Good Ideas for Hire

It's 12:27 and I can't go to sleep.  I have too many ideas in my head!  And 90% of them are good.  Well, at least I think they're good. 

Just to clue you in, the current ones rattling in my head...

Could make a lot of money
Could solve the pillow problem
Could work in primary
Could be the way to solve the patient issue at work
Could be a way to make my friend's blog idea be AWESOME
Could be a way for my other friend to get her daughter out of the bathroom and into bed
Could taste good for dinner tomorrow
Could require a trip or two to Walmart
Could be the color for the upstairs
Could make a great blog post on the primary blog
Could make a totally hilarious Christmas gift
Could be a cute necklace...
                                          ...bracelet...
                                                             ...hairclip...

Miracle!  I can't think of any other "thinks" that I'm thinking right now!  So that clears it up.  I knew that writing them down would help.

Sweet dreams!

Oh, my Georgia

No words for this one.  Just too cute!

Happy 3rd Birthday!!  She really wanted a "Dinkerbell" cake, and we got lucky - although she refused to go near the candles, so I had to blow them out for her!

All decked out in the birthday booty - a princess leotard, tutu, purse, Barbie, Strawberry Shortcake movie, 2 headbands, high heels, and you can't tell from the picture but her nails were freshly painted and she had a lovely shade of pink lipstick on.  Yes.  Underneath that tough exterior she's a girly girl at heart.

Her new big girl bed!  She hardly wants to get out of it in the morning!

Oh, how we love our little Georgia!

Great Day

I just picked Gibson up from school, and he had a great day.  He ran out of the school smiling from ear to ear and waving at me, then got into the car and said, "Mom, I had a great day."  I have to work today, so he's spending the afternoon with Grandpa Gary, and he looked like he was on the verge of laughing all the way to Grandpa's house.  Here's how the conversation went:

How was school?
Great. 
What did you do? 
Everything. 
What's everything? 
We went to recess, got a drink, learned.  It was great.
Why are you so happy?
Because!  I'm just so excited!
About what?
Everything!  I just had a really great day!

He was perma-grin and I don't know why.  Now I'm perma-grin just thinking about it. 

Thanks to Gibson for giving me a reason to smile and remember how grateful I am for 2 amazing and beautiful children.  It really is a great day!

I've been neglecting this blog lately, but with good reason! I've started a couple of blogs related to my primary calling - one for the families in our ward with links to the songs we're singing, weekly updates on what we're doing in singing time, and ideas on how to incorporate our songs and activities at home and in family home evening. The other one is for fellow choristers and primary workers with ideas on props, song reviews, and little tricks I learn along the way. I know that a couple of you that read this blog are in primary, so I thought I'd pass them along just in case you or someone in your various wards might find them helpful. Anyway, I hope you check them out!

http://afprimarymusic.blogspot.com

http://afprimarysingingtime.blogspot.com

Too Fast

My kids are growing up too fast.  I hate it.  I could elaborate, but you all know exactly what I mean.  So that's it - there's just nothing more to say!

New Cut, New Clothes, New Calling

The past few weeks have been very interesting, to say the least. I finally got fed up with my hair, and chopped it all off. Sadly, I have no picture of the new 'do, but will wait for a good hair day and post one then. It's short, sassy, and I'm back to blonde after a 2 year hiatus from getting my hair colored. To go along with the spunk on the top half, I decided I needed some new clothes to fit the look. Thanks to my husband, I have a nice little stockpile of winter basics just waiting for the weather to calm down and cool off.

Of course, with all of this transformation going on, I couldn't leave out the most important aspect of my life, and that's the gospel and my testimony. A new calling came right in the midst of all of this, and really gave me a chance (I say gave, but it is still giving) to turn to the Lord in thought and prayer. I always appreciate opportunities that cause me to cast away my daily cares and focus on what's really important. So, what is this new calling, you ask? Primary chorister. I know that for some of you that sounds like lots of fun, and you're thinking, "Oh, you're going to LOVE that calling!" I'm sure that's true, but it's also the one calling I SWORE I would NEVER accept. Even as I was saying a reluctant yes, my mind was screaming NO!!! I was sad to leave my Laurels, and let's face it - performing for a crowd is really not my favorite thing to do. So, for many reasons, I cried for 5 days straight every time I thought about the task ahead. When I was sustained in Sacrament Meeting, I had to leave right after and go have a "moment" in the ladies room. After a sufficient mourning period, I set to work to find some inspiration online. I found a lot of great ideas, but still no inspiration. Then I came across the most wonderful blog, called The Children Sing. There was a particular post that caught my attention as I scrolled through her posts. In it, she quotes Zechariah 2:10, "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord." She then says, "Would any of us refuse such an invitation by the Lord to sing? If the act of singing will bring the Lord to dwell with me I want to be the first in line! We can all sing together. Let's do it now and bring him quickly." That was it. That was the answer to my prayers. Over the past days, I have had a great peace about this new and daunting task. Every time I start to feel overwhelmed, I remind myself to "sing and rejoice." We are daughters of Zion, and we have so much to be joyful about. This is truly the right place for me to be right now, and I know that. I just felt like I needed to share that experience with you, more out of gratitude than anything else.

So upward and onward! I have puppets to make!

Dance Recital

So pretty!

Gorgeous curls, thanks to Auntie!

Uh, what's going on?

The whole troupe

Meet Oscar...Finally!

I've been meaning to introduce you to this little guy for a year now! Here's the story of how Oscar came into our family -

Our family dog Belle died last August, and it was a really difficult time for all of us, since she really was our "sissy." My parents were having a particularly hard time with the loss, and the next day my grandma encouraged my mom to stop and see a litter of beagle puppies that someone was selling. One thing led to another, and two days after we buried Belle we brought home not one, but 3 baby beagles! My mom got Emmy, my brother got Pogi, and we got Oscar! They are all from the same litter, and man - what sweet puppies they are! They get together almost every day to play, and each of their personalities fits perfectly with their families.

Here are some fun facts about Oscar:
- He is a total mama's boy
- He loves to snuggle
- He's the biggest of the three
- We call him and Emmy the twins, because their coloring is identical - every hair is the same!
- He loves eating his poop
- He has a terrible sense of smell, which is unusual for a beagle
- He loves Gibson and Georgia, and puts up with a lot of pokes and squeezes from them
- His favorite thing to do is go for rides in the car. Whenever we run errands that don't require getting out of the car (bank, car wash, etc) he gets to come with us.

























Being obedient.

















Wet face after playing in the water
























Happy 1st Birthday, Oscar! -June 20, 2010

Eye Candy

Kids Update

A little update on what the kids have been up to these past few months (these pictures are from the fall, obviously. My sister took them, and they're precious! They haven't changed much since then, except that Georgia's hair is about 3 inches longer. I'll post more current pictures soon.)



Gibson is doing really well in preschool, and is growing up to be a really handsome little guy. He is, for the most part, an incredibly easy-going and happy little boy. He turned 5 in January, and can't wait for kindergarten. It's hard to believe that we're there already! We discovered today that he doesn't really like needles - here's how: I had an appointment today to get a shot in my shoulder. My grandpa came, along with Gibson. The doctor came in and did the shot, and when he left I noticed Gibson was laying on the floor.

Me: Gibson, let's get going.
Gibson: No, I just want to lay down. (I pull him up and make him stand)
Nurse: Hey buddy, you look really pale. Do you want a drink of water?
Gibson: No, I'm ok (eyes roll back and he passes out on the floor!)
Everyone around: Holy crap! He totally passed out! Ensuing laughter.

He came to pretty quickly, then went out to the lobby where he proceeded to throw up.

Gibson: Blaaaat (that's the sound of him puking)
Me: Are you ok?
Gibson: Now THAT feels better. (eyes roll back and he passes out in the chair)

My grandpa picked up his limp little body and carried him out with his arm around his stomach, his body flopping over. Another throw up in the parking lot. Set him in the car, and try to make him understand that he CANNOT throw up in the car! He slept in the car, and about 15 minutes later he woke up, good as new, and said that he really didn't like that doctor and he never wants to go there again!

So that's the funny story of the day. I wanted to make sure to write that one down!

As for what else he's up to, he loves monster trucks and robots, is learning to play the Wii, still loves to draw and read, and just have a good time with his family. His best buddy is my grandpa, and he loves every minute he gets to spend with him. He also loves playing with our dog, Oscar. He hates long sleeves, and likes his hair to look like a T-Rex, whatever that means. He is very compassionate, and has an extremely tender heart. We joke that to discipline Gibson you just have to give him the stink-eye, but with Georgia you have to pull out the big guns and really get in her face. They are SOOO different!! Speaking of our little princess (of darkness!)...



Georgia is HILARIOUS. And I was totally kidding about the princess of darkness thing. She has a personality as big as her hair, and lets everyone know it. She loves playing with dolls, pushing dolls in the stroller, feeding dolls, changing doll diapers, putting dolls down for naps, giving dolls baths...notice a trend? She also loves talking on the phone (which is usually a calculator, block, or other rectangular device). Mostly she talks to "Goppa," my grandpa Gary. Typical conversation:

Ning Ning! Hey Goppa. Sup? Yo-kay? Good. Oh Goppa. Uh funny. Uh happen? Yo-kay? I kiss it. Mwah! Ok goppa. Yuh-you. See yater. Bye Goppa. Ning Ning!

And so it goes, over and over and over again with only slight variation. Because she's the little mommy, she is very bossy. I wonder where she gets the idea that mommies are bossy? But she's sweet as candy and gives the best kisses. She can count to 10, and sings the first and last parts of the alphabet. The whole H-S thing continues to illude her. She loves "rocking out" in the car with the music up loud, jumping, wearing jewelry and "peppess" (princess) shoes, hitting Gibson, and standing in front of the TV just to be annoying.

So that's a little bit of an update on the kids! More to come at some point, I'm sure!

Update

Happy New Year! Since my last post, not much has happened and yet so much at the same time. On the job note, Lu will be going back to Sprint next week in their retail division. This has been a hard thing for me to swallow, and I'll tell you why -- 2-1/2 years ago, Lu decided to leave Sprint after 4 years of working there because they made it clear to him that he was not going to be promoted out of his sales rep position because he was "too valuable where he was." That was really discouraging, so when a manager position came up at AT&T he jumped on it. We knew we had done the right thing and made the right move. Then a year later, he was laid off and moved over to Qwest. Again, right thing/right move. Then a year later, laid off again. Darn corporate downsizing!! Anyhoo, we are right back to where we left off at Sprint, albeit one rung lower on the ladder since he is only going to be a rep and not a lead. So for a while I was a little upset that we worked so hard to get away from Sprint and into a company that would provide opportunities for advancement only to end up back at Sprint!! But I've been praying a lot and at this point I know that this is exactly where Lu needs (and wants) to be. It's a significant drop in pay, but he'll be happy and that's what is most important right now since the last couple of years have been pretty miserable. We are just really grateful that the opportunity came up - it was really random and definitely meant to be! (side story - we went to Costco for a hot dog and ran into a girl Lu used to work with at the Orem Sprint store. she is now the manager in Orem, and asked what Lu was up to. Lu told her about the job situation, she said "wow, crazy timing, we are hiring in January, if you want the job it's yours. random for 2 reasons - #1 she lives in Orem and was only in American Fork because she was picking up her son's friend, and #2 both of our families had a hankering for a hot dog on the same night at the same time!!)

Ok, so that takes care of the job update. Christmas was great, the kids had a ball. Our camera is broken however, so we don't have any pictures until we get together with other family members and see if they got some of the kids. It was a really simple Christmas, but we got some amazing gifts nonetheless. We got patio sets, dishes, movie gift cards, an awesome cookbook for me, tools for Lu, and the kids of course got spoiled beyond necessity. It was fun to eat and play and rest over the long weekend.

I am really excited for the new year. It's a new opportunity to make myself a better person, mom, wife, sister, daughter, and friend. It's a chance to learn new things, master old things, find discipline, joy, hope, laughter, and strengthen my testimony. I can eat better, exercise better, love better, sleep better. Speak nicer, look nicer, be nicer. Be more productive, be more organized, be more helpful. Focus on the bright side, focus on the Savior, focus on learning new things every day. The last year was challenging, and no doubt 2010 will bring new challenges. But I'm optimistic about what the future will bring, and look forward to putting as much time between me and 2009 as possible!! Good luck to you all in your resolutions! Bye for now!