Fun Bunch Lunch

Well four of us showed up today and it was nice visiting with those that came.  I know we talked a lot but I can't remember now what we talked about.  I know we didn't mention Christmas because I wanted to hear about Jodi's new Harp.  I do remember Patti telling us that she went snow shoeing for her first time and really enjoyed it even though it wore her out.  I know we talked about New Orleans and Cruises. Jodi has finally convinced her hubby to go on one in May.  They are going to love it.  Oh and I now remember talking about friends whose kids have made poor decisions.  How it's hard to have people that we love and care about hurt and make mistakes.  Even when the mistake is huge and against the law I still believe people should be forgiven.  There is still so much more good in that person than not.  I believe in consequences and boundaries.  I think consequences are important for change and growing.  My heart is sad for the family we spoke of today and even though I don't know them I will pray for them.  I'm so thankful for the atonement of Jesus Christ....it's for every little mistake and the huge ones too!  I'm thankful for my dear friends that take time to share a few hours with me. . . what a blessing they all are!

I didn't mean to take this picture.  I was setting the camera and it went off.  It made me laugh out loud and I couldn't help but think of Davaleen.  Davaleen always got candid shots of us and maybe this is from her. (oh how I miss her)

My "Soap Box"

I love Sundays and I love them even more since our Church time is now 9:00 am instead of 1:00 pm.  I feel refreshed and ready for inspiration in the mornings.  Today I felt the Spirit more than once and got my own personal revelation.  I love recognizing and feeling the Spirit.  It's not that I didn't feel the spirit when we had late church it's just that I prefer mornings.

When we were on our Cruise a comedian that we were listening to made a statement about being spiritual but not believing in organized religion.  I have heard many people say that and it got me thinking.  Belonging to a Church and attending often is essential to growing closer to Heavenly Father in my opinion.  I study more and serve others that I am certain I wouldn't if I was left on my own.  Organized religion guides and directs us and helps us get our own personal revelation from Heavenly Father and His plan for us.  We are given many opportunities to serve and I truly believe that serving others is part of the Great Plan of Happiness and what this life is all about.

I am a people watcher and notice what others do.  There are many who do good things for people that don't go to church but I don't think it is as consistent as those that attend often.  The Comedian sells his CD's and takes that money and buys pizza for the homeless.  That is such a wonderful act of love and kindness but there is so much more that he could share if he attended a Church regularly.  He is on his own path though and doing wonderful things with the talents he has been blessed with.  We all have different paths and just because they are not the same doesn't mean one is wrong. (I really do believe that)

Attending Church regularly takes commitment and a lot of time.  It's not easy all the time that's for sure.  Preparing lessons or attending classes makes us think deeper.  We read His Word during those times and learn of His ways better.  We are prepared for personal inspiration.

Having Faith and Believing in Jesus Christ and Following His Example is Most Important but helping our neighbors and friends along the journey is very important too.  Helping our neighbors and friends is way easier when we know them and their needs.  Going to Church often and participating is how that happens.

Today the message that I heard was being prepared and listening to the Holy Ghost.  This life is where we prepare ourselves to meet Heavenly Father again.  When we are prepared things go smoother.  Preparation is essential in most everything we do.  Following the promptings of the Spirit will put us on the path that Heavenly Father has for us.

I'm thankful that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I believe there is good in all churches but I do believe ours is complete with nothing missing.  I know that the powers of the Temple are real!  The ordinances in the Temple are essential for us to have eternal families.  We are the only church that has the wonderful gift of the Holy Ghost to be our constant companion.  I think we might take this wonderful gift for granted since we really don't know what it feels like not to have him with us.  We are blessed and The Church is True and Complete.

I have good friends that don't believe like I do and that's okay.  I don't mind living a stricter life and not experiencing the ways of the world because I feel peace and power by restricting things from my life that the worlds says is okay.  Everything The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints teaches us is for own safety and good.  I want to be safe and feel healthy and happy and that's what God wants for us too.  His guidelines are blessings and because He cares.  I had restrictions and guidelines for my kids as well because I wanted them to be safe and happy because I love them and care about them so much.....God Loves and Cares About Us More!

We had cake and ice cream to celebrate Mya turning 8!

Mya's Birthday Celebration

Mya got to spend the night with us to celebrate her turning eight!  Seriously I can not believe how fast my little grands are growing up. The time seems to be going even faster than when I was raising my little ones.  Mya was so excited which thrills me to the core.  Natalie and the kids stopped by on Thursday and Mya just snuggled with me the whole time.  I could tell she was excited for "HER" day!  I'm so happy that our little birthday sleepover tradition was started because it's a blast spending time with each of our grands.

When Mya came over after school on Friday, I asked her if she wanted to go shopping for her birthday present since we had time. She told me she thought we would do that tomorrow and she just wanted to play.  She ended up going to Trichelle's with Kimleighel for a minute so Kimi could get her "Behr" fix....she was missing him.  Kimi wanted to stay but knew I was excited to have Mya and so TJ brought Mya back when he took Ivy to her dads for the weekend.  Ivy wanted to come give me a hug too.  I'm glad that the grands like coming over every chance they get.  I can't believe how tall Ivy is.  She probably is taller than me but her mom has trained her to bend so she doesn't look taller than us.  It was fun getting hugs from Ivy and seeing her for a minute before she had to go.  I can't say it enough....I adore my grands!

It was time to start dinner and so Mya found an apron and helped me prepare our meal.  Mya butter the bread for our garlic bread.  She helped by keeping me company. (that's what she said)  She did stir the sauce for the spaghetti a little too.  It's kind of fun having little helpers in the kitchen again.  We ate and then played and then Mya chose a movie for us to watch.  She chose Santa Claus 2...she is a girl after my own heart.  I like Christmas Movies any time of the year.  Mya snuggled with grandpa a little and I know he loved that.  We even talked grandpa into spending the night out in the front room with us....his first time!  Mya and Grandpa got the couches and I had a mat on the floor.  I really love my grands because I really don't like sleeping on the floor and need a thicker mat. ☺

I am so impressed with this cute little one.  Before going to bed Mya read her scriptures and wrote in her journal her cousin  Kamryn gave to her.  Mya notices when people aren't modest and it bothers her.  She pays attention to the word of wisdom and the things she is being taught and will call you on it.  I don't buy pop often but a few weeks ago we did have some Coke and I was having some.  She asked me what it was and reminded me that there is caffeine in it and if it wasn't okay for her to have then why would I be drinking it.  She's right and since then when I have bought soda pop for our house it has been caffeine free. I hope she will always be so mindful and strong in her beliefs and behaviors.  This little girl is a Spiritual Giant!

We slept in a little.  I got up and showered and got ready for Jared's basketball game and by the time I came back little Miss Mya was awake.  I know she is not a morning person and that she probably wouldn't want to go to Jared's game so I gave her a few choices.  She chose to stay home and watch cartoons.  (Kimi was upstairs)  She was ready for pancakes when we came home. (Jared's team won by one point...it was intense)  My grands love pancakes and so that's usually what we make.  Mya decided to eat hers on the bar and I decided to just let her.

Mya invited Kimleighel and Jared to come shopping with us.  She loves her Aunt and Uncle and they are so good to all the little ones.  Mya knew she wanted to go to Joann's to get her birthday gift.  Mya loves crafting and creating.  She is very mindful of what she wants and puts a lot of thought into it.  She is also very mindful of the price and doesn't want to spend too much.  She ended up with a craft using plastic mesh and yarn and some earmuffs and gloves.  She was tickled pink and so was I.  Mya chose Arctic Circle for lunch.  She likes that little mini corn dogs and that's the only place I know of that has them.  She did not play in the kid area and even though we had seats in there at first it was just too noisy today and we all moved to another table.  

Mya wasn't in any hurry to go home and just wanted to go back to my house. When we got home we got right on her craft.  I think I might have cut it a little off but I think it will also be okay.  I told Natalie and Justin they might need to help Mya adjust a little.  

Mya wanted to play as long as she could. She's pretty good at playing by herself.  I went up in the room upstairs that the girls like playing in and found her in the middle of a huge mess that hasn't been cleaned up forever.  She was content and happy though and so I let her be and will not worry about the mess.  I seldom go up stairs in that room and it's because I get frustrated how messy it always seems to be.  I have to remind myself that things don't have to be orderly all the time and to stay downstairs.

After playing inside for quite awhile she talked me into going outside with her to play.  Heck...it's her celebration and I didn't plan on doing anything else so I went out and played with her.  We rode scooters and wiggle cars.  We raced to the play ground and I am thankful that Mya gave me head start because I barely beat her.  Mya played on the swings and a lot on the ice.  She ended up falling a few times but was tough.  Mya climbed trees when we were going over to see the cows.  My kids all loved climbing trees too.  Mya has always reminded me more of her mom but right now at this age I can see Justin.  I see him through her eyes and freckled cheeks.

We finally decided that it was time to take this cutie home.  When we got there Parker was out taking care of his bunnies.  I don't think I have wrote it here but Parker's bunny "Bark" ended up being a female...a pregnant female.  On Macie's birthday "Bark" who now is named "Vixie"had seven cute little bunnies.  Parker is pretty good at taking care of them all.  He knows if he doesn't that they will be taken away.

Everyone was happy to have Mya home.  We were happy that we were able to spend so much time with her.  Oh how I love celebrating birthdays!

Kimleighel Time

Since Kimleighel had the week off because Trichelle and her family were vacationing we decided to go to lunch.  Kimi has wanted to go to Zupa's for awhile and today we made it happen.  I had plenty I could have been doing but I know that my time with my kids is limited and everything can wait.  It was fun being with Kimi and listening to her talk.  Kimi reminds me of myself with all the talking she does.  I love that she shares so much with her mommy.  Kimi is constantly telling me how beautiful and wonderful I am.  I hope I encourage and compliment her as well.  My kids really are such wonderful examples to me.  They are each such special blessings.  I am thankful for Kimleighel and can't wait to see what's in store for her.  One of my favorite things that she told me today was that she wasn't going to change who she was to satisfy someone else.  She had been talking to a young man on face time and being her silly self.  I guess he made some comments that hurt her a little but also made her realize that she was happy with who she is and wasn't going to change.  I admire her for telling the boy to lose her number because she didn't want to talk to him again.   I admire Kimleighel for loving herself and feeling good with who she is.  I wouldn't want her to change either.  Kimleighel is Happy and Fun just the way she is.  I'm glad we had our little time together.  I love Kimleighel!

Food 4 Thought Friday

Food 4 Thought Friday! 

A little feast without the calories!! 

Feel free to play along for some yummy fun!Go HERE to JOIN IN!!! 

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 BACK IN TIME

Breakfast ~ What occupation did you want when you were a child? From the time I can remember I always just wanted to be a "Mommy".

Lunch ~ Name a few favorite memories of your elementary school days.  I remember taking naps in kindergarten and one child got to wake everyone up and I never got a turn but always hoped for one. (maybe not a favorite memory but one of my earliest)  I loved playing kick ball and hop scotch and four square.  I was the Hopscotch Champion for the entire school in 6th grade.  I played the flutophone loved playing Little Red Caboose.  I got in trouble with some other kids and had to stand with our arms out...it might have happened more than once.  I loved collecting rocks in 5th grade because of the teacher. 

Dinner ~ What is one smell that brings back memories from your childhood and why? Coffee in the morning. My mom and dad started each day with a cup of coffee and I still enjoy the smell because it reminds me of my childhood home.

Midnight Snack ~ Who was your best friend in elementary school? Kevin Weise was my best friend...I even named my child after him.  Tricia and Carol Larsen, Tami Endow, Julie Hall, Suzanne Trewett, Mindy Peterson, Lynn Halpin, Nancy Webb, Tonya Stockberger. Junior High? Mallory Hyde, Tonya Stockberger, Suzie Hendricks, Teri Cottrel, Lisa Van Natter,   High School?  Tonya Stockberger, Mallory Hyde, Kim Porter, Jeanne Taketta, Carol Larsen, Carol Smith. College? Kim Taylor, Mallory Hyde, Tonya Stockberger, Laurie Henry.

Recipe of the Week ~ (instead of your recipe for life what is it just for the week?) 
Relax and Enjoy what is happening in your world right now!  

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Back to My Life

Sadie Lou came to our house today for Kimi to tend.  It was fun having her over.  Sadie is such a cute baby and smiles more than any baby I've ever met.  She makes my heart smile as big as the smile on her face.  I got to hold her and love on her a little before I went bowling and it was nice.  She's just so cute.

After bowling I picked up some treats for SNAP and came home and finished up the laundry from our trip.  The kids were good and did all theirs before we got home and I was glad because Larry and I had enough of our own.  Kimi talked me into running to the store with her to get some treats which meant I wouldn't have time to fix dinner before leaving for SNAP.  Kimi said that she would fix it but we ended up buying a rotisserie chicken for dinner instead.  A friend of ours was at the store and told me that I might be nominated for "Mother Of The Year" because of my fine meal in my shopping cart.  I also had Ding Dongs for dessert and some bread.  I just laughed and reminded him that my family is growing and we are all pretty darn healthy in spite of how I "prepare" my meals.  I grabbed a little chicken and a Ding Dong and headed out the door.

Virginia's ward came and did our activity tonight.  The kids put vinyl on a tile and then painted over it.  The kids from the other ward were really good about helping our participants and it looked like everyone was enjoying themselves.  The tiles had to be baked and the vinyl peeled off and so we will get them next week.  Everyone was excited and proud of their tile.  There are a "few" artists in the bunch.  I felt very happy tonight and had a few of the kids tell me they loved me.  Oh my that brings me so much Joy.  I'm glad that I am making a little difference in their life.  They are making a huge difference in mine!

Sometimes when I drive home I hear some pretty strange things from one of the gals I take home.  Tonight was one of those nights.  It kind of reminded me of the New Orleans "Crap" Story....something I did not need to hear or know.  The gal read something bizarre on the internet where a lady lost weight and so she is going to try it.  I told her she just needs to change a few things at a time in her diet and walk more.  I guess she thinks she might be the "Lucky One" that doesn't have to change any habits and will loose if she does the bizarre thing she read.  Oh my gosh...I'm not going to lie....I gagged!  I am certain I did NOT make eye contact...oh but I was driving her home! ☺

(The tiles turned out pretty and shiny!  Even the ones that I thought were kind of ugly ended up looking great)

New Orleans

Larry had a convention in New Orleans. The company he buys parts from pays for him to go.  He didn't want to go to it but when he asked me what I thought I told him I'd love to go to New Orleans.  It's slow at work and so he thought it would be fun to go on a cruise if possible before the show.  Well Luck was in my corner and there was a cruise leaving New Orleans, going to Cozumel and returning the day before the show.  Yippee....I was excited.  I invited Roger and Carla to go with us because they are fun to travel with.  They were excited to and so off we went.  We left Wednesday morning (Mya's birthday) and got to New Orleans just an hour or so after Carla and Roger.  We met them and decided to walk on over to Bourbon Street and check it out.  Before we went to far we stopped so that Larry and I could get something to eat.  We ended up at a Hard Rock Cafe and got a hamburger.  Then we adventured to Bourbon Street because Bourbon Street really is an adventure.

We were warned by our Taxi Cab Driver not to be taken advantage of.  We can almost say we weren't.  Almost because we did fall for a prank that ended up costing us $5.00.  I'm told you shouldn't make eye contact with people...like ignore them....well I can't do that and so they get me.  A guy asked Larry if he wanted his shoes shined.  We laughed and said No Thanks.  The guy kept with us as we walked and told us that he could tell us where got his shoes...what city and state.  He was so confident that he said he would give Larry $5 if he was wrong but said that we had to give him $5 if he was right.  As I type this I am experiencing a little dajavu....I think we might have heard of this before.  Anyway, we agreed and that's when he got us.  The man said "you got your shoes on your feet on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Carla and I got some beads without showing our "boobies" and learned that this little tradition started because people pretended to be wealthy and would throw their riches and jewels to the peasants.  We little peasants liked getting the beads and wore them like we were rich too. I didn't see anything too crazy on bourbon street but I know that I wouldn't want to be there during Mardi Gras either!  I did have a guy dressed up like a jester come and connect arms with me while I was connected to Larry.  He walked with us for awhile and I asked him how far he was going to go with us.  He said that usually people will ask for a picture by now.  I told him I understood that they charged for pictures and that's when he let go of me and turned around.  It was funny and he was a little scary looking so I didn't mind not getting a picture of him.  

We boarded the Carnival Elation Friday afternoon.  It was a nice ship and there were a lot of people that lived close that took this cruise with us.  It was the bounciest cruise I have ever taken and I am really glad that Carla and Roger do NOT get motion sickness since this is their first cruise.  I was the only one in our group that got sick and I actually got sick a few times but neither time lasted more than a few hours.  We had hit a storm after porting at Cozumel and the ship rocked all night Saturday and most of Sunday.  I'm glad it wasn't my first cruise or it might have been my last but since I know they aren't all like that I will go again.  I had the meds I needed but might get a few more if we go again.  I really hate being sick but I have always been prone to motion sickness since I was a little girl...it's just how I'm put together.

I do enjoy our little towel creations that greet us each night before going to bed.  I really prefer a chocolate on my pillow as well but that didn't happen this cruise.  The Mississippi River is huge and dirty.  It took us hours to get from it to the Ocean.  It was cool seeing it and being on it.  It's still used for transporting supplies.  There are lots of ships and cruisers on it all the time.

It was a nice day in Cozumel.  We heard that it was the best day all week.  We didn't have real plans and decided to go Parasailing since there really wasn't a beach close by.  It was beautiful and peaceful.  Larry and I went up first and I couldn't believe how smooth and calm it was even though I have been before.  I enjoyed going with Larry and kissing him high in the sky!  It was a perfect day.  Roger even found a Harley Store and got him another shirt.  That's something Roger likes doing whenever he goes somewhere new.  He got a shirt in New Orleans at a Harley Store there.

The storm made us 5 hours late on Monday when we returned.  That didn't bother us since we were just planning on doing a little sight seeing.  We weren't in a hurry and didn't think we'd be able to check into our Hotels until later anyway.  When we did get off the ship we went to our Hotel's and checked in.  Roger and Carla went to the one we stayed in on Wednesday but Larry and I were at another one since we got it paid for by the suppliers.  They were still close to each other and we met at ours.

We ended up going to a buffet at Harrah's casino.  It was pretty good.  I really wanted to try the gumbo but it looked too gross.  I had some in a ladle but just couldn't bring myself to putting it in the bowl.  It was the craw-fish that kind of freaked me out.  While we were in New Orleans I did try a few other things that are unique to there.  Pralines (very good), Po Boy (okay) and Beignet (Good) are all a New Orleans thing and they were good and should be tried.  Since we didn't have a lot of time left in our day we decided to buy a day pass for the trolley and ride it around.  We ended up riding one trolley to the end of it's line and back again.  It was fun and we did see some interesting things.  That was pretty much all we had time to do on Monday and so we called it a night and returned to our Hotel's.

Tuesday morning Craig and Rachelle joined us.  They came to the convention too so that Rachelle could help Larry with the ordering.  We had the morning to do a few things because the show actually didn't start until the afternoon.  We decided to go on a City Tour.  It was interesting and we learned a lot of things.  The driver did a little review towards the end of the tour and even though I couldn't remember everything I did remember quite a bit.  We learned that the guy who wrote "You Are My Sunshine" was actually talking about his favorite Horse.  The houses are build at an angle so that everyone gets the evening breeze.  The cemetery is above ground and if you have more members of the family that need to be buried they take the oldest casket (there can be 2 to 3) and remove the body and put it in a body bag and stack in under the caskets.  That casket is burned and a new one is put in.   A body has to be a year and a day old before removing it from a casket. We learned about the jewels being thrown to the peasants and the people throwing them pretending to be wealthy.  The colors of Mardi Gras mean things too.  Purple is for Royalty, God for Wealth, and Green for fate or fame...really I can't remember.  There was a lot of information and I didn't take notes so I can't remember it all.

On the city tour we went to a cemetery, a sculpture garden and through town and the French Quarters.  Everything was interesting a cool.  I really enjoy city tours because you do learn so much information that you probably wouldn't just guess or know on your own.  By the end of the tour it was time for the parts show to start.  Carla and I didn't want to go to it right away and so we used our trolley pass and rode different trolleys around.  We recognized lots of places from our tour.  Before we started trolley jumping we went into a CVS pharmacy for some treats.  I had heard that we needed to try Pralines and we found some there.  Pralines are pretty good.  When we came out of the store and was waiting for the street light to change so that we could cross the road I had an interesting experience.  A lady asked us for money and I guess Carla ignored her but I smiled and shook my head "NO".  The lady had a beer in one hand and a bag of clothes that she referred to as "crap" (not her exact expression) in the other.  She then told me that I looked nice and so I returned the compliment and told her that she also looked nice.  Then she shared that she was going to the doctor and needed to take her bag of "crap" to him.  I should not have commented but I did...I told her that was a lot of "crap" in her bag.  She then reached into her bag and I knew....I knew where this was heading.  She pulled out a manila envelope and told me that she had to "crap" in that little envelope and take it to the doctor.  I laughed and gagged and told her that I really did NOT need to know that and that she probably shouldn't be sharing that with others.  The light finally changed and Carla and I crossed the road laughing.  I shared this little experience on face book and one of the ladies that we met on the cruise told me that it could have been something much worse pulled out of her bag.  I don't even want to know what might have been worse.  The trolley that Carla and I rode was probably one that more residents use to get to town.  It was fun watching everyone.  I was impressed with three nice looking young men that gave up their seats for some older ladies.  We had a good time!

We took a trolley that seriously just went down the river walk and back but it did end up at the conference center where we wanted to go.  The driver told us we had to get off but that's okay because that's where we were going.  The conference center was also right by the port for the cruise. Before going to the show we went to an outlet mall and looked around.  I made eye contact again with a guy in the middle of the mall selling face and eye cream.  I ended up in his chair having him fan my face after applying some cream to my eyes.  The cream did take my wrinkles away but it felt like glue.  He applied another cream on my forehead and those wrinkles went away as well...it was amazing.  I had told the cute sales man that I never buy on the spot like that. I like to think about it first which he wasn't happy to hear.  He was a very pushy salesman and kept trying to get me to commit to one of the creams.  They were on sale "Today" for half the price making them only $350-$400 each.  Boy....I really had to really think hard about that...NOT!  I hated the way my eye felt and the more I touched it the more it looked like it had originally.  I figure at this time in my life my skin should look a little older...heck....I earned these wrinkles!  The salesman couldn't believe that I had seven children though.  I'm not sure if that's because most people in the world have only a few or what...it didn't matter one way or another and I will think it was a compliment. ☺

Carla and I went over to the conference center and Carla was able to walk around and get some free bags and hats and see what it was all about.  I stayed with the paperwork and soon Craig joined me and we had a really nice visit.  Larry and Rachelle finished up their ordering and we enjoyed a nice dinner provided by the suppliers.

I really enjoyed New Orleans and I'm glad I got to see what it was all about.  I would recommend others to go visit there as well.  We had a really good time.  I still have sea legs from the cruise and find myself balancing from the imaginary swaying I am still feeling.

The kids all had a good time while we were gone and everything was in order when we got home.  It's fun having older kids that are responsible.  I heard they even prepared Sunday Dinner at our house.  I sure do love my kids and hubby!  My life is Good!