custody and time with the kids.  The kids stay in the family home and, as co-parents, we alternate staying with them. I get them a week and then he gets them a week.  This has been working okay so far. It definitely is an adjustment!  I have to plan ahead for everything. I still have to consult him about plans and decisions.  It's truly the best option for the kids. It gives them a lot of consistency and the adjustment of having a single parent has been easier for the kids. The adjustment time will take a few months to get used to but I feel pretty good about it right now.

Conference Sunday!

Traditions in my house make conference Sunday a little more fun. We always have yummy food and drinks. We play conference bingo. The prizes for the bingo are movie theater style boxes of candy. I would rather give a fun toy but that ends up being, too expensive. For lunch I have prepared home made cinnamon rolls, bacon, and we always have a big bag of beef jerky. Beef jerky is so expensive, we only have it for conference. In April, we made sprittles for our special drink - sprite and skittles, yum!! But for today we are having YooHoo, another family favorite. The fruit for the day is honey crisp apple slices...only $1.25 lb at Walmart, Yippee! Hope your Sunday is blessed with a sweet spirit!

Lil' Angel's bike wreck

Last evening Lil' Angle was riding her bike very quickly down a wet street. She had just said "Mom look how fast I am going." I said "Don't go too fast!!" Unfortunately, just a moment later we hear her screams. Junior and I ran and found her in a puddle of blood. She had broken her two front teeth and busted her lip. She was a mess. We got her to the house and cleaned her up a little. We put her in the car and attempted to take her to a minor emergency. It was 8:30 on Sunday and they were all closed. We went home and planned to take her to the Doctor and Dentist in the morning. She said that her teeth felt loose. She was very brave and both Dr. offices. She will need work done on her broken teeth once the swelling goes down. I hope that everything planned for her goes quickly and easily with little trauma to her spirit.

I have made it...almost.

This year has held great deal of good news. We have had a steady income. I was accepted to SWOSU's Pharmacy program. My oldest son got his drivers permit. All of the kids are healthy. We are all moving to a new town so that I can finish school. We were given a second car. We found wonderful renters for our house. I was a good home school year. The kids were very successful especially in math. There is much to be grateful for. We are moving in about 12 days. We still need to paint, tile, fix a couple of holes in the walls, shampoo carpets, and the list goes on, and on and on!!! So, it feels as though we have made it because we have been successful in so many areas. But, the almost is clear....there is much left to be done.

Lil' Elvis

I have not had a calendar this year to record all of the milestones of my little guy. I thought that I might record some of them here. He is such a good and patient little fellow. He has just gotten his 6th and 7th teeth in the last 2 weeks. He has been noticing that we pray at different times during the day. So now he will fold his little arms at any random moment and we have to say a prayer with him. We pray when he puts trash in the trash bin, when he falls down or when he is walking stops folds his arms and gives you the uh, uh, uh....which means we must pray. It is actually quite comical. Big J and Lil E keep saying he is a spiritual little guy. I just remind them that all of them were that way, too.

We got him his first pair of new shoes this past Thursday. He has been wearing these soft little shoes like a moccasin. But Thursday we bought him some super flexible tennis shoes Adidas, I think. He was so funny. He walked around like a cat with tape on its feet. He did stumble around quite a bit getting used to them. But finally he did adjust and is doing better.

I have given him 2 hair cuts. The first one was in January the day after the little angels birthday party. He is so cute but looks a little shaggy if his locks get long. The first time he played with my make up and did not mind me cutting but this time he kept pushing my hands away from his little head. I did finish but it was not as tidy I would have liked. But he looks so cute!!!