Reason #497 that I *heart* blogging -- finding old friends. I checked a friend's blog yesterday morning and happened to notice a new name on her blog roll -- the name of another old friend whom I hadn't heard from lately. So I click to check out her space, see cute pics of her kids, find out her hubby got a new job, blah blah blah... Then I check out HER blog roll and TA DA!!! The Holy Grail of blog rolls from my old ward. It was SO fun to know what these gals were up to. Our old ward was much like my current ward -- tons of young families with little kids of similar ages. Incredibly beautiful, funny, talented, kind women. We wanted SO badly to stay in that ward, but it wasn't exactly "new home buyer" friendly. So we moved, knowing from past experiences that we may end up in a ward with NO young families and very few friends. But lucky for us our new ward was just as great and I think we got to feel even more at home here because we owned our house and knew that we would be putting down long term roots.
Needless to say, yesterday wasn't super productive. I spent it looking at pictures of new homes, growing children, new babies, and cool vacations. I left several comments and I hope that they remember me so I don't freak them out. My Google Reader list grew by about a dozen yesterday. And I LOVE that I can do a three hour phone conversation of "catching up" without the three hours. And I can leave a comment, let them know I miss them, and they can come over here and do the same thing.
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*sigh* Jillise *sigh* Future brooding teenager. Future black lipstick wearing emo. AHHHHHH!!! On Tuesday we were on our way to school. It had been a totally fine, normal morning. She was telling me in the car about how they are putting new carpet in the music room. How the man installing it is the same one who cleaned up her throwup when she threw up in the classroom... uh, oh... that reminded her of when she threw up at school. We get to the front of the school for her to get out and she BURSTS into tears. She is an hysterical mess, doesn't want to get out, is scared, her tummy hurts... so I pull into a side parking lot and try to calm her down. I am 90% sure she is physically fine, but there are enough of our friends who are sick that I don't want to be wrong. So we head home and the whole time I am telling her that if she goes home, she is spending the day in bed. No TV or computer. She decides she wants to go to school. We loop back around and we have an exact replay of the previous five minutes. So we head home and I am furious. She cannot be reasoned with. It is like the first day of soccer or the ballet recital fiasco. Except it is NOT the first time she has done something, she knows the situation, and she is totally all worked up for nothing. We come home, she gets on her pjs, and after an hour in her room she is totally bored. Wants to go to school. Take three -- same outcome. In my attempt to make her realize that she is freaking out for no reason I tell her that if she doesn't go to school, she has to miss ballet on Thursday and the ballet Valentines party. Oops, didn't work. So we head home, she spends the day in bed. and she didn't go to ballet yesterday.
Wednesday was shaping up to be a repeat, but my good friend Michelle offered to take her to school to ward off a freak out and it worked. Jillise was a blubbery mess until Michelle drove off, then she snapped out of it like nothing happened. Eye yi yi...
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Joelle is single handedly cluttering my home. Okay, maybe not SINGLE handedly, but she is driving me bonkers with her need to have six or seven stuffed animals or babies with her all. the. time. She tries to bring them in the car, eat with her at the table, sleep with her at night. Then she will leave them on the couch and when she realizes she doesn't have them any more she will go get more. We have WAY too many stuffed animals and babies. I am trying to get rid of some. This caused tons of tears from both girls, even though the animals in the pile hadn't been played with in months. But what do you DO with stuffed animals? Goodwill doesn't want them. But I fell horrible throwing them away. I tried to see if I could sell some of the really nice ones (like our complete Winnie the Pooh set from the Disney Store that is like-new) but they are only going for a few bucks. It would be more to ship it than to sell it. So we have a huge trash bag of them in the garage, waiting for me to figure out what to do.
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Jaren. There is hope yet for him to not be shorter than his ginormous sisters. At his 19 month appointment this week (we got "snowed out" of his 18 month) he weighed 25 lbs, (about the 45th percentile) and he was 34" tall. Woo hoo!!! That is the 85% for height. Up until this appointment he had been below the 50th. Now there is nothing wrong with being short, but when your sisters are on the taller side and your Dad is a basketball FREAK it would be a hit to your self esteem to have to be the boy who cleans the sweat off of the court instead of one of the players. The doctor was pleased with his vocabulary and he is walking quite well now. He has decided that he loves to be rocked before bed, which is fine by me. He just snuggles on my shoulder and we rock in his room. Even if it is only for a minute, he will lay right down for bed if he is rocked first. He has also started to nod his head for "yes" instead of just shake for no. It is so cute to ask him if he is my buddy and have him smile and nod his head. I love this boy!
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Valentines Day has come and gone. I didn't do much for it this year. Last year I went all out and made a themed dinner for the kids. Not this year. I was kind of a grump. They had Burgerville, played the new Wii game with Brian (Playground -- pretty fun, though some of the games are hard), and they were in bed at 7:00. Brian and I had our traditional Omaha Steaks and potatoes. Yummy. I got some beautiful pink roses from Brian and a surprise flower delivery from my dad. It was very sweet. The kids got cards and balloons and Webkinz.
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Last but not least. (I'm sorry this post is SO long. I have a list of little things I have wanted to mention and I just want to knock it all out. Rochelle, I will do your tag tomorrow!) Have any of you felt the massive need to get your spiritual life in order NOW? I am not the best at reading my scriptures and saying daily prayers. But I am not the worst, either. We do FHE, I fulfil my calling, I attend the temple, and I feel that I keep my temple covenants. But the past few weeks I have felt the Spirit SO strong at random times during the day. I will be reading or singing a song and I will almost feel that I need to cry. And I just feel that I am being prompted to pray RIGHT NOW and better my act. And this has constantly been happening. I am trying to get two songs ready to sing at church functions in the next few weeks and I am seriously wondering if I am going to be able to get through it with out becoming a blubbery mess. I don't know if this was brought on by President Hinckley's passing, or what. I don't know if I am being prepared for something, or if it is just my spirit trying to get me to shape up. No need to respond to this part. I guess I just wanted to get this out there and document that I do feel the Holy Ghost in my life and that he does prompt me to be better and to do more. And whether it be because I just need to be a stronger mother or woman or friend, or whether it be to prepare me for a new calling, or a new challenge -- I am trying to heed that prompting. The Hinckley Challenge has come at a good time for me obviously. To finish the Book of Mormon by Jillise's birthday will "force" me to be a better reader and to make that a habit. I am grateful for the chance to do it. :)
7 comments:
Ah Paige- I have a Jillese, Joelle and Jaren at home right now-So- In fact Ashtyn tells me daily that I am rude, she hates me, no one in our family love her- or no body understands her- Well she is right- I don't understand her. I too am dreading the teenage years- AAAAHHHH- You gotta love them- right??? Amanda
(((HUGS))) I went through some of these things with Tyler and it is tough! Tyler cried so many times on the way to school. ugh... But it passes!
I'm touched by your testimony.
Wow! You have been one busy mama lately! When my girls are PMSing it is so exhausting! I'm so with you on the stuffed animals! I never knew the charity stores didn't want them...oops!:)
I've had the spiritual boost too!! I defidently like how I feel and act when I have the spirit as a constant companion as i am reading and praying on a more frequent schedule. Why is it so easy to forget that I love the way life feels when I'm like this?
I'm with you too on feeling that prompting/need to kick my spiritual life into gear. The challenge is going from thinking about it, to actually DOING it!
I just wanted to say how much I love spending time with Jillise! It's a little sneak peek into the world of girls, so out of my realm. She just cracks me up!
Sometimes I think you need a hug from Heavenly Father. It doesn't come very often, but it does have a very deep impact. Sometimes you just need to know He loves you and knows you.
Music is very powerful purveyor of the spirit (or an evil spirit, depending on the music). We had an Aaronic Priesthood Encampment a couple of years ago up in the mountains above Yakima at our Church's Camp Zarahemla. I was assigned to give a spiritual presentation to the young men on preparation for a mission. As the fireside began they had an old time scouter get up and get the boys whipped up into a shouting a singing, good-time frenzy. It was a rip-roaring good time, but how in the world was I to walk on after that and capture them back to spiritual note? Just before I was go on a quartet of young men sang a beautiful hymn and it was like a light being turned on in a dark room. The jockularity immediately fled away replaced by the sweet spirit of the Lord. I was then able to go on without a need to capture the spirit since it was already there, brought by the sweet sounds of a simple hymn.
Dad
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